Wash. and Ore. tell feds to let states handle wolf issues

As wolves reintroduced into the Northern Rockies push west through the Cascade Range, the states of Oregon and Washington are telling the federal government they can handle it from here, thanks. Both states have already taken over the hard part, riding herd on the conflict between wolves and cattle in the eastern part of each state, where almost all of the packs are located, and deciding when they need to shoot wolves for developing too much of a taste for beef. "We don't see a real need for continued federal protections when the state protections are there," Dave Ware, Washington state game division manager, said Monday. Tim L. Hiller, carnivore-furbearer coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, agreed. "It seems very redundant to have a regulatory process at the state and federal level for that portion of Oregon," he said...more