Collars such as these will help wildlife managers in Washington state track the location of wolves. The state has decided to begin collaring more wolves.

Washington Fish and Wildlife decided Friday to begin its spring trapping of wolves, an activity that had previously been considered non-essential under Gov. Jay Inslee’s stay-at-home order.

The department now has training procedures and personal-protection equipment to trap wolves while staying in line with the governor’s order, Fish and Wildlife wolf policy leader Donny Martorello said.

“We are geared up to get back in the field,” he said. “This is a very high priority for the agency.”

Fish and Wildlife traps wolves and puts on radio collars in the spring when packs are staying close to dens. The collars transmit signals that indicate the area a pack frequents.

Fish and Wildlife has been criticized by officials and ranchers for having too few collared wolves. The department says trapping wolves is difficult, with no guarantees of success.

The department had suspended trapping, along with other field work, to follow social-distancing requirements. Employees often work together in remote areas, according to the department.

Martorello said the department was able to put together a plan to protect employees as the window to trap wolves opens. The department typically waits until temperatures increase so that wolves caught in traps don’t freeze to death.

The department will start scouting wolf territories for opportunities to trap wolves, Martorello said. “We’re going to be getting out and scouring the landscape,” he said.

Fish and Wildlife will put a high priority on putting collars on the members of packs that have a history of attacking livestock or are being tracked for ongoing research into how wolves are affecting its wild prey, such as deer.

Martorello said the department also will make a priority of collaring a wolf in the newly formed Kettle pack in the Kettle River Range of northeast Washington.

The pack has taken over territory occupied by wolves that have attacked cattle for several years. In response to those attacks, Fish and Wildlife eliminated the OPT pack last year.