Occasionally, someone on the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission makes a good suggestion regarding the state’s growing population of gray wolves.

Wolves have been an issue in Washington ever since they showed up in 2008. They came from British Columbia, which has thousands of them, and from Idaho, where they were transplanted from Canada in the mid-1990s.

Washington’s problem with wolves is they like the northeastern corner of the state. There’s plenty to eat, particularly because cattle and sheep graze in the region.

This has been been a sticking point for the area’s ranchers, who would like to see the wolf population reduced or — better yet — moved.

That’s where Barbara Baker comes in. As chair of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission, she and the other members oversee the state department that manages wolves.

As one might imagine, that’s not an easy job. Wolves do what they want, including eating cattle and sheep. This often puts the state wolf managers at odds with ranchers, whose livelihoods are threatened.

Baker recently voiced an idea: Wildlife managers should consider moving some of the excess wolves from northeastern Washington to other parts of the state.

Years ago, we suggested that a batch of wolves be moved to Seattle. Some folks there didn’t see the humor in that.

Moving wolves west would accomplish two things. It would reduce the wolf population in northeastern Washington, giving ranchers and others a break, and it would get Washington closer to reaching its goal for statewide wolf recovery.

The wolf population in northeastern Washington reached its recovery goal about 10 years ago, but wolves have been slow to move west. The state plan calls for at least four packs with pups in the southern Cascade Range.

This would be a win for the state in reaching its wolf recovery goal, and for the ranchers, who would have fewer worries about their livestock.

The downside is that livestock owners in Western Washington would have to deal with wolves. Not all wolves cause problems with livestock, but some do and the state has been extremely slow in getting rid of them.

Rep. Joel Kretz, who represents northeast Washington in the state legislature, likes the idea of moving wolves west.

“It makes complete sense, and it’s way overdue,” he told Capital Press reporter Don Jenkins.

True enough. Wildlife managers often move animals to adjust their populations. In fact, the federal government brought wolves into Idaho and Yellowstone National Park, and is planning to put grizzly bears in the Northern Cascades of Washington. Moving wolves across Washington would be no big deal.

Whether the commission will force wildlife managers to spread the wolf population to western Washington, we cannot say.

But we do know this. Wolves need to be closely managed wherever they are.