OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee signed a wolf bill Tuesday and saluted the sponsor, Rep. Joel Kretz, an Okanogan County Republican who’s retiring from the Legislature and is poles apart politically from the governor.

House Bill 2424 directs the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to consult with the Colville tribe on managing wolves in northeast Washington. The implication is state wildlife managers can learn from their tribal counterparts.

After signing the legislation, the governor asked Kretz and his wife, Lucka, to pose with him for a picture to mark Kretz’s last bill “in a storied career as a legislator.”

“Now, I’m not smiling because Joel is leaving the Legislature. I’m smiling to celebrate his successes,” Inslee said.

“I’m smiling for a little of both,” Kretz said.

Kretz said Thursday he appreciated the governor’s graciousness, though the experience was strange. “He and I haven’t had the greatest relationship. It’s been pretty contentious,” Kretz said.

Kretz, a rancher in a district saturated with wolf packs, has urged swifter action against wolves that attack livestock. The governor has supported wolf advocates who argue Fish and Wildlife is too swift in removing wolves.

HB 2424 doesn’t guarantee anything will change either way. The Fish and Wildlife Commission would have to approve any policy changes, a step added to the original bill that Kretz calls “stupid and unnecessary.”

Nevertheless, the bill that got through the Legislature over the objection of wolf advocates has its “carcass” intact, Kretz said.

‘Shining example’ sought

The bill reinforces an existing agreement that Fish and Wildlife and the tribe will work together to manage “problem wildlife” in northern Ferry, Okanogan and Stevens counties, adjacent to the tribe’s reservation.

The region was part of the reservation until ceded to the U.S. government in 1892. Tribal members still have hunting and fishing rights there. The agreement predates wolves recolonizing the area.

Fish and Wildlife and Colville tribal leaders meet yearly. With the passage of HB 2424, the department will talk to the tribe about restarting a joint policy committee that’s called for in the agreement, Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Staci Lehman said.

Kretz praises the tribe’s ability to balance wolf recovery with protecting livestock and maintaining healthy deer populations on its 1.4 million-acre reservation.

“I think the state can learn a lot from that,” he said. “What I’m really hoping for is that this area becomes a shining example for the rest of the state.”

Tribe presents blanket

Kretz said he hadn’t been to a bill signing in 10 years. He said he went to this one out of respect to Colville tribal members, particularly longtime tribal leader Mel Tonasket, who attended the bill signing.

Kretz and his wife stood apart as tribal members presented Inslee with a blanket. “That is a huge honor,” the governor said. Only then did he see Kretz. “I didn’t know you were here, sorry,” the governor said, extending his hand.

Kretz, 67, was elected to the House in 2004. It was a hard decision to not run again, he said.

“I feel like there’s more progress to be made. On the flip side, I’ve seen a lot of people stay longer than they should,” Kretz said.

“My true love is running the ranch,” he said. “It’s time to do the things I truly love while I can.”