The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says it needs a new section in its wolf policy to address concerns that it’s shooting wolves too often in northeast Washington.

State wildlife managers will test several new ways to reduce conflict this summer between wolves and livestock in northeast Washington, asking ranchers to try electronic ear tags, drones, cow bells and reflective collars to monitor cattle grazing in rugged forests.

Candace Bennett, a wildlife conflict specialist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said humans patrolling pastures will remain the top deterrence, but new supplements are needed because wolves wise up to flashing lights and flapping ribbons.

“Our tool bin is kind of stale,” she said. “If these new things work out, great. If they don’t, we’ll have learned some valuable lessons.”

Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind promised Gov. Jay Inslee last fall the department would come up with previously “unused tools” to deter wolf attacks on livestock. Inslee had said the cycle of depredations on cattle and lethal removal of wolves in the Kettle River Range was “unacceptable.”

Fish and Wildlife last summer eliminated the OPT pack there. Wolves were preying on cattle owned by the Diamond M Ranch. With the OPT pack gone, a new wolfpack, the Kettle pack, has formed in the territory.

Bill McIrvin, a partner in the family-owned Diamond M, said non-lethal measures — new or used — must be backed by lethal removal.

Fish and Wildlife has been too slow to respond to depredations, he said, and the result has been more dead cattle and packs that can’t be hazed away and have to be eliminated entirely.

“Non-lethals could be beneficial if they had a good lethal protocol,” he said. “Without a good lethal-removal protocol, where they move in immediately and kill wolves where they’re killing cattle, it doesn’t matter.”

Fish and Wildlife is under pressure, particularly in Western Washington, to reduce depredations that lead to lethal control in Eastern Washington. Wolf advocates cheered Inslee’s comments, which echoed their concerns. In response, Susewind promised a plan by May 1.

Stevens County Cattlemen’s Association President Scott Nielsen said Fish and Wildlife’s new ideas focus on managing livestock, which is not the department’s area of expertise, he said. “I don’t think they are going to be terribly effective,” he said.

”I would argue it’s not the department’s job to manage livestock. That’s the rancher’s job. The department’s responsible for wolf issues,” Nielsen said.

The new non-lethal measures the department plans to try include:

• Cow bells and reflective collars to make cattle easier to watch in forests. Bennett said she hopes the noise will deter wolves, not attract them.

• The department hopes to try a drone to monitor herds and find cattle carcasses, helping confirm that wolves are preying on livestock. “You get a bird’s-eye view of what’s going on for miles,” Bennett said.

• Ear tags to transmit a cow or calf’s location. The department hopes to experiment with tags that also monitor the cow’s eating and sleeping habits, and overall health and stress level, perhaps a warning sign that wolves are near.

• The department has lined up a dog and handler to go to reports of dead cows or calves. The dog will sniff around for wolves and other carcasses, helping investigators find other dead cattle and determine whether wolves were responsible. “The longer you wait, as depredations pile up, you’re building the chances we’ll have to do a full pack removal,” Bennett said.

• Equip range-riders with satellite communication devices. Range-riders who find dead cattle in remote areas will be able to summon investigators more quickly, Bennett said.