WINTHROP - Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest managers will permit cattle to graze in an area southwest of Twisp where gray wolves chose to locate a den and raise pups.
     The wolves are the first pack to be confirmed in Washington in more than 70 years. Their den is within an area where livestock have grazed since the early 1900s on the Methow Valley Ranger District.
     Ranchers with permits to graze cattle on the allotment and others nearby agreed to several conservation measures developed by Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest managers, in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a Forest Service announcement said.
     The measures include prohibiting human disturbance at den sites, removing injured livestock, and delaying release of calves until they are larger and natural prey are more plentiful.
     Ranchers also agreed to work with agencies responsible for wolf control actions. The conservation group Defenders of Wildlife has offered to reimburse grazing permittees if it is determined a wolf killed livestock.