OLYMPIA — A House Republican introduced legislation Wednesday to take wolves in northeast Washington off the state’s protected-species list, a move the state’s wolf policy leader said would not endanger wolf recovery.

House Bill 1698 would delist wolves in counties with at least three packs producing pups. Ferry and Stevens counties and possibly Pend Oreille and Okanogan counties would qualify. Pack territories cross county boundaries.

Under current policy, wolves in pack-saturated northeast Washington will remain a state endangered species until wolves are reproducing throughout the state.

So far, few wolves have crossed Central Washington and reached suitable habitat in the South Cascade Range.

“They have not dispersed, and we’ve got a bottleneck,” said Rep. Joel Kretz, who represents northeast Washington. “We’ve borne the brunt, both the good and the bad, of wolf recovery.”

The Department of Fish and Wildlife in 2014 predicted wolves would colonize the South Cascades by 2021, plus or minus three years. The department last year documented the first pack in the region, far short of recovery goals.

Meanwhile, the number of wolves in northeast Washington grows each year and far exceeds recovery goals.

Under Kretz’s proposal, Fish and Wildlife, counties and tribes would jointly manage wolves in the region. The Colville and Spokane tribes already have jurisdiction over wolves on their lands.

Wolves are federally protected in Central and Western Washington. State-protected wolves in Eastern Washington have a much lower level of protection.

Fish and Wildlife occasionally kills wolves in Eastern Washington to protect livestock. The department has been accused of being both too slow and too quick to pull the trigger.

Kretz’s bill does not order specific on-the-ground changes in wolf management. In an interview, he said county and tribal participation would enhance the credibility of wolf management in his district.

A Fish and Wildlife spokesperson said the department was reviewing the bill and didn’t have an immediate comment.

Unconnected to the bill, Fish and Wildlife officials made a presentation on wolf management Wednesday to the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

Kretz asked wolf policy coordinator Julia Smith whether delisting wolves in northeast Washington would imperil statewide recovery.

“Not in my opinion,” Smith answered.

“To me, it looks like northeast Washington has fully filled-in wolf pack territories,” she said.

Fish and Wildlife Director Kelly Susewind told the committee that nonlethal measures have kept down conflicts between wolves and livestock.

“Ranchers have busted their rear-ends to implement them,” he said. “Their lives have gone from primarily managing cattle to managing cattle and wolves.”

Kretz’s bill attracted seven co-sponsors, including three Western Washington Democrats.