Wolves in Oregon--No Agreement Yet

collared female, courtesy ODFW

The Oregon state Fish & Wildlife Department (ODFW) informs us that no agreement has been reached between conservationists and "stakeholders" (translation: ranchers and hunters) about when grey wolves suspected of preying on livestock may be killed.  The revised Wolf Management Plan is to be presented to the Commission in March.  Some progress was reported on topics such as funding for enhanced modeling and wolf collaring, but not on critical issues, including the number of preying incidents that will allow lethal removal of wolves when non-lethal means have failed.  Conservationists represented by Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands, Center for Biological Diversity, and Defenders of Wildlife announced Jan. 4th that they would not attend the final meeting of interested parties.  An ODFW official said the opposing interest groups, "remain passionate about their positions, so consensus is challenging to achieve".

Currently Oregon's wolf management plan allows only two confirmed "depredations" within an unlimited time frame before culling by the department or a permitted landowner will be allowed.  Typically, ODFW authorizes lethal removal after three or more confirmed depredations. Thankfully, ODFW has denied more lethal removal requests for wolves than it has approved. Wolf advocates want to see the kill standard replaced by a rule more rigorously objective, and measured within a limited time frame.  Since the first wolf management plan was introduced in 2005, hunting of wolves has been a potential tool for controlling wolf populations in the state.  ODFW has no current plans to begin hunting wolves, which are only beginning to recover in Oregon.  US Person, and other wolf advocates, think hunting of wolves should NOT be considered a permissible management tool for a species still threatened by extinction.