Wolf pack confirmed in Oregon for first time in a century
Monday, July 21, 2008 6:33 PM PDT
By Jeff Barnard
The Associated Press
Printable version
E-mail this articleGRANTS PASS, Ore. — Oregon has its first wolf pack since the predator was wiped out by bounty hunting a century ago.
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf coordinator Russ Morgan heard at least two adults and two pups answer his howls under a bright moon in the pre-dawn hours Friday on the Umatilla National Forest in northern Union County.
“After searching and monitoring and surveying for two years, doing this — to actually confirm multiple wolves — was a bit of a surprise,” Morgan said from his office in La Grande. “We are talking about a very rare animal in the state of Oregon. That makes locating them difficult. It is satisfying to see part of that effort pay off.”
Morgan added that biologists would be keeping close watch over the wolves as part of Oregon’s plan for allowing them to roam free without causing undue harm to livestock.
Biologists have long expected that wolves would spread to Oregon after they were reintroduced to Central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park in 1995. The Idaho wolf population numbers more than 500, and young wolves leave the pack and strike out for new territories rather than overcrowd an old one.
To get to northeastern Oregon, they can swim the Snake River or walk across a bridge or dam. At least five wolves are known to have reached Oregon since 1999.
Wolves are protected by federal and state law, so it is illegal to shoot or trap them, even if they attack livestock.
The Bush administration had declared wolf reintroduction a success and taken wolves off the federal endangered species list, but a federal judge in Montana last week restored protection.
Oregon lists wolves as endangered, and has set a goal of four breeding pairs each in Eastern Oregon and Western Oregon.
The announcement triggered celebrations among conservation groups, who have been hoping to see wolves re-establish in Oregon to restore a balance of nature broken a century ago when a major predator was eliminated.
“Northeastern Oregon has plenty of big wild spaces left,” said Steve Pedery of Oregon Wild. “There is lots of good habitat there, a big prey base, a lot of places to roam and not come into conflict with people.
“We’re going to make sure the legal protections are in place so there are not temptations for poachers to go out and break the law.”
Oregon Cattlemen’s Association President Bill Moore, who ranches in Baker County, said he knew of no confirmed wolf kills of livestock in Oregon, but expects they will come.
The Oregon wolf management plan does not allow ranchers to kill wolves they see threatening their herds, but Moore said the association is working to change that.
Morgan said the pack answered his howls in the same area where several single sets of wolf tracks were spotted in the snow last winter.
He said the pups had distinctly higher-pitched howls than the adults, and he could make out at least four different voices, though there could have been more.
Rosey Glasses wrote on Jul 21, 2008 4:16 PM:
bullslug wrote on Jul 21, 2008 4:47 PM:
Mr. Chinook wrote on Jul 21, 2008 6:42 PM:
columbian wrote on Jul 21, 2008 7:48 PM:
WsuCoug wrote on Jul 21, 2008 10:05 PM:
Oh and turn the caps off... "
Girth VonPhister wrote on Jul 21, 2008 10:32 PM:
columbian wrote on Jul 21, 2008 11:00 PM:
Mr. Chinook wrote on Jul 22, 2008 1:33 AM:
luke the drifter wrote on Jul 22, 2008 9:17 AM:
So I don't buy the idea of the wolves destroying wildlife populations. I have hunted for several years in the Middle Fork of the Salmon wilderness in Idaho. There are more and more wolves there now than have been in the last 100 years. There are also many more elk than have been there lately.
With Mr Chinook's logic, there would be no elk or deer. We average seeing over 50 deer a day while hunting, and several elk herds. Bighorn sheep are also a common place.
The game biologists who stopped at our airstrip said at first the deer and elk didn't know what to expect from the wolves and the wolves did significant damage. But it didn't take long for the deer, elk, and other animals to understand the danger of wolves.
I also think that wolves should be treated just like any other game animal, and tags should be given out if a population gets to a certain level.
Predators help keep the herds strong. They weed out the old and sick. We are the ultimate predator and we do the same. "
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