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Can you hear us now?
When no one seems to be listening, sometimes all you can do is turn up the volume
Disgusted with more state-sponsored wolf killing and fed up with being ignored, a pair of pro-wildlife citizens were arrested after locking themselves to the doors of ODFW's Salem headquarters
On Friday evening, the state of Oregon announced kill orders for two wolves from the Imnaha Pack.
Blamed for killing a cow, a yearling wolf and the alpha male are slated for extermination. If carried out, it means the alpha female and her young pup will be left to fend for themselves. A small group of people today took matters into their own hands...
“Great news” the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association’s trumpeted on their facebook page in response to the kill order. It was a rare moment of honesty from an organization whose image is cleverly managed by a Portland Pearl District PR Firm. “We can’t coexist with them. That’s the plain and simple fact. This pack should have been removed long ago” said Todd Nash in an AP story. Nash is one of the state’s most outspoken anti-wolf activists and personally placed the official request for the kill orders.
The state listened to Nash. And you’re paying. With a compensation bill recently signed by Governor Kitzhaber, you - the Oregon taxpayer - will be cutting a check to Nash while simultaneously paying for the kill order to be carried out.
It won’t be difficult. The alpha male, pictured here, wears a gps tracking collar. The signal will lead managers to the pack. The yearling will be killed first. Then the crosshairs will move to the packs leader. B-300 – known to the Oregon Wild Wolf Pack as Sophie - and her young pup will be left to scavenge gut piles left by hunters, and Oregon’s first wolf pack will be functionally eradicated.
The government-sponsored elimination of wolves in the last century is one of our greatest environmental tragedies. Their return represents an opportunity for redemption. At least that’s how most Oregonians see it. We believe co-existing with native wildlife is a responsibility shared by all of us who live near the big wild places of the West. For us, Oregon is a richer place with the hope that we may hear the silence of the wilderness pierced by the lonesome howl of a wolf.
For us, conservation doesn’t involve traps, snares, and bullets aimed at endangered species. When ODFW decision makers announced the news late on Friday, they would have been happy to see it disappear into the Friday Trash, but we didn’t let that happen. As news spread, facebook pages lit up, e-mail alerts were sent out, and thousands of calls began to flood the office of Governor Kitzhaber. 
Still, it appears the state is determined to kill these two wolves. If so, the state will have purposely killed 6 wolves in the last 2 years at the request of the livestock industry (another was killed during a collaring operation and yet another was killed by a poacher). The Imnaha Pack will have dropped from 16 to 2, the state’s confirmed population will have fallen from 21 to 12, and the number of breeding pairs from 2 to 1.
Things may not be hopeless, but it takes a lot of nuance to argue that recovery hasn’t stalled out, that conservation is forwarded by killing, and that anti-wolf interests are increasing their “social tolerance”. With Oregon establishing a pattern of doing the bidding of the livestock industry, a quotaless sport hunt next door in Idaho, and a continuing campaign of misinformation and fear from a small number of vocal anti-wolf activists, the future isn’t bright, and most Oregonians aren’t being heard.
Fed up, and sick of being ignored, about 20 brave souls today went to ODFW headquarters in Salem. They howled into megaphones, asked to see the director (he didn't show), and two chained themselves to the front door in an effort to be heard. It’s hard to blame them. Thousands of calls to the Governor’s office went ignored. Arguments and requests from conservation groups to spare the alpha male from were rejected. What was left to do?
I was in Salem and able to witness the brave act of these folks - two of whom were arrested. They did not resist. They just wanted their voice to be heard and were out of options.
I didn’t participate in the protest. But I was moved. And I am angry.
Protests and arrests may not be your cup of tea, but if these brave souls are willing to sacrifice so much, I hope you’ll take a few minutes to make sure their voice, your voice, and the voice of the wolves is heard. Oregonians value native wildlife. We want to see wolf recovery that works for everyone. We want the killing to stop. It’s time to stand up and be heard.
It’s probably a longshot to save the Imnaha pack, but yesterday ODFW announced that Oregon’s newest pack (one of only two left in the state), the Walla Walla, has at least two pups. If they survive the winter and are to avoid the same fate as their fellow wolves, we need to speak up for them - loudly and clearly.
Intolerant, fearful anti-wolf voices like Todd Nash, Rod Childers, and the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association aren’t going to be appeased with taxpayer money. They aren’t going to go silent after a few wolf kills. As long as the state bends to their political pressure, and rewards their bad behavior, Oregon’s wolf recovery remains perilous.
Quoting a wolf biologist from another state: “If the wolf is to survive, the wolf haters must be outnumbered. They must be outshouted, outfinanced, and outvoted. Their narrow and biased attitude must be outweighed by an attitude based on an understanding of the natural world.”
Plenty of Land for both man and wolf
Room for all
Wolves are great hunters, but even when hunting as a pack, they have a relatively low success rate and it's risky business. There is no doubt that a lone mother and her young pup will struggle this fall and winter. Biologists have told us that to survive Sophie and her pup will likely have to resort to primarily scavenging and catching small prey.
A peer reviewed study in the Journal of Conservation Planning estimated the state has enough suitable habitat and prey base to support 1,450 wolves. Once this kill order is carried out, Oregon will be home to only 12 confirmed wolves - far from outgrowing their domain.
As for seeing the wolves for ourselves. We lead trips to the area every year to give folks the opportunity. While we haven't had any luck on the group trips (we've seen scat and tracks), I feel very lucky to be one of the few folks in the state to have seen them in person. It was an incredible experience, I wrote about it in a blog post and hope you'll give it a read - search "hiking with wolves" in the search form at the top right of this page.
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