As Wolves Move West, Oregon’s Wolf Plan Comes Up For Review

ODFW begins a review of its relatively untested wolf management plan

B-300, the alpha female of the Imnaha wolf pack. Taken in July of 2009 when ODFW replaced her radio collar. Photo from ODFW.

Starting Friday, Oregon Fish and Wildlife begins work on what’s expected to be a six-month review of the state’s Wolf Management Plan.

There aren’t very many environmental issues in the state that are as controversial as this one.

In some ways, the plan is succeeding. There are increasing credible reports of gray wolves in Central Oregon. ODFW has also confirmed two packs in Wallowa County, including a pack with ten members in the Imnaha wildlife area.

But last spring’s attacks on sheep ranches near Baker City left many ranchers saying, “We told you so.”  Wildlife officials captured and killed the two wolves responsible for the attacks. But the state’s Cattlemen’s Association insists ranchers need the authority to protect their herds.

This week I talked with Sean Stevens of Oregon Wild, and Sharon Beck with the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association. Here are some of the issues expected to come up during the review process.

Shooting Wolves

Gray wolves are protected by Oregon’s Endangered Species law in the everywhere in the state, and protected by the federal law in Western Oregon. Ranchers can’t shoot wolves, not even when they’re caught in act of attacking livestock. However, wildlife officials can kill wolves who repeatedly go after livestock.

Beck says being able to protect their property should be a fundamental right for ranchers. She says ODFW and the feds were slow to react to the killings in Baker County. Allowing ranchers to shoot wolves, she says, will teach them to fear humans and reduce future conflicts. “If we have problems with our herds,” she says, “we want to clean them out of there.”

Stevens says it’s too early to loosen restrictions. The decision to kill wolves is best left up to the wildlife managers, he says. Despite the increasing numbers of wolves in the state, Stevens says there’s not enough of them to know if the Wolf Plan is working. “We really don’t want to make a lot of changes this early,” says Stevens.

Allowing ranchers to shoot wolves requires the legislature to change the law.

Relocating Wolves

One of the problems identified in ODFW’s review is the restriction on relocating problem wolves. The rules say they have to be relocated to the nearest Wilderness Area. In the case of the Baker County attacks, the nearest wilderness area wasn’t very far away.

Stevens supports giving wildlife officials more flexibility. He thinks officials may have been able to avoid killing the Baker County wolves, if they had the option of moving them further away.

Beck agrees the rule is too restrictive. But she also wants to see the state go further, to create a statewide zoning system where wolves are allowed, and where they are not.

Money

The ODFW review says the costs of managing wolves runs about $400,000 to $500,000 a year. Beck says, “wolves are expensive.” And there’s no state money to compensate ranchers who lose livestock to wolves. That was one of the changes considered by the legislature a few years ago. Beck says it was defeated because lawmakers wondered if they’d also have to start paying for losses due to other predators, such as bears, coyotes and cougars.

Defenders of Wildlife will pay ranchers for losses to wolves, but proving it can be difficult. Defenders also works with ranchers on non-lethal ways to keep wolves away .

The Fish and Wildlife Commission gets a first look at the Wolf Plan review when it meets Friday in Salem. ODFW staff is suggesting three months of meeting with stakeholder groups to get their input, followed by public meetings during the month of August. Final changes could be approved in October.

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Click here for ODFW's wolf page