Coming full circle — a wolf roams near Crater Lake

The Crater Lake Institute and Oregon Wild join forces to celebrate the arrival of the first wolf in western Oregon in 65 years.

If your family has ever visited Crater Lake, chances are you carry treasured memories of the place. Perhaps it's the view of Wizard Island rising from impossibly blue waters or the gnarled shapes of white pines bent by centuries of wind and snow. If you've ventured further, it could be the Pinnacles along Annie Creek, the jagged spire of Mount Thielsen, or ancient Douglas firs standing watch over the headwaters of the Rogue River.

Soon, visitors to Crater Lake and the surrounding wildlands may have a new treasured memory — the howl of a lone wolf echoing across the lake. In a conservation success story that rivals the return of bald eagles and gray whales, for the first time in more than half a century, a gray wolf is roaming the southern Cascades.

"OR-7", a 2-year-old male, has captured the imagination of thousands of Oregonians with his epic 300-mile journey in search of a mate. He has already crossed major highways, deserts, mountain ranges, and rivers. Wherever "OR-7" roams next, he has already helped bring the story of wildlife conversation in Oregon full circle.

In 1947, at a time when wildlife policy was driven more by fear and mythology than science, the last bounty was paid for killing a wild wolf in Oregon. That wolf was the last member of a pack that roamed just outside the borders of Crater Lake National Park in the Rogue-Umpqua Divide. With stunning symbolism, "OR-7" — born to the first pack to return to Oregon in 60 years — now roams the same territory.

Just as "OR-7" has come a long way to reach western Oregon, so too has America's approach to managing our wildlife and public lands. After wolves were ruthlessly shot, trapped, and poisoned for decades, biologists began to appreciate the animal's natural role. At the same time Americans realized the importance of protecting the dwindling wilderness that remained in the West.

In 1995, the National Park Service took the historic step of re-introducing wolves into Yellowstone National Park. The results have been breathtaking. Wolves have rejuvenated Yellowstone, with willows and songbirds returning to riverbanks and coyote, deer, and elk numbers returning to normal. Every year, thousands of human visitors flock to the park in hopes of catching a glimpse of a wolf, seeing a track, or hearing a howl. A 2006 University of Montana study found they pump an additional $37 million into the local economy each year.

Right now, the story of "OR-7" is unique, but others are likely to follow. Will the return of wolves help bring a similar balance back to the Crater Lake region? Could he and other wolves bring increased interest and tourism dollars, to Southern Oregon?

Wherever he goes, one thing is clear — the survival of wildlife like "OR-7" depends on humans like us.

Wolf recovery remains fragile in our state. Despite a better understanding of their important role, Oregon's 23 confirmed wolves face constant threats from anti-wildlife activists still fearful of the big bad wolf.

The best chance for the recovery of wolves and other threatened wildlife can be found in the big wild places that remain on our public lands — areas where wolves are free to roam and unlikely to encounter landscapes altered by humans. It is also on these pristine landscapes that we create lifelong memories of the outdoors and experience what makes Oregon such a great place to live, work, and raise a family.

The good news is that Southern Oregon is still home to big wild places. Roadless wildlands like Sawtooth Mountain, Pelican Butte, Mount Bailey, and the backcountry of the national park itself all offer places where wolves and other native wildlife can thrive. But only if we protect them. Wilderness protection, both for the backcountry of the Park and the surrounding wildlife corridors, is long overdue.

The journey of "OR-7" provides Oregonians an opportunity to reflect on how far we have come, and how far we still have to go, in protecting our natural heritage. Everyone can appreciate the incredible odds this wolf has overcome in his odyssey, and the symbolism of an animal once hated and hunted to extinction reclaiming the territory of his ancestors.

Will our children and grandchildren have the opportunity to hear a wolf howl echo along the rim of Crater Lake? Perhaps. But only if this generation of Oregonians does its part to both protect our native wildlife, and the big wild places they need to thrive.

Robert Mutch is executive director of the Crater Lake Institute. Steve Pedery is conservation director for Oregon Wild.