Wolf actions elsewhere won't affect Oregon rules

Wyoming, Montana and Idaho have ended endangered status, Oregon wolves remain protected.

Taking wolves off the federal Endangered Species Act could allow for the predators to be killed in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, but it will not lift protections for the small number of the animals that are in Oregon, state officials said.

"They're still on the state ESA (Endangered Species Act), and they're going to stay there for quite some time," said Michelle Dennehy, the Wildlife Programs communications coordinator for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Gray wolves will be fair game for hunters and ranchers in most of Wyoming when that state, along with Montana and Idaho, takes over management of the animals with the delisting.

But despite the fact that the northeastern corner of Oregon is in the area under the delisting decision, both state ESA protections and the provisions of the state's 2005 Wolf Management Plan preclude killing any wolves.

Under the guidelines, at least four breeding pairs of wolves must be established in a delisted area for three consecutive years before lifting of protections can be discussed.

But "breeding pairs" does not mean eight wolves.

Because the animals are social and communal, the term "breeding pair" refers to a pack, which can have as few as three wolves and as many as 19.

Wolves have been positively identified in Oregon, but no breeding pairs are known to be established.

And because there are so few wolves in Oregon, efforts by Fish and Wildlife are focused on monitoring and documenting wolf sightings and other signs such as scat, tracks and kills.

The other focus is a public-education campaign.

"People have been living without wolves for a long time, so it's not really in their consciousness," Dennehy said. "So what we're saying is for people who are out there to start thinking differently, because you could see a wolf.

"If you're in northeast Oregon, there's a new animal on the landscape."

Those who especially need to be aware are hikers, anglers and hunters who take their dogs along, and varmint hunters who are gunning for coyotes.

"There are some things that if you're going into the woods with dogs you need to be aware of because they (wolves) are canids (like dogs) and they are territorial," Dennehy said.

The department advises belling or putting a buzzer on your dog, keeping it in sight, leashing your pet and leaving the area if you see a wolf or signs one is in the area.

For coyote hunters, the department has had an ongoing "know your target" campaign in effect for several years in the annual Big Game Regulations and online on the Fish and Wildlife Web site.

"We've had it in the regs for several years, a coyote vs. wolf identification," Dennehy said. "And we'll be reminding hunters about that when they're heading into northeastern Oregon."

In Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, delisting ends a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recovery effort that began when the animals were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in the mid-1990s.

An estimated 1,500 wolves now roam Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Montana and Idaho have been handling the day-to-day management of their wolf populations for the past few years, but the federal government didn't approve Wyoming's Wolf Management Plan until December.

In Idaho, wildlife officials said no immediate changes would occur with delisting.

In Montana, the change will give ranchers in the northern half of the state authority to shoot wolves caught harassing or attacking livestock, a power already held by ranchers in the state's southern half.

The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has been preparing for a more significant overhaul, spokesman Eric Keszler said.

That includes the hiring of four wolf-management officers and a public information campaign to educate the state about new wolf-hunting rules and the state's dual classification system.

The animals will be a protected as a trophy species in the state's northwestern corner, and classified as a predator species in the rest of the state.

People would be able to kill wolves at any time and for any reason in the predator area, which covers nearly 90 percent of the state.

"That's the most blatant and egregious expression of hostility in the state laws," said Jenny Harbine, a Bozeman, Mont., lawyer with Earthjustice, a group fighting to retain Endangered Species Act protections for the wolves.

But federal officials said the relatively few wolves that roam into southern and southwestern Wyoming are routinely killed anyway because of their reliance on livestock for food.

"Biologically it doesn't really make any difference at all," said Ed Bangs, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist. "But symbolically the idea of that is always going to be controversial.

"We recognize that, but our job is to look at the science of it."

Officials with Earthjustice, have given notice of their plan to sue the Fish and Wildlife Service next month on behalf of several environmental organizations.

Federal law required the group to give 60 days notice of its lawsuit plans.

Federal officials said they expect the three states to maintain between 900 and 1,250 wolves for the foreseeable future. Each state has indicated that it will implement hunting seasons in the fall, with dates and harvest quotas to be set in the coming months.

Wolves and dogs

Here is a list of tips from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife if you are taking your dog into the woods in the northeastern section of the state:

1. Keep dogs within sight.

2. Place a bell or beeping collar on wider-ranging dogs.

3. Talk loudly to the dog or other hunters.

4. Use whistles.

5. Keep the dog close to you so any wolves will associate the dog with humans.

6. If you see wolves or fresh signs of them, leash your dog and leave the area.

INFORMATION ONLINE:

For hunters: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/Wolves/hunters.asp

For hikers, anglers, wildlife viewers: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/Wolves/encounters.asp.

Wolf, coyote or dog: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wolves/sign.asp

Oregon's Wolf Management Plan: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/Wolves/management_plan.asp