Wolf News: Hunt Extended Again, Alpha Male Is Missing

Wolf advocates worried by extension of ODFW kill order and absence of alpha male.

Federal agents are getting another week to hunt down two wolves in Wallowa County. This is the second time ODFW has extended the hunt.

Meanwhile, the alpha male of the Imnaha wolf pack is missing. He should be wearing a tracking collar. But wildlife officials haven’t seen or heard from him in nearly three weeks.

More Time To Hunt

USDA Wildlife Services now has until June 25 to kill two members of the Imnaha pack in Wallowa County. The order to kill the wolves was first issued in late May, after a half dozen calves were killed in a series of wolf attacks on livestock.

The last known kill took place on June 4, which means we’ve gone two weeks without any attacks. ODFW says it appears the wolves have moved higher into the hills and into more forested areas.

Environmental groups were unhappy about the first extension because the attacks had stopped. If more time passes without new wolf attacks, their complaints are sure to get louder. There are about 14-20 wolves in Oregon, so taking out two of them would mean a significant cut in their numbers.

The Missing Male

The alpha male of the Imnaha pack was wearing a GPS tracking collar when he was last observed on May 31st. Since then the collar has gone silent and ODFW has been unable to visually spot him.

It’s not all that unusual for collars to malfunction. The alpha female’s collar stopped working and it took ODFW several months before it was able to locate her.

But the news that the male is missing is worrisome, because this is the only known breeding pair of wolves in Oregon.

Comment On The Wolf Plan

I can’t say it enough. If you want to have input in how Oregon manages its wolf population, speak up now. ODFW is taking comments on the Wolf Management Plan until June 30. Send them via e-mail to ODFW.Comments@state.or.us. (Copy and paste the text into your email program.)

Once that period is over, ODFW will spend the month of July working on recommendations for how it thinks the plan should be changed. The agency had been considering holding public hearings over the summer, but that idea has been dropped.

ODFW will release its recommendations for changes in August and a final vote by the Fish and Wildlife Commission is scheduled for October.

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