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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oregon Wild Statement on Wolf Kill Orders
Decision is a blow to recovery. Demonstrates threats, weakness of management plan
Decision to kill two of Oregon's twenty-three wolves is a blow to recovery, demonstrates threats, weakness in management plan.
In 2009, Oregon's wolf population stood at 14. This Oregon wolf and its partner were killed by wildlife managers in response to livestock depredations. With the population now standing at 23 wolves, ODFW today announced 2 more will be killed. (Photo ODFW)
The Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (ODFW) today announced they will kill two wolves in Oregon's Imnaha Pack. Since May, 2010, ODFW has confirmed the loss of 8 cows to wolves in the area north of Joseph, Oregon.
Oregon is currently home to 23 confirmed wolves and 2 breeding pairs. Wolves are protected as an endangered species in the state, but lost their federal protections in Eastern Oregon today after legislation was attached to a must-pass budget bill earlier this year.
The state wolf plan was created in 2005 and reviewed in 2010. That review lasted nearly 9 months and included over 20,000 public comments - over 90% of which were in favor of stronger protections. Legislation was proposed in 2011 to weaken the plan that many conservationists describe as a weak, but workable compromise.
After a government-sponsored campaign of eradication, the last wolf bounty was collected in Oregon in 1947. Wolves began to return in the late 1990's, and Oregon's first pups were confirmed in 2008. In 2009, two wolves were killed by ODFW in response to livestock depredations. Kill permits were again issued in 2010. Conservationists challenged those permits as violating federal law and the state wolf plan. The hunt was immediately and voluntarily suspended. As recently as last fall, wolves were killed by poachers in Oregon.
Below is the statement of Wildlands Advocate, Rob Klavins:
"The elimination of wolves is one of Oregon’s greatest environmental tragedies. Their recovery has the potential to be one of our greatest conservation success stories. Oregonians value our state’s wildlife and wild places. They welcome the chance to hear the howl of a wolf in the Eagle Cap and see the return of native wildlife as an opportunity to right the wrongs of the past. As wolves return to their place on the landscape, we should redouble our efforts to coexist with native wildlife.
"With only 23 confirmed wolves in the state, the decision to kill two is a serious blow to their recovery. It is disheartening that just hours after responsibility for wolf management was handed back to the state, the decision was made to kill two endangered wolves. Today’s decision demonstrates that Oregon’s wolf plan gives the state more than enough tools to deal with conflict. This represents the second time in as many years that endangered wolves have been killed to appease livestock losses. Wolves also face threats from poachers and a purposeful campaign of misinformation and fear. The last thing we need to do is make it any easier to kill wolves.
"Given the information we have, it appears that ODFW has complied with the wolf plan and will kill two wolves in response to a small number of livestock losses (see note). Responsible stakeholders have stood by the compromise embodied in the wolf plan. Anti-wildlife interests have not.
"At recent legislative hearings aimed at undermining the weak but workable plan, the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association proudly claimed they were never party to any such compromise. This week, livestock interests lamented killing two wolves wasn’t enough. They called for removal of the entire pack – nearly two-thirds of the state’s entire population.
"Wolves tend to grab headlines when they stir controversy, but are welcomed by most Oregonians - including many in Oregon’s wolf country. They see wildlife as a boom to tourism and welcome the positive benefits of a vital landscape. Some in the livestock industry are cooperating and working to reduce conflict, but others seem more interested in whipping up controversy at any opportunity to undermine wolf recovery.
"If the wolf plan is going to lead to a never-ending cycle of killing wolves to appease interests who won’t be satisfied until all wolves are again exterminated, then wolf recovery will never be successful. We will have missed our chance to prove people and native wildlife can coexist. Oregon can do better and Oregon Wild will continue to make sure of it.
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