BREAKING NEWS: June 29, 2009 - Settlement restores endangered species protections to wolves in the Great Lakes.  Our lawsuit effecting Western wolves continues.  All this is in response to the new administration allowing a last ditch Bush effort to take effect just months after a similar proposal was reversed in federal court.

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Wolves in Oregon:

Gray wolves (Canis lupus) were once common in Oregon, occupying most of the state. However, a deliberate effort to eradicate the species was successful by the 1940s.

Wolf pack found in NE Oregon. First pack in over 60 years.

Oregon Wild offers reward for conviction of wolf killer.

Trouble for the wolf began in 1843, sixteen years before Oregon became a state, when the first wolf bounty was established. In 1913, people capitalizing on wolf bounties could collect a State of Oregon bounty of $5 and an Oregon State Game Commission bounty of $20. The last record of a paid wolf bounty was in 1946.

After a 60 years absence, wolves are once again making a presence in Oregon, having dispersed into the state from nearby Idaho. One of the first sightings came in 1999 when a lone wolf was captured near the middle fork of the John Day River and returned to Idaho. In 2000, two wolves were found dead - one killed by a car, the other illegally shot.

In 2006, a flurry of sightings led state wildlife biologists to believe that a number of wild wolves were living in Northeast Oregon near the Wallowa Mountains and the Eagle Cap Wilderness area. In May of 2007 a wolf was found shot to death near La Grande, OR.

Since that time, wolves have taken a tentative foothold in the state.  In July, 2008 pups were confirmed for the first time in Oregon nearly 60 years!

The large tracts of pristine and unspoiled wilderness and roadless areas in Northeast Oregon are vital components to the success of wolves, and plenty of other animals, too. The re-appearance of wolves in Oregon further underscores the importance of protecting what little roadless areas remain on public land.

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Anticipating the eventual return of wolves, the State of Oregon completed a wolf conservation and management plan in 2005. Read Oregon Wild's Comments about the plan here.

Read this fact sheet to find out why federal protections can make or break wolf recovery in Oregon.

Watch the video!

Living with wolves

• Learn about an Idaho rancher blazing a trail of peaceful coexistence with wolves

More information about wolves

• USFWS fact sheet on gray wolves
• Background information from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Write a letter supporting ODFW's wolf recovery efforts.
• Learn about wolves from the Western Wolf Coalition