Ranchers in Northeast Oregon continue to weather the emotionally wrenching toll wrought by wolves.
Ranchers in northeastern Oregon continue to voice frustration over the financial and emotional toll wrought on their operations by the area’s growing numbers of wolves, but they’re also resigned to continue to cooperate fully with state wildlife managers.
“We’ve seen them (wolves) in our meadows,” said George Rawlings, who ranches in Baker County. The ranch owner had Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirm a cow was killed by a wolf in 2012, followed by 24 missing cows in 2013 and 11 missing in 2014.
Rawlings said that before the wolves started coming around, typically only two to three cows went missing per year.
“Everybody around here is watching cattle closer,” Rawlings said. He recently found wolf tracks in the snow just 200 yards from the ranch house. “We try to make a presence so the wolves know we are there,” he said. This is one of the tactics that ODFW recommends to deter wolves.
Ron Anglin from ODFW admits that they are having some problems. “Certainly every time wolves have shown up in a new place you end up with some kind of problem,” Anglin said. He does see that a good percentage of ranchers are trying to comply with ODFW’s standards to deter wolves from their livestock. Anglin said those who are trying “are to be commended.”
Meanwhile, ranchers like Rawlings suffer great losses. Fred Phillips from Baker Valley has also seen wolves on his property. “The wolf is very stealthy and pretty much nocturnal,” he said. “They’re not afraid of anything.”
Rodger Julick from Baker Valley was short 16 cows this year. He said his cattle came home several months early and were scared and underweight. The losses are a heavy financial burden to Julick. In reference to how many cattle he sent out to graze this summer, Julick said, “To lose seven or eight cows you’re pushing 10 percent.”
Todd Nash, Wolf Committee Chair for the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, said the burden that comes with losing cows isn’t just financial; it is also emotional. “I’ve seen a number of grown men and women cry” after finding their cow killed by a wolf, Nash said. Nash has seen a 1,400-pound pregnant heifer alive but torn apart from a wolf. “They got the calf out of the cow while she was alive,” he said.
Anglin encourages ranchers to “continue to work with their district wildlife biologist” to find a solution to stop the killings. Currently, ODFW’s website states, “Wolves are protected throughout Oregon. It is not legal to shoot one, except in defense of human life.”
Julick said he will “continue to do everything ODFW requests.” He isn’t sure what else ranchers can do. “Until the laws change, the cow people in Northeast Oregon are going to suffer.”