Eric Mortenson
Capital Press
Wildlife investigators decline to provide new information on the death of OR-28, a federally protected wolf found dead Oct. 6, 2016 near Summer Lake, Ore., in the Fremont-Winema National Forest.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service continues to offer a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible. The Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group involved in wolf management issues, said it would add $10,000 to the reward fund.
The wolf’s carcass was examined at USFWS’s National Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Ore., but the agency has not released the results of the necropsy.
“The investigation is ongoing and at this time I cannot comment further than that,” Special Agent Gary Young said in a Dec. 23 email to the Capital Press.
OR-28 was a 3-year old female that was collared in June 2014 and dispersed from Northeast Oregon’s Mount Emily pack in November 2015. By the end of that month her tracking collar showed she had covered more than 450 miles and was in the Silver Lake area in South Central Oregon. By January 2016 it was evident she had paired up with a OR-3, a male wolf in that area. They produced at least one pup.
Killing a gray wolf is illegal under the federal Endangered Species Act. Gray wolves are listed as endangered in the western two-thirds of Oregon.
Anyone with information about this case should call Fish and Wildlife, 503-682-6131, or the Oregon State Police Tip Line, 800-452-7888. Callers may remain anonymous.