Eric Mortenson
Capital Press
Oregon begins a nine-month process of reviewing its wolf management plan.
Oregon’s wildlife officials begin a required review of the state’s controversial wolf management plan with three months of stakeholder meetings starting in February, followed by a revision, draft and final adoption process expected to last into October.
The process might seem like overkill for managing a wolf population that might reach 100 to 120 animals this year, but it is likely to be heated and lengthy as environmental, hunting and ranching groups have their say.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted in November 2015 to remove gray wolves from the state endangered species list. In a 4-2 vote, commissioners agreed with an ODFW staff report that said wolves have expanded in number and range to the point that they no longer need protection under the state Endangered Species Act.
A trio of environmental groups — the Center for Biological Diversity, Cascadia Wildlands and Oregon Wild — sought a judicial review a month later, claiming the commission hadn’t used the best available science on wolf recovery. Among other things, the groups believe ODFW should have gone through the management plan review before taking any action on de-listing.
Oregon’s wolves remain covered under the federal ESA in the western two-thirds of the state. ODFW officials say the state wolf management plan remains in effect and will protect wolves from illegal hunting.
The political and legal fight over wolves took another turn recently when state Sen. Bill Hansell and state Rep. Greg Barreto, both Republicans, backed legislation that would ratify the commission’s action and make a lawsuit moot, the Associated Press reported. Hansell and Barreto plan to introduce bills when the Legislature convenes in February. The bills also would prohibit re-listing wolves as threatened or endangered unless the population falls below a certain level, the AP reported.
Oregon’s wolf population has grown from 14 in 2009 to a minimum of 85 in July 2015. Three have died since then, leaving the confirmed population at 82. State wildlife biologists believe there are more; the population count represents only documented wolves. An updated population survey will be completed in March.
In other wolf news, ODFW designated a new Wallowa County pack, the Shamrock Pack, which denned up, produced an unknown number of pups in April 2015 and carved out territory in ODFW’s Chesnimnus Unit north of Wallowa Lake.
The new pack previously was designated only a male-female pair. It operates in a wildlife unit adjacent to where the Sled Springs pair was found dead of unknown cause in late August. Oregon State Police investigated and said there was not sufficient probable cause to believe humans caused the deaths.
Another wolf, wearing a tracking collar and designated OR-22, was shot and killed in Grant County last fall. A hunter, Brennon D. Witty, notified ODFW and state police Oct. 6 that he’d shot the wolf while hunting coyotes on private property south of Prairie City.
Witty is charged with two Class A misdemeanors: Killing an endangered species and hunting with a centerfire rifle without a big game tag. Each is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,250 fine.
Witty is scheduled to enter a plea Feb. 3 in Grant County Justice Court, Canyon City.
The wolf had worn a tracking collar since October 2013 and dispersed from the Umatilla Pack in February 2015. He was in Malheur County for awhile, then traveled into Grant County. Young adult wolves typically leave the pack they were born into and strike out on their own.
Oregon’s best known wandering wolf, OR-7, left Wallowa County, traversed the state on a diagonal and ventured into California before settling into Southwest Oregon’s Cascades and starting his own pack with an unknown female.
Although Oregon wolves occupy only 12 percent of the habitat suitable to them in the state, they continue to show signs of dispersing from Northeast Oregon, where they first migrated from Idaho.
ODFW said OR-28, a female, and at least one other unknown wolf are using territory in Klamath and Lake counties. Another wolf, OR-25, traveled south into California before returning to Klamath County. It was blamed for killing and eating a calf and injuring two others in a Klamath County attack in early November.
On Jan. 19, a Union County resident reported his 6-year-old Border Collie died of injuries and asked ODFW to conduct a wolf attack investigation. Based on the size of bite wounds, ODFW determined the dog had been attacked by coyotes.