Eric Mortenson
Capital Press
Wildlife staff will deliver the annual wolf management report to the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife Commission when it meets Oct. 9 and 10 in Central Point, Ore. Among other items, staff will report that Oregon is likely to document at least four breeding pairs for the third consecutive year, which under the wolf plan triggers the delisting process.
Under the plan, a breeding pair is defined as having at least two pups that survive to the end of the year, Dec. 31. Russ Morgan, who heads ODFW wolf program, said pups have been documented in nine Oregon packs this year. Some pups may not survive the full year, but it’s likely the state will reach the triggering number.
“Our wolf plan is clear: If we reach four breeding pairs three consecutive years, staff will propose (delisting),” Morgan said. Oregon documented six breeding pairs in 2012 and four pairs in 2013, he said.
State delisting would eliminate endangered species status for wolves in the eastern third of the state. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has already delisted wolves in Northeast Oregon, but they remain under state ESA protection. Wolves in the rest of Oregon — such as well-traveled OR-7 and his mate and pups in the Southwest Oregon Cascades — remain covered under the federal ESA.
In other business, the wildlife commission will consider the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association’s request for more precise location data when wolves are in areas where their livestock graze.
ODFW now gathers GPS location data from collared wolves and provides it to producers, but not the public, in generalized form. Producers learn, usually several hours later, when wolves were within pre-defined geographic polygons of varying size, but don’t receive pinpoint locations. That’s what the OCA is now asking for. The request is opposed by groups such Oregon Wild, which believe the information could be used to harm wolves.
Morgan said the current notification system was well received at first, but it is not especially timely and is subject to problems such as irregular data collection and collar failure. More than 83,000 text or email notifications were sent out in 2013 to 108 livestock producers in three Oregon counties, according to an ODFW staff report.
“Point-location data” would tell producers that a wolf was at a specific point on a map rather than within a polygon, Morgan said. But it would still not be particularly timely. “It won’t tell you where a wolf is going to be, it only tells you where a wolf has been,” he said.