By MITCH LIES
Capital Press
State biologists say they have seen at least eight pups in two wolf packs roaming northeastern Oregon.
One of the packs, called the Imnaha, has been involved in numerous livestock depredations during the past two years.
The other, called the Wenaha pack, is the far northeastern corner of the state and has never been implicated in a depredation, said Meg Kenagy, a communications officer for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
At least four pups were spotted in each pack, officials said.
Wildlife biologists look for wolf pups in June and document pack numbers Dec. 31.
Wolves are eligible for removal from Oregon’s endangered species list once four breeding pairs are established in the state for three consecutive years.
A breeding pair consists of a pack with at least two pups that survive the winter.
Wildlife agents have also fitted a GPS collar on a two-year-old member of the Wenaha pack. The wolf, known as OR-13, was captured and collared June 10 in the Wenaha Wildlife Area of far northeastern Oregon.
Wolves in Oregon are protected under the state Endangered Species Act. Wolves in the western portion of Oregon also are protected under the federal ESA.
Agents sought to kill two wolves from the Imnaha pack last fall, but the Oregon Court of Appeals blocked the action, issuing a temporary stay pending a judicial review of Oregon’s Wolf Conservation and Management plan.
Under the plan, agents can kill wolves that prey on livestock.
Agents have confirmed the Imnaha pack has killed more than 20 cattle since 2010, including more than a half-dozen since the appellate court issued the stay Oct. 5.
Wildlife agents killed two Imnaha pack wolves last year. ODFW officials issued the kill order for two other Imnaha pack wolves Sept. 23 after GPS data from the pack’s alpha male showed it was at the scene of an attack on a calf near Joseph.
Based on how quickly the carcass was consumed and other evidence at the scene, officials believe the entire pack was involved in killing and eating the calf.