By RaeLynn Ricarte
The gray wolf population has grown enough in Oregon for biologists to consider taking the animal off the state’s endangered species list – at the same time money to compensate livestock owners for kills could be cut in half.
That news was delivered to Wasco County ranchers last week at a forum on wolf issues that followed the bull tour organized by the Oregon State University Extension office in Sherman County.
Wallowa County rancher Todd Nash spoke to a crowd of more than 50 people gathered at the Tygh Valley fairgrounds.
He chairs the wolf committee for the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association and expressed concern that former Gov. John Kitzhaber had cut compensation from $200,000 per biennium to $100,000 in his his 2015-17 budget.
Nash said the Legislature had not made any move to change that figure, which was problematic with more than $255,000 pending requests for compensation and grant funds to institute prevention measures.
Even though hunts are allowable on the east side of the state, where the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has jurisdiction, Nash said the rules are so prohibitive that none has taken place.
He said it has grown more difficult to get a wolf kill confirmed because deterrents, such as having a range rider on guard, have taught the animals, which have a high intelligence, to be more secretive.
According to Nash, cows and calves now go missing in Eastern Oregon but no carcass can be found to instigate an investigation, so a wolf kill cannot be proven.
“They are missing more often than naught now,” he said.
For example, he said a Baker County rancher transported 90 cow-calf pairs to federal grazing land June 15, 2014, and came back in October to find nine calves and seven cows missing, a high rate of loss.
In addition, the rest of the herd had dropped weight from the stress of being around wolves so they were worth less at market. Altogether, Nash said the rancher ended up with a loss of more than $46,290 — none of which qualified for compensation.
He said phase two of the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan calls for delisting of wolves when there are four breeding pairs producing pups that survive a year for three years running.
That number has been exceeded, said Nash, with at least seven breeding pairs, six in northeastern Oregon and one in the southern Cascades.
“We’re hanging our hat on that delisting,” he said of the rule change that would allow more hunts so ranchers could better protect livestock.
Even if wolves are delisted in Eastern Oregon, Nash said conservation groups are likely to appeal the state’s decision, which could stall any changes for several years.
ODFW currently reports a wolf population of 77, although many ranchers believe the numbers are actually much higher.
On the western side of the state, wolves are still federally protected and managed by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. There is a “no kill” order in place that prohibits hunts.
John Stephenson, a biologist from Fish and Wildlife’s office in Bend, was present for the April 10 discussion and said the plan to federally delist wolves throughout Oregon was on hold.
Conservation groups have challenged the agency’s recommendation, saying the wolf population is still too fragile to lift protection measures.
Nash said U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and other members of Congress are crafting legislation to get wolves federally delisted in the Northwest where federal regulations overlap state rules.
Walden contends that overlay results in confusion and needless complications for local wildlife managers and ranchers. He said states with an approved wolf management plan should be put in charge so regulations are uniformly applied.
Nash asked ranchers to push the Oregon Legislature for extension of a tax credit that grants compensation but is set to expire in 2018 or whenever wolves were delisted.
He said without adequate funding in the state budget that could be the only way for ranchers to recoup money for a loss.
The cap for the credit is $37,500 and Nash disagreed with having that limit — he felt a rancher should be able to claim the total list, even if it was much higher.
Lori Butterfield, a Joseph rancher, brought a mounted wolf in a crouching position that she had purchased at an auction as an educational tool. The male wolf she named “Dexter” was taken in Alaska with an estimated weight of about 150 pounds and was 81 inches long from the tip of his tail to his nose.
“He would be considered an extra-large wolf,” said Butterfield.
She said the lives of ranchers in Eastern Oregon “changed forever when wolves moved in” and they were unable to protect their herds.
She said there is a large disconnect between people in urban centers who push for policies that adversely affect food producers in rural areas.
This is our livelihood, it’s not a political game,” she said.
utterfield said wolves breed with coyotes and domestic dogs and these hybrids have been around for decades. And they carry diseases long distances that are harmful to farm animals.
“Wolves are not endangered, never have been, never will be,” she said.
Mark Kirsch, a biologist from ODFW’s office in Umatilla County, briefed ranchers about how a suspected wolf kill should be handled.
He said it was important to cover the carcass to preserve evidence, such as bite marks, without disturbing the ground and causing tracks and a blood trail to be destroyed.
“It’s just very important to make sure the scene is as clean as you can possibly make it,” said Kirsch.
He said wolves do not have claws that can inflict much damage on prey, so they work in a group to deliver a series of bites that crush muscle beneath the skin to cause hemorrhaging and death.
“The power of wolves is in the pack,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of torque on their bite.”
He showed pictures of injuries so that ranchers would know what to look for in a suspicious death.
“There will often be evidence of a struggle,” he said.
Kirsch was asked if guard dogs had any luck driving wolves away in Eastern Oregon and he said they were usually killed if they confronted the pack.
Wallowa County Chief Deputy Fred Steen, the former sheriff in that area, said ranchers had asked for law enforcement involvement in wolf kill cases due to a lack of trust in ODFW and Fish and Wildlife decisions.
He questioned the wisdom of having ODFW confirm wolf kills when the state then had to pay compensation.
There’s been plenty of times when there’s been a disagreement over evidence and that’s caused some real problems,” he said.
Steen said ranchers in Wallowa had decided that law enforcement officials needed to witness investigations to ensure they were done fairly.
“A dead calf or sheep is someone’s personal property and they have the right to say who comes onto their private property,” he said.
In Wasco County, ranchers are asked to report a suspected wolf kill to the emergency dispatch center.
Chief Deputy Lane Magill and others have trained for these types of investigations in order to work with Fish and Wildlife, which has the lead, and ODFW, which will assist.