gray wolves

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife commission is finally set to vote on a plan for managing wolves in the state, after years of contentious meetings.  The Oregonian reported Monday the commission is expected to vote in March.   As in other northwestern states, wolves have been controversial in Oregon, with ranchers saying they wreak havoc on livestock and conservationists saying they play a key role in

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says the western Oregon wolf pack for OR-7 has killed another cow.  ODFW said the Rogue Pack killed the cow in northeastern Jackson County.  The carcass was found over the weekend, marking the seventh livestock kill attributed to the pack since October 2017.  Accordi...

On Friday, the House of Representatives pass legislation removing the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act.  The legislation which passed primarily along party lines would also open wolves up to state hunting and trapping seasons.  Robyn Smith with the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association said they were very excited when the legislation cleared the House.   “This ...

Two ranchers in eastern Oregon are working with the state to test a new strategy for preventing livestock attacks by wolves with the hope of breaking an impasse between conservationists and ranchers on how to manage the predators.  Capital Press reports Rodger Huffman, president of the Union County Cattlemen’s Association, and Cynthia Warnock, president of the Wallowa County Stockgrowers Associati

The 2018 Washington Cattlemen’s Association conference will get underway at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick Wednesday.  The two day event will focus on a variety of pressing issues before the cattle industry.  Sarah Ryan, Vice President of the WCA said the will focus on marketing a singular message from producers, issues on the mid-term ballot, and predators.   “The i...

Last week, the Trump administration confirmed it is considering a proposal to strip Endangered Species Act protection from nearly all wolves in the lower 48 states, including the Gray Wolf.   In an e-mail statement to the Center for Biological diversity, U.S. Fish and Wi...

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed another wolf depredation in NE Oregon last week.  ODFW confirmed a 350 pound calf was found injured in the Reagin Gulch area of Wallowa County.  The calf was reportedly found on private pasture land with bite marks and other injuries on the hind legs.  ODFW sa...

Managing the growing gray wolf population is not a top of mind topic this legislative session in Olympia.  Unless you talk to Northeast Washington Representative Joel Kretz.  The Republican said 17 of Washington’s 20 wolf packs call his district home, and with more and more depredations and wolf and human interactions being reported, he says something must be done.  He noted wolf...

Oregon Governor Kate Brown has expressed confidence in the investigation that ended with no charges against an elk hunter who told OSP troopers he killed a wolf in self-defense.  More than a dozen conservation groups have urged the governor to reopen an investigation into the October 27 killing west of La Grande. ...

According to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, the growing population of wolves in eastern Washington does not appear to be hurting the populations of deer, elk and other ungulates.  A report released last week by WDFW looked at ungulate populations over the last two years.  Th...