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CapitalPress.com
September 29, 2017
People & Places
At the center of Oregon’s wolf debate
Russ Morgan
played a key role as
endangered wolves
returned to Oregon
By ERIC MORTENSON
Capital Press
He still gets chills recalling
the first time Oregon wolves
answered him.
It was mid-July, 2008, near
the Wallowa-Union County
line in the northeast corner
of the state. The Oregon De-
partment of Fish and Wildlife
knew wolves would eventu-
ally disperse from Idaho and
had prepared a management
plan. Wildlife biologist Russ
Morgan, appointed to imple-
ment the plan, was checking
to see if they had arrived.
Over weeks, on intermit-
tent nights, he and Chase
Brown, then an intern and now
an ODFW wildlife unit man-
ager, drove dirt logging roads
in the Wenaha Unit. They’d
stop, get out, howl, and listen
for replies. Wait five minutes,
howl again, listen, move on.
For weeks, nothing.
But that night, as they
turned to get back in their ve-
hicle, came the long and low
response of a male wolf some-
where in the darkness, within
a couple hundred yards. The
men returned to the spot an
hour later and tried again.
Chorus of howls
This time a wondrous cho-
rus of howls rose in the night,
adults and pups answering
from all about them in the for-
est. They were in the middle
of what came to be known as
the Wenaha Pack.
Wolf howls have always
had that effect on Morgan.
“I’d almost rather hear a wolf
howl than see one,” he said.
The chorus of argument,
claim and accusation erupt-
ing from some rural livestock
producers and from some ur-
ban environmentalists, how-
ever, is something he could
have done without.
“Wolf management is the
ultimate balancing act, there
are extremes on both sides,”
Morgan said. “I always
viewed my job as trying to
walk down that middle line.”
He calls himself an “ad-
vocate of thoughtful manage-
ment,” which comes with the
recognition that every wolf
decision is going to be contro-
versial to someone.
“I got a lot of arrows
lobbed my way,” he said.
People often told him to
not take criticism and scruti-
ny personally, but he couldn’t
help it. Being a wildlife biol-
ogist wasn’t a job to him and
others, it was a lifestyle.
Calendar
Western Innovator
Russ Morgan
Occupation: Retiring coordinator
of Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife’s wolf program. Roblyn
Brown has been appointed interim
coordinator; a formal hiring process
will occur.
Personal: Age 54; lives in La Grande, Ore., with wife Dana Reid,
a fire management specialist with the U.S. Forest Service. Two
grown sons, Seth and Cole. Enjoys bow hunting, hiking, birding
and photography.
Career path: Grew up in Bend, Ore., earned a wildlife science de-
gree at Oregon State University. Started with a seasonal position
at ODFW and worked for the department 31 years at a series of
regional offices. Spent the last 10 as wolf program coordinator.
Demands of the job: Every wolf decision potentially angers one
side or the other, ranchers or environmentalists. “I’ve said a million
times, wolves are the only species I’ve ever worked with where
there’s more misinformation available than factual information. I’ve
never seen anything like it. It’s almost like an intentional misinfor-
mation campaign.”
On wolves and livestock predation: “There are some people
who like to think maybe we can just get wolves to change their
minds, but that goes against what a wolf is. It’s a predator first; as
long as something is made of meat, there’s going to be take.
“We always think there must be something that can just stop this,
but predatory behavior is exactly why wolves exist.”
Now it can be told: He admires wolves and likes bears, but birds
are his favorite animal.
The long view: “I really believe wolves will become kind of a nor-
mal and expected part of Oregon’s fauna again. They were once,
and will be again. But there will always be conflict.”
“Everything I do I take as a
success or a failure, and it made
it very stressful,” he said. “You
wake up in the middle of the
night with the wheels going.
When we have to do things
like kill wolves, that’s a per-
sonal thing for a lot of people.
One thing I will gladly shed is
having that responsibility and
having that load.”
Carter Niemeyer, a retired
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser-
vice biologist who Morgan
considers a mentor and friend,
said the work is emotionally
draining.
“This wolf stuff can eat
you alive if you let it,” said
Niemeyer, who lives in Boise
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mit an Event.” Calendar items can
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97301 or emailed to newsroom@
capitalpress.com.
Tuesday-Wednesday
Oct. 3-4
Drone World Expo 2017. San
Jose Convention Center, 150 W.
San Carlos St., San Jose, Calif. The
Expo will feature a robust exhibit
floor, visionary keynote speakers,
timely and industry-leading edu-
cational programs and networking
events. The business-to-business
event attracts over 3,000 profes-
sional attendees from a variety of
industries from agriculture to law
enforcement. Website: www.drone-
worldexpo.com
Wednesday, Oct. 4
Sustainable Community Stew-
ards Volunteer Training. 6-9:15 p.m.
McCollum Park, 600 128th St. SE,
Everett, Wash. Cost: $30 Website:
http://bit.ly/2hjyXC4
Friday, Oct. 6
Eric Mortenson/Capital Press
Russ Morgan, praised for his calm professionalism in implementing Oregon’s wolf management plan,
retires from ODFW effective Oct. 1.
Goat workshop. 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Creswell Community Center, 99 S.
First St., Creswell, Ore. Basic health
topics such as diseases to be aware
of, vaccinations and hoof health.
Nutritive values of feeds including
browse, hay, grains, and protein and
mineral supplements. Poisonous
plants for goats and methods for
weed management. The present-
ers will be Dr. Charles Estill, Shel-
by Filley, OSU Extension Service
Livestock and Forage Specialist
and Melissa Fery, OSU Extension
Service small farms agent. Website:
http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/
south-valley/events
Saturday, Oct. 7
Hoop House Production Work-
shop. 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Western
Nevada College Fallon Campus, 160
Campus Way, Fallon, Nev. Taught by
a seasoned professional with a back-
ground in research and commercial
production, the workshop is ideal for
intermediate or advanced growers.
Attendees will learn about best prac-
tices that apply to all hoop house
production, the eight most profitable
crops, best practices for vining, fruit-
ing and leafy crops and advanced
practices and techniques for hoop
house production. Website: www.
wnc.edu/specialty-crop-institute
Saturday-Sunday
Oct. 7-8
Alpaca Harvest Fest. 10 a.m.-4
p.m. Alpacas of Oregon, 21345 SW
Aebischer Road, Sherwood, Ore.
Help EasyGo Farm and Alpacas
of Oregon celebrate our bountiful
harvest of colorful alpacas and
beautiful fleece. Get up close to
the alpacas — hand feed them and
meet the babies, females, herdsires
and “fiber boys” — less expensive
alpacas for fiber artists, compan-
ions and pasture mowers. Shop
for sweaters, gloves, scarves and
more. Website: www.easygofarm.
net/AOOHarvestFest
Tuesday, Oct. 10
Living Peacefully with Beavers.
6-8 p.m. Cabela’s in Marysville,
Wash. Beavers, and how to live
and oversaw or consulted on
wolf recovery work through-
out the West, including Idaho.
Morgan, he said, was a
“natural self-starter” who
was cool, calm, collected and
self-confident. Morgan asked
for advice and training, and
prepped himself every step of
the way, Niemeyer said.
Simple clarity
“I’m very proud of Russ,”
he said. “I think he’s the ulti-
mate professional, without a
doubt.”
Jerome Rosa, executive
director of the Oregon Cat-
tlemen’s Association, one of
the chief protagonists in the
wolf debate, said Morgan was
“thoughtful, gracious and sin-
cere.”
“He worked hard to find
common ground on the wolf
plan, which is a very conten-
tious issue in Oregon,” Rosa
said by email. “The collabora-
tive process is often very diffi-
cult and yet Russ navigated it
quite successfully.”
Steve Pedery, conservation
director for Oregon Wild, a
Portland-based group usually
on the opposite side of wolf
issues, had a similar response.
“We have not always
agreed with him, but Russ has
always been a person of tre-
mendous integrity and com-
mitment to conservation,” he
said by email.
He said Morgan’s retire-
ment is a major reason why
Oregon’s wolf plan needs a
clearer set of rules. “Without
Russ, it is hard to trust ODFW
to do the right thing when they
come under pressure from
livestock interests or anti-wild-
life politicians.”
Morgan said it helped im-
mensely that Oregon had a
management plan in place
when wolves arrived.
“I can’t imagine coming
into this job without a wolf
plan,” he said. “It gave me the
ability to have the backbone of
a program already. The wolves
came and we put meat on it.”
Morgan said he purpose-
fully announced the depart-
ment intended to implement
the plan. The simple clarity of
the statement was crucial.
“The people who wrote
the plan did it before we had
wolves,” he said. “That’s why
this wolf plan is important.
Wolves are not that complex,
but it becomes our agreement
with the public.”
Morgan said that stance
was backed or at least ac-
cepted by the majority of
the public, the stakeholder
groups, the department and up
through the governor’s office.
“I’m very proud of that, we
kept things on track,” he said.
“Maybe I’m most proud of
following through to do what
we said we were going to do.”
At Morgan’s last appear-
ance before the ODFW Com-
mission on Sept. 15, members
praised his work. Commis-
sioner Gregory Wolley, from
Portland, said constituents
and stakeholders agreed.
“They recognize what a
tough spot you’ve been in,”
he told Morgan. “What I’ve
found is respect for your pro-
fessionalism and objectivity.
That reflects on the whole de-
partment and on all of us.”
Morgan certainly will miss
work. He loved catching and
collaring wolves, either by dart-
ing them from a helicopter or
drugging them with an 8-foot
injector pole after they’d been
caught in a foot-hold trap.
Favorite wolves
He counts three favorites.
OR-2 was the first female
wolf he captured, and she had
previously been captured and
tagged in Idaho, where she
was known as B300, by his
mentor, Niemeyer. Morgan
called him and said, “Carter,
I think we’ve got one of your
wolves here.”
OR-3, a large black male,
was “The prettiest wolf I ever
saw,” Morgan said.
But his favorite, and the
most impressive, was OR-
4, the longtime “alpha” or
breeding male of the infa-
mous livestock-killing Imna-
ha Pack of Wallowa County.
Among OR-4’s progeny is
OR-7, which dispersed into
Northern California after a
criss-cross journey across Or-
egon from Wallowa County,
then returned to the Southern
Oregon Cascades to establish
a pack of his own.
OR-4, his longtime, limp-
ing mate and two sub-adult
wolves were shot and killed
by ODFW staff — not Mor-
gan — in 2016 after a series of
livestock attacks. OR-4 was 9
or 10 years old by then, old
for a wolf in the wild.
“We caught that wolf four
times, five times, in his life-
time,” Morgan said. “All the
predations — that guy was
an incredible wolf, and his
skill is what ultimately ended
him.”
Much of what the depart-
ment knows about non-le-
thal ways to deter wolves,
it learned because of OR-4,
Morgan said.
“OR-4 and the Imnaha
Pack,” he said. “That single
wolf and the pack he was in
charge of occupied 90 per-
cent of our time and resources
for many years. I admired that
wolf.”
GASES / WELDING / SAFETY / FIRE
www.oxarc.com
with them, will be the topic of three
seminars in October sponsored by
Snohomish Conservation District
and Beavers Northwest. While bea-
vers can cause headaches for land-
owners, they can also be invaluable
for protecting and preserving water
resources and wildlife habitat. If
beavers are causing issues on your
property, there may be solutions
available to help you to live peace-
fully alongside them. The October
seminars are taught by local bea-
ver experts Alex Pittman and Ben
Dittbrenner and will cover the ben-
efits that resident beavers provide,
cost-effective devices that can help
you manage the impact of beaver
flooding on your property, and tech-
nical and financial assistance avail-
able from Snohomish Conservation
District and Beavers Northwest.
Cost: Free. Website: http://scdbea-
vers.eventbrite.com
Tuesday-Thursday
Oct. 10-12
Oregon Vegetation Manage-
ment Association, Seaside Civic
and Convention Center, 415 First
Ave., Seaside, Ore. Hours for the
event are 10-6 p.m. Tuesday, 8
a.m.-6 p.m. Wednesday and 8 a.m.-
noon Thursday. Website: ovma.net
Wednesday, Oct. 11
Sustainable Community Stew-
ards Volunteer Training. 6-9:15 p.m.
McCollum Park, 600 128th St. SE,
Everett, Wash. Cost: $30 Website:
http://bit.ly/2hjyXC4
Thursday, Oct. 12
Living Peacefully with Beavers.
6-8 p.m. Stanwood PUD, 9124
20 Northwest Locations
271st St. NW, Stanwood, Wash.
Beavers, and how to live with them,
will be the topic of three seminars in
October sponsored by Snohomish
Conservation District and Beavers
Northwest. While beavers can cause
headaches for landowners, they can
also be invaluable for protecting and
preserving water resources and wild-
life habitat. If beavers are causing
issues on your property, there may
be solutions available to help you to
live peacefully alongside them. The
October seminars are taught by lo-
cal beaver experts Alex Pittman and
Ben Dittbrenner and will cover the
benefits that resident beavers pro-
vide, cost-effective devices that can
help you manage the impact of bea-
ver flooding on your property, and
technical and financial assistance
available from Snohomish Conser-
vation District and Beavers North-
west. Cost: Free. Website: http://
scdbeavers.eventbrite.com
Saturday, Oct. 14
Northwest Farmers Union 2017
Convention 8 a.m.-11 p.m. Walla
Walla Community College, 500 Tau-
sick Way, Walla Walla, Wash. The
Northwest Farmers Union annual
convention, which hosts producers
and supporters of agriculture from
around Washington, Idaho and Ore-
gon, is an event that has a multitude
of educational speakers, farmer/
rancher speakers/attendees, hon-
orary awards and general network-
ing and camaraderie. The event is
our gathering for our membership to
come together and enact our grass-
roots policy for the upcoming year
as well as help guide the many pro-
grams that we work to implement
1-800-765-9055
for our membership. Members can
vote on changes to the policy and
structure of the organization as well
as take part in leadership opportuni-
ties and network with other leaders
from around the region. Cost: $50
Website: www.nwfu.org
Wednesday, Oct. 18
Sustainable Community Stew-
ards Volunteer Training. 6-9:15 p.m.
McCollum Park, 600 128th St. SE,
Everett, Wash. Cost: $30 Website:
http://bit.ly/2hjyXC4
Thursday, Oct. 19
Living Peacefully with Beavers.
6-8 p.m. Monroe Library, 1070 Vil-
lage Way, Monroe, Wash. Beavers,
and how to live with them, will be the
topic of three seminars in October
sponsored by Snohomish Conser-
vation District and Beavers North-
west. While beavers can cause
headaches for landowners, they
can also be invaluable for protect-
ing and preserving water resources
and wildlife habitat. If beavers are
causing issues on your property,
there may be solutions available to
help you to live peacefully along-
side them. The October seminars
are taught by local beaver experts
Alex Pittman and Ben Dittbrenner
and will cover the benefits that resi-
dent beavers provide, cost-effective
devices that can help you manage
the impact of beaver flooding on
your property, and technical and
financial assistance available from
Snohomish Conservation District
and Beavers Northwest. Cost:
Free. Website: http://scdbeavers.
eventbrite.com
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