NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Oregon wolf population growth slows; mortalities rise
By GEORGE PLAVEN
Capital Press
SALEM — Oregon’s
wolf population increased by
just two individuals in 2021,
according to the Oregon
Department of Fish and
Wildlife, while the number
of wolf deaths was the high-
est yet in a single year.
ODFW released its
annual wolf report on Tues-
day, April 19, documenting
175 wolves compared to 173
in 2020. The count is a mini-
mum estimate based on veri-
fied evidence, such as wolf
sightings, tracks and remote
camera photographs.
A total of 26 wolves died
in 2021, including 21 killed
by humans. Of those, four
were hit by vehicles, eight
were illegally poisoned,
one was legally shot by a
rancher on private property
and another eight were killed
by ODFW after habitually
preying on livestock.
Roblyn Brown, ODFW
wolf program coordinator,
said last year’s rise in mortal-
ities “certainly played a
role” in the latest population
survey remaining mostly
flat.
“Despite this, we are
confident in the continued
health of the state’s wolf
population as they expand in
distribution across the state
and show a strong upward
population trend,” Brown
said in a statement.
Environmental groups
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife/Contributed Photo
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, released its annual wolf report and found 175 wolves
lived in the state in 2021, just two more than in 2020.
not adequately addressing
threats like poaching.
“This year’s report is a
call to action for agencies like
(ODFW) and Oregon State
Police to recognize the sever-
ity of poaching incidents
and take additional steps to
protect Oregon’s vulnerable
wolves,” Hanley said.
John Williams, wolf
committee co-chairman
for the Oregon Cattlemen’s
Association based in Enter-
prise, said he was surprised
by the wolf population being
mostly unchanged, consid-
ering ranchers are seeing
wolves in areas where they’ve
argued the report shows
Oregon’s wolf population is
in crisis due to poaching and
other human-caused mortal-
ity.
Danielle Moser, wild-
life program coordinator
for Oregon Wild, said the
deaths reported by ODFW
are “only known mortalities
and there are certainly many
more unaccounted for deaths
and poaching of uncollared
wolves.”
Zoe Hanley, Nor th-
west representative for
Defenders of Wildlife, said
the group is concerned
Oregon’s wolf recovery is
Forecast for Pendleton Area
TODAY
FRIDAY
| Go to AccuWeather.com
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
never seen them before.
“We know their areas are
expanding. We know the
numbers are expanding,”
Williams said.
Most wolves in Oregon
in habit the far nor th-
east corner of the state,
though they are branching
into new territory. ODFW
established four new areas
of resident wolf activity
in 2021, covering parts of
Grant, Jefferson, Klamath
and Union counties.
The state now has 21
known wolf packs — 16 of
which qualify as breeding
pairs — in addition to eight
Missing Enterprise man found dead in
submerged vehicle in Wallowa Lake
Wallowa County Chieftain
Mostly cloudy with
a shower
Considerable
cloudiness
Mostly sunny
Partly sunny
Mostly cloudy
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
58° 36°
59° 41°
61° 40°
67° 43°
67° 45°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
64° 37°
65° 44°
66° 41°
69° 45°
OREGON FORECAST
69° 48°
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
53/42
52/33
59/32
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
58/38
Lewiston
55/39
64/37
Astoria
53/41
Pullman
Yakima 59/33
53/38
57/38
Portland
Hermiston
56/42
The Dalles 64/37
Salem
Corvallis
55/38
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
52/32
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
57/40
54/32
53/29
Ontario
60/41
Caldwell
Burns
59°
31°
68°
39°
90° (1934) 22° (1931)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
56/38
Today
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
57/41
Fri.
WSW 7-14
W 7-14
WSW 4-8
W 7-14
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
48/29
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2022
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
5:59 a.m.
7:49 p.m.
1:16 a.m.
9:25 a.m.
Last
New
First
Full
Apr 23
Apr 30
May 8
May 15
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 100° in Vernon, Texas Low 9° in Northome, Minn.
WALLOWA LAKE —
A 26-year-old Enterprise
man was found dead in his
vehicle — which had been
recovered from Wallowa
Lake — on Friday, April 15.
The body of Devin
Nelson Woempner-Velarde
was found in the passenger
area of a gold-colored 1999
Toyota Camry, according to
a Wallowa County Sheriff’s
Office press release April 18.
Woempner-Velarde —
and his vehicle — had been
reported missing since
April 11.
The Camry’s location
was reported to Wallowa
County dispatch shortly
after noon on April 15. A
Trace
1.08"
0.52"
3.03"
1.73"
3.29"
WINDS (in mph)
59/39
52/27
Trace
0.95"
0.89"
4.55"
3.34"
4.96"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 51/28
57/41
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
58/36
63/40
59°
31°
64°
40°
92° (1934) 18° (1927)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
53/37
Aberdeen
52/33
52/36
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
53/40
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
other groups of two or three
wolves.
Wolves also continued to
prey on livestock in 2021.
ODFW confirmed 49 cases
of wolf depredation, up from
31 in 2020. In all, wolves
killed or injured 95 animals,
including six cows, 44
calves, 17 ewes, 11 lambs, 14
goats and three guard dogs.
The vast majority, 92%, of
those depredations occurred
between July and November,
with 86% on private land and
14% on public land.
Williams said wolves
are becoming an increasing
problem for ranchers across
the state, with the impacts
extending beyond killed or
injured livestock to lower
birth rates for cows and lower
birth weights for calves. He
urged the state to take a
more proactive approach to
managing the predators.
“The rancher is taking the
brunt of it,” Williams said. “It
is becoming one of the major
expenses for the producer.”
Between August and
October, ODFW killed
eight members of the Look-
out Mountain pack in Baker
County after wolves repeat-
edly attacked cattle.
Under Phase III of the
Oregon Wolf Management
Plan, wolves can be killed
east of highways 395, 78 and
95 if they meet the state’s
“ch ron ic depred at ion”
threshold of two confirmed
depredations in nine months.
Ranchers must first be
using nonlethal deterrents
and remove all potential
wolf attractants in order for
an incident to qualify toward
lethal removal.
Western Oregon wolves
were restored to the federal
endangered species list
following a court ruling
earlier this year.
The Oregon Department of
Agriculture’s wolf compen-
sation program awarded
$130,814 in grants to 10
counties in 2021, which helps
pay for nonlethal deterrents
and provides direct payment
for ranchers covering dead
and missing livestock.
caller reported the vehicle
was in the lake at Wallowa
Lake State Park off the boat
ramp, the sheriff’s office
reported. The Wallowa
County Sheriff’s Office
and Oregon State Police
responded, and, with the
help of state park staff and
an underwater camera,
found the vehicle submerged
roughly 40 feet from the
boat ramp.
Wallowa County Sher-
iff Joel Fish said April 19
it appears Woempner-Ve-
larde drove off the ramp, and
likely before April 15. The
boat ramp was “covered with
snow” that was reported as
not having tracks in it when
the vehicle was located.
“The ignition was on and
the car was in drive,” Fish
said. “It looks like he drove
off.”
The sheriff added the
cause of death, “appears to
be drowning, (but) the medi-
cal examiner hasn’t finished
a death certificate yet.”
Fish said park rangers
reported seeing a gold-col-
ored car at the park April 11
or 12, but were not certain if
it was Woempner-Velarde’s
vehicle.
More members of WCSO,
along with the Umatilla
County Sheriff’s Office,
responded to help remove
the vehicle from the lake
with the use of a tow truck.
Joseph Fire and Wallowa
Memorial Hospital EMS
also responded.
IN BRIEF
Baker Tower to provide
short-term rental housing
BAKER CITY — The owner of the Baker
Tower, also known as Hotel Baker, plans to
turn unused office space on the fifth floor of
the 10-story structure into short-term rental
housing.
Patrick Rhea, who owns the historic build-
ing at the northwest corner of Main Street
and Auburn Avenue, said he’s renovating the
space to meet residential standards.
Rhea said he’s aware a recent post on a
local Facebook group, along with comments
to it, raised the question of whether the space
would be used as housing for homeless resi-
dents.
That’s not the case, Rhea said, but the
confusion seems to have stemmed from the
term “transient lodging,” which is in his
application to the Baker City/County Plan-
ning Department, which department staff
approved.
Transient is sometimes used as a synonym
for homeless, but the word, when used to
describe a type of housing or lodging, also
means temporary quarters, including motel
rooms.
The tax that guests in motels, bed and
breakfasts and vacation rental homes pay is
Ian Crawford/Baker City Herald
Patrick Rhea, who owns the Baker Tower,
plans to transform unused office space on
the fifth floor of the 10-story building into
short-term rental housing.
called the “transient lodging tax” in many
jurisdictions, including Baker County.
The planning department approved Rhea’s
general proposal with a two-year timeline
during which he would need to obtain a build-
ing permit and pay for city inspections before
renting the residential spaces.
— EO Media Group
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
E AST O REGONIAN
— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
70s
East Oregonian (USPS 164-980) is published Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday,
by the EO Media Group, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801. Periodicals
postage paid at Pendleton, OR. Postmaster: send address changes to
East Oregonian, 211 S.E. Byers Ave. Pendleton, OR 97801.
Copyright © 2022, EO Media Group
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
Circulation Dept.
For mail delivery, online access, vacation stops
or delivery concerns call 800-781-3214
CORRECTIONS: The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely
regrets any errors. If you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
ADVERTISING
Classified & Legal Advertising
Regional Sales Director (Eastside) EO Media Group:
Classified advertising: 541-564-4538
• Karrine Brogoitti
541-963-3161 • kbrogoitti@eomediagroup.com
211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton 541-276-2211
333 E. Main St., Hermiston 541-567-6211
Office hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Closed major holidays
EastOregonian.com
In the App Store:
80s
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
Local home
delivery
Savings
(cover price)
$10.75/month
50 percent
52 weeks
$135
42 percent
26 weeks
$71
39 percent
13 weeks
$37
36 percent
EZPay
Single copy price:
$1.50 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
Multimedia Consultants:
• Angel Aguilar
541-564-4531 • aaguilar@hermistonherald.com
• Melissa Barnes
541-966-0827 • mbarnes@eastoregonian.com
• Audra Workman
541-564-4538 • aworkman@eastoregonian.com
Business Office
Legal advertising: 541-966-0824
classifieds@eastoregonian.com or legals@eastoregonian.com
NEWS
• To submit news tips and press releases:
call 541-966-0818 or email news@eastoregonian.com
• To submit community events, calendar items, engagements,
weddings and anniversaries: email community@eastoregonian.com,
call 541-966-0818 or or visit eastoregonian.com/community/
announcements.
• To submit sports or outdoors information or tips,
email sports@eastoregonian.com.
COMMERCIAL PRINTING
• Dayle Stinson
Commercial Print Manager: Holly Rouska
541-966-0824 • dstinson@eastoregonian.com
541-617-7839 • hrouska@eomediagroup.com