A16
News
wallowa.com
September 12, 2018
Wallowa County Chieftain
Finding common ground on wolf plan difficult
Second meeting
slated Sept. 21
Known Oregon wolf packs (As of Dec. 2017)
Confirmed pack/individual range
By George Plavin
NOTE: Polygons represent estimated
ranges for known wolf packs with
radio-collared animals.
For the Chieftain
It was a tale of two meet-
ings in The Dalles as traditional
adversaries sat down recently
to find common ground within
the Oregon Wolf Conserva-
tion and Management Plan,
now three years past due for an
update.
Around the table, members
of farming, ranching, environ-
mental and hunting organiza-
tions laid out their objectives
for the plan, which will guide
wolf recovery across the state
for the next five years.
Conversations were heated
at times — especially while
discussing the prospect of hunt-
ing wolves — but the group
eventually reached some areas
of compromise, and agreed to
schedule a second meeting.
Deb Nudelman, a mediator
with Kearns & West in Port-
land, was hired by the Oregon
Department of Fish & Wildlife
to facilitate the talks. ODFW
staff members, including
Director Curt Melcher, were
also on hand to listen.
Joining the work group
were Todd Nash, with the Ore-
gon Cattlemen’s Association;
Mary Anne Cooper, with the
Oregon Farm Bureau; Rob
Klavins, with Oregon Wild;
Nick Cady, with Cascadia
Wildlands; Jim Akenson, with
the Oregon Hunters Associ-
ation; Dave Wiley, with the
Rocky Mountain Elk Founda-
tion; Amaroq Weiss, with the
Center for Biological Diver-
sity; Quinn Read, with Defend-
ers of Wildlife; and Amira
Streeter, natural resources pol-
icy adviser to Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown.
“I think it’s a great group,”
Nudelman said. “Groups like
Estimated pack/individual range
Portland
97
101
197
5
1
Salem
George Plaven/Capital Press
22
The work group got the pro-
cess started, though it nearly
faltered out of the gate. After
identifying numerous issues,
the group attempted to debate
the merits of killing wolves
that repeatedly prey on live-
stock, which led to an uneasy
dialogue that had Nudelman
openly questioning whether to
proceed.
Akenson,
conserva-
tion director for the Oregon
Hunters Association, said he
believes hunting needs to be
included in management of
wolves.
“The bottom line is, hunt-
ers need to be part of the pro-
cess,” Akenson said. “It’s a
real need.”
Nash, a Wallowa County
commissioner and longtime
rancher, said livestock produc-
ers never wanted to kill wolves
in the first place, but are in a
predicament now where they
must protect their livelihood.
“There isn’t a class of live-
stock out there that is safe any-
more,” he said. “Lethal take in
the remote areas where we run
(livestock) is sometimes the
only conclusion we can come
to.”
Klavins, northeast Ore-
gon field coordinator for Ore-
4 8
26
84
Todd Nash, a rancher and Wallowa County commissioner rep-
resenting the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, speaks during
a meeting in The Dalles to find common ground on an up-
date to the state’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan,
while Quinn Read with Defenders of Wildlife and Amira Street-
er, natural resources policy adviser to Gov. Kate Brown, listen.
this don’t come together if
it’s easy. They come together
because it’s hard.”
This is not the first time
opponents have met face-to-
face to talk about wolves. The
Oregon Wolf Plan was first
written by ODFW in 2005, and
last updated in 2010. Environ-
mental groups sued the depart-
ment in 2011 to halt killing
wolves that had preyed on live-
stock under Phase I of the plan,
which resulted in a settlement
in 2013 emphasizing non-le-
thal deterrents.
Since then, the Oregon
wolf population has grown to
a minimum of 124 animals,
and the plan has progressed
to Phase III in Eastern Ore-
gon, allowing greater flexibil-
ity for ranchers and wildlife
managers to consider killing
so-called “chronic depreda-
tors.” Wolves remain protected
under the federal Endangered
Species Act west of highways
395, 78 and 95.
ODFW was supposed to
update the Wolf Plan again in
2015. The Oregon Fish and
Wildlife Commission decided
to postpone its vote indefi-
nitely in January so the agency
could build a broader consen-
sus among stakeholders.
9 10
11 14 15
84
Pendleton
16
7
395
6
12
3
17
5
18
13
OREGON
2
19
82
26
John Day
20
126
20
97
58
5
21
101
N
22
25 miles
199
Medford
5
*At least one breeding pair
26
395
Wolf pack population
Bend
Eugene
Pack/area
Total
1. White River
2
2. Desolation
2
3. OR30
3
4. Meacham*
3
5. OR52
3
6. Mt. Emily*
5
7. Ruckel Ridge 7
8. N. Emily
2
9. Walla Walla* 7
10. Wenaha*
10
11. Noregaard* 9
12. Minam*
11
(cont.)
Total
13. Catherine*
4
14. Shamrock
3
15. Chesnimnus* 3
16. Snake River* 10
17. Harl Butte*
4
18. Middle Fork* 6
19. Pine Creek* 8
20. OR37
1
21. Silver Lake 1
22. Rogue*
7
Lone/misc.
13
Source: Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
gon Wild, fired back at the
notion of hunting wolves.
Adding hunting into the Wolf
Plan would be troublesome, he
said, and might actually back-
fire when it comes to protect-
ing livestock.
He referred to research
that suggests killing wolves
actually increases the odds of
future attacks, because it dis-
rupts the social structure of
packs.
“We’re not trashing hunt-
ing,” Klavins said. “We are
expressing serious concerns
about hunting.”
Weiss, the West Coast wolf
advocate with the Center for
Biological Diversity, said
hunting wolves in the lower
48 states is not being done for
subsistence, and decried it as a
“waste of wildlife.”
Having reached an impasse,
the group shifted gears to focus
20
Minimum total 124
Alan Kenaga/Capital Press
on collaring wolves with GPS
tracking collars, and using the
data to alert ranchers when
wolves are in the area.
The cattlemen’s association
has called for making sure at
least one wolf from every pack
in the state is wearing a collar.
But Roblyn Brown, wolf pro-
gram coordinator for ODFW,
said it is nearly impossible for
staff to find and safely collar
certain wolves in densely for-
ested habitat.
ODFW also estimates col-
laring costs about $2,000 to
$7,000 per wolf, with an aver-
age lifespan of 18 months per
collar.
“It’s just a tough thing to
do,” Brown said.
Nash said ranchers need to
know where wolves are mov-
ing to make the most effec-
tive use of range riders and
other nonlethal deterrents.
Rather than provide specific
GPS points of where wolves
have been, Brown said it may
be more effective to use the
data as a whole, coloring a pic-
ture of where wolves are most
active — what wildlife offi-
cials call the “blue blob.”
Despite concerns about
whether the data would be
used to poach wolves, Klavins
said GPS collars may be one
area where environmental
groups may be willing to make
a compromise.
With that bit of prog-
ress, the work group decided
it would be worth it to meet
again on Sept. 21 in Redmond.
Derek Broman, state car-
nivore biologist for ODFW,
said the tentative plan is to go
back before the Fish and Wild-
life Commission in October to
receive further direction.
“We know there’s not going
to be unanimous decisions,”
Broman said. “That’s ulti-
mately why this process is so
valuable.”
Melcher, the ODFW direc-
tor, said he is an “eternal opti-
mist,” and believes the col-
laboration will prove to be a
positive investment.
“We’re writing the checks,
and we’re happy to keep doing
it,” Melcher said.
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