EIGHT - Heppner Gazette-Times, Heppner, Oregon Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Oregon has at least 173 wolves, a 9.5% increase over last year
State wildlife biolo-
gists counted 173 wolves
in Oregon this past winter,
a 9.5 percent increase over
last year’s count of 158,
according to the Oregon
Wolf Conservation and
Management 2020 Annual
Report released recently
at ”odfw.com/wolves“.
This annual count is
based on verified wolf ev-
idence (like visual obser-
vations, tracks, and remote
camera photographs) and
is considered the minimum
known wolf count, not
an estimate of how many
wolves are in Oregon. The
actual number of wolves
in Oregon is likely higher,
as not all individuals pres-
ent in the state are located
during the winter count.
A total of 22 packs were
documented during the
count. (A pack is defined as
four or more wolves travel-
ing together in winter.) Of
those packs, 17 reproduced
and had at least two adults
and two pups that survived
through the end of 2020,
making them “breeding
pairs.” Seven other groups
of 2-3 wolves were also
identified.
While no new packs
formed in western Ore-
gon, the total number of
wolves in the region in-
creased by 29 percent (from
17 to 22 wolves) over the
2019 count. Eight collared
wolves dispersed from their
packs with four dispersing
to other locations in Ore-
gon, two to Idaho, one to
California, and one wolf
left California and became
resident in Oregon.
“While northeast Or-
egon continues to host
majority of state’s wolf
population, dispersal to
other parts of Oregon and
adjacent states continues,”
said Roblyn Brown, ODFW
Wolf Coordinator.
A total of 21 wolves
were captured and ra-
dio-collared during 2020,
up from 14 last year. Four
of those were thanks to
licensed trappers promptly
reporting their incidental
capture of a wolf; ODFW
was able to radio collar and
safely release those four
wolves from foothold traps.
Through collar data
and surveys, the depart-
ment collected 17,279 wolf
location data points in Or-
egon in 2020. Of those,
57 percent of locations for
resident wolves were on
public lands, 38 percent
on private lands, and 5
percent on tribal lands.
Wolf mortalities-Nine
wolf mortalities were
documented during 2020,
including two young
wolves that died from
natural causes (a Wenaha
pup and Indigo yearling).
Seven wolf mortali-
ties were human caused.
One wolf was killed
when hit by a vehicle on
I-84, another was appar-
ently killed when hit by
a boat while swimming
across the Snake River.
One was taken lawfully
under the “caught in the
act” rule which allows live-
stock producers to shoot
a wolf found in the act of
biting, wounding, killing
or chasing livestock. (As of
January 4, 2021 “caught in
the act” is legal statewide
but rules differ for East
and West Zones which are
in different phases of wolf
management; livestock pro-
ducers should visit ODFW’s
webpage to find out more.)
Four wolves were killed
illegally in 2020. Three
deaths are still under inves-
tigation, and OSP is active-
ly seeking more informa-
tion. The breeding male of
the Ruckel Ridge Pack was
shot in Umatilla County in
May. The breeding male of
the Cornucopia Pack was
shot in September in Baker
County. A subadult wolf,
believed to be from the
Pine Creek Pack, was shot
in October in Baker County.
Rewards ranging from
$2,500 to $15,000 have
been offered for informa-
tion leading to a convic-
tion. Public reports help
protect Oregon wildlife
from poaching. Reports
can be made anonymous-
ly to the OSP Turn In
Poachers (TIP) Line at
800-452-7888 or by email:
T I P @ o s p . o r e g o n . g o v.
Finally, a livestock owner
shot a wolf mistaken for
a coyote. The owner was
warned by Oregon State
Police after self-report-
ing the incident to OSP.
“Hunters and livestock
producers in areas of wolf
activity really need to be
careful and be able to tell the
difference between wolves
and coyotes,” said Brown.
Review ODFW’s Coyote
vs Wolf ID quiz for tips.
ODFW did not le-
thally control any wolves
in response to chron-
ic depredation in 2020.
Livestock depredation
increases, mostly attribut-
ed to Rogue Pack. Con-
firmed depredation events
increased 94 percent in
2020 from 2019. The ma-
jority of the depredation (52
percent) was attributed to
the Rogue Pack, which dep-
redated 16 times in 2020.
In all phases of wolf man-
agement, Oregon’s Wolf
Plan mandates that non-le-
thal efforts are undertaken
to address conflict before
lethal removal is consid-
ered. In 2020, those mea-
sures included removing at-
tractants, hazing, electrified
fladry, radio-activated guard
boxes, increased human
presence, range riders and
other husbandry practices.
In the Rogue Pack area,
ODFW and partners U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service
and USDA Wildlife Ser-
vices worked extensively
to try to limit depredation,
including a coordinated
nighttime patrol in Klamath
County to haze wolves out
of livestock pastures in the
northern Wood River Val-
ley where depredation was
concentrated. Agency staff
hazed all night on 99 nights
between July 30-Nov. 25.
This overnight agency pres-
ence leveraged real time in-
formation about wolf loca-
tions derived from howling,
radio-telemetry, cattle dis-
turbance and visual obser-
vation through night-vision
thermal imaging devices in
an attempt to deter wolves.
The hazing pushed the
wolves back into the forest
on some nights, but other
nights they depredated.
“The personnel costs
of this collaboration with
USFWS, WS and the De-
partment was significant
during the four months,”
s a i d B r o w n . “ We a p -
preciate the work of our
partners and all livestock
producers for their efforts
to co-exist with wolves.”
Counties can seek grants
from Oregon Department of
Agriculture’s (ODA) Wolf
Depredation Compensa-
tion and Financial Assis-
tance Grant Program to
help fund non-lethal mea-
sures and compensation
for lost livestock. In 2020,
ODA awarded $251,529
to 12 counties, up from
$178,319 awarded in 2019.
ODFW staff will present
an overview of the Oregon
Wolf Conservation and
Management 2020 Annu-
al Report to the Fish and
Wildlife Commission at
their April 23 meeting. No
public testimony is being
taken during that portion
of the meeting, but it can be
watched online and public
comments can be sent to
odfw.commission@state.
or.us.
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