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| 11/25/2009 8:13:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article
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Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
The black Alpha male of the pack makes noise. |
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| Oregon Department of Fish &Wildlife
B300, Oregon’s alpha female, pauses to get her bearings after being fitted with a radio collar July 17, 2009. B300 is the mother of the pups recently sighted in the 10-member pack in Wallowa County. |
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Ten-wolf pack spotted at Imnaha worries ranchers
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
A pack of 10 wolves has been confirmed in Wallowa County. The pack, sighted and videoed by biologist Pat Matthews of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wldlife during a periodic monitoring exercise, ranges from Little Sheep Creek, across Big Sheep to Duck Lake and Fish Lake, south of the Imnaha.
ODF&W Wolf Management Plan director Russ Morgan estimates the pack has a range of 100 square miles.
The pack was first reported July 17 when the Alpha female, originally from Idaho and known as B300, was recollared. ODF&W also confirmed a U.S. Fish and Wildlife report of at least three pups.
ODF&W biologists suspected at least six wolves in the group, said Morgan, "But we did not know there were 10 wolves there."
The size of the pack astonished ranchers.
"There have been rumors of more wolves sighted out there than the four first reported, so it's not surprising there are more," said Rod Childers, Wolf Committee Chairman for the Oregon Cattleman's Association. "It's surprising there are 10 - but that just shows you how fast they can move into a territory."
Morgan confirmed that reports of wolves had "increased greatly" this fall.
"We got quite a number of reports. We've been getting reports from all over Northeast Oregon."
All ranchers with grazing permits in the area were notified by Childers. Most have their cattle down from permitted areas and into winter quarters already, Childers said.
Some ranchers with permits in the area had complained of a higher than average number of dry cows in their herds, but whether or not this has anything to do with wolf depredation cannot be confirmed, Childers said.
Wolf B300 has never been linked to a domestic animal killing.
The only confirmed killings by wolves in Oregon were the 27 sheep, one calf and one goat killed in Keating Valley near Baker this spring. Those animals were killed by two young wolves roaming the Keating Valley area. Both wolves were destroyed in September.
Ranchers will be watching their livestock closely in the spring, Childers said. "Livestock depredation seems to happen in spring and fall," Childers said. "When deer and elk are calving it seems to die down."
In the meantime, ODF&W is implementing aspects of the Oregon Wolf Plan. "We will be conducting a search to establish a firm pup count by the end of December," said Russ Morgan. Also on the list is a plan to put a GPS collar on one adult by spring so as to be able to verify the pack's location at any time.
Despite B300's good record, ranchers are gearing up for a worst-case scenario. They are continuing to lobby for changes to the Oregon Wolf Plan, Childers said. "We're still looking at changes to the Oregon Wolf Plan when it comes up for a five year review in 2010," he said. "We want the right to be able to kill a wolf that is stalking, harassing or attacking our livestock."
Anyone sighting wolves is reminded that they are a protected species in Oregon. ODFW asks that anyone who spots the pups call (541) 963-2138.
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