The Wolf That Could, OR7 Crosses Into California and Walks Into History..

The Imnaha Pack, OR7′s Parents  (Alpha Female”Sophie” far left, Alpha Male OR4, black wolf , head  lowered) (ODFW)

OR7, the young, dispersing Oregon wolf, who has captured the world’s attention with his epic journey, crossed into California from Oregon Wednesday night, making him the first wolf to officially set a paw in California since 1924. It was in his  genes, In 2008, OR7′s  mother, wolf  B-300, nicknamed “Sophie”,  dispersed from Idaho into Oregon by swimming the Snake River to her new home in the “Beaver State”.

Here she is caught on camera scampering along in the snow after her 08 arrival, quite the traveler,  just like her famous son.

“A female gray wolf from Idaho’s Timberline Pack has been positively located in Oregon”  ”The wolf, a two to three-year-old female identified as B-300″. “Experts have long predicted that wolves from the expanding Idaho population would continue to cross the Snake River and enter Oregon. “

Once in Oregon “Sophie” found a mate, OR4 and became the alpha female of the Imnaha Pack, the first wolf pack to inhabit Oregon in over sixty years.  It’s been a rough go for the Imnaha’s,  beleaguered for the last several years, under constant death threats  because of a handful of livestock depredations blamed on the pack (19 in two years).  Oregon ranchers lost 51,200 cows  (NASS) to non-predation in 2010 but the focus is always on negligible  losses to wolves. The livestock industry gets lots of mileage grandstanding about wolves. I guess they figure if they repeat something often enough people will believe it. Nobody is going out of business over 19 cows.

“Rob Klavins of Oregon Wild said that the number of livestock killed by gray wolves is miniscule compared with the numbers that die being born, in severe weather or from disease. Ranchers also lose cows to thieves. 

“Wolves are not a threat to the livestock industry,” Klavins said, emphasizing the need for the state to balance the needs of ranchers with conservation.” 

Even with the shadow hanging over his parent’s heads nothing can diminish OR7′s accomplishment, he is his mother’s son, following in her illustrious footsteps.

Wolves are consummate wanderers, they can travel 25 miles a day without breaking a sweat. They have runner’s bodies with their long legs, deep chests, slim bodies and snowshoe feet. Wolves are the marathoners of the animal kingdom and OR-7 has not disappointed.

His travels:

“Tracking OR7′s Journey From His Natal Pack, Before He Crossed Into California Wednesday night”(ODFW)

Just two years old,  he’s doing what wolves have done for thousands of years, search for a mate to establish his own pack and claim territory. To add to his mystery, no recent pictures of him exist.

Wearing a GPS collar, OR7′s wanderings have been closely tracked by biologists. He migrated 730 miles across Oregon over two months beginning last September. Over the past month, he’s been in the Siskiyou National Forest, northeast of Medford. This week, he wandered south of the Oregon town of Keno, just 10 miles from the California border.

“He’s doing what young males typically do — they outgrow their pack and go out to find their own mate, to try to make a pack,” said fish and game spokeswoman Jordan Traverso.

He’s not likely to find a mate  in California, unless he’s aware of something we aren’t. There could be uncollared wolves in California we know nothing about.  Or he might be traveling with a female companion.  He’s remained elusive as only wolves can, so no one is quite sure what he’s up to. More then likely he’ll wander around for awhile and return to Oregon or travel into Nevada,  or he could head further south, it’s anyone’s guess.

I worry for his safety, so many eyes are on him and not just friendly ones. OR7 is FEDERALLY PROTECTED by the Endangered Species Act, it’s a crime to harm him.

Ranchers are already beating the drums about his presence.  But wolves really have little impact on livestock.

“Steve Pedery, Oregon Wild’s conservation director, sees the wolf divide as a culture clash.“

“Folks are really fighting wolf recovery … because they perceive it as the big bad federal government or the terrible people in the Willamette Valley in Oregon bringing back an animal that their grandparents wiped out for good cause,” he said. “It’s really more of a debate over values than it is about wolves and what they actually do.”

On a lighter note. OR7 was to have a new name.

“…The conservation group Oregon Wild, deciding that OR7 needed a more endearing name, launched a contest that drew several hundred suggestions from children as far away as Nigeria and Taiwan. The winner will be announced after New Year’s Day from the five finalists: Arthur, Max, Journey, Lupin and Takota.“

Since he’s now a California wolf has Oregon lost the right to name him? We’ll see. He may be taking a holiday stroll in the Golden State and be back in Oregon before the New Year.

Stay safe OR7, the eyes of the world are upon you.

Britain’s Daily Mail recently said OR-7 “captured the heart of the American public” with his incredible zigzag journey through the state that began Sept. 10 in Wallowa County. A Google search shows he’s on more than 300 websites, and his story has been picked up in Finland, Austria, Taiwan, Sweden, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Argentina. 

I hope this will bring the much-needed publicity wolves are due.  His wolf kin in Idaho and Montana and being slaughtered in brutal wolf hunts, 316 are dead as of 12/29/2011. The Idaho hunt stretches all the way into June 2012, in the Lolo and Selway zones. Ten long months!!

This young wolves’ journey has boosted the  spirits of weary advocates, grateful  for any good wolf news. With his light shining so bright, it’s hard not to see the greatness of wolves!

“Alpha Female, B-300 Imnaha Pack (OR7′s mother) and a Two Year Old Male” (ODFW)

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Lone wolf crosses into California from Oregon

The young animal is the first wolf known to be at large in California since 1924. Wildlife authorities in both states have been monitoring the wolf since it set out from the Crater Lake area in September.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-wolf-california-20111230,0,6653668.story?track=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Flocal+%28L.A.+Times+-+California+%7C+Local+News%29

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Wolf’s journey marks strides for its species

By Lisa M. Krieger

lkrieger@mercurynews.com

 Posted: 12/29/2011 09:23:35 PM PST

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_19643820?source=rss

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OR-7 ,Oregon’s wandering wolf ,captures imagination of worldwide audience

Published: Sunday, December 11, 2011, 10:20 PM     Updated: Monday, December 12, 2011, 12:06 AM

 By Richard Cockle, The Oregonian 

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/12/or-7_–_oregons_wandering_wolf.html

“OR-11, A Male Pup (born Spring 2011) from Oregon’s Walla Walla Pack” (ODFW)

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Photos: Courtesy ODFW

Posted in:  Oregon wolves, California wolves,  gray wolf

Tags: OR7, dispersing wolf, Oregon, California, rock star wolf, wolves elusive, Imnaha Pack, ODFW, biodiversity

Oregon’s Imnaha Pack Safe….For Now

Imnaha Pack alpha male (ODFW)

While 55 wolves have been killed in the ongoing  Montana and Idaho hunt/slaughter,  Oregon’s Imnaha Pack alpha male and yearling are safe tonight, after the Oregon Court of Appeals granted a temporary stay of the” kill order”  hanging over the two wolves heads!

Three environmental groups filed a lawsuit on October 5th to halt the killing of the two wolves and the judges listened.  The killing of the alpha male and the younger wolf would likely have been the nail in the coffin for the Imnaha pack, leaving the alpha female, B-300 and her six month old pup to fend for themselves.

Although the injunction is temporary we call on Governor Kitzhaber to end the “witch hunt” permanently and stop the harassment of this wolf pack.

As I stated in an earlier post, Oregon ranchers lost 51,200 cattle to non-predation in 2010, so the continual coverage of miniscule wolf depredations looks like persecution, driven by the livestock industry and is casting a pall over Oregon’s reputation as a moderate and progressive state.

Court orders state to halt hunt for two wolves of Imnaha pack in NE Oregon

Published: Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 9:07 PM     Updated: Wednesday, October 05, 2011, 9:10 PM

JOSEPH — As state biologists combed northeastern Oregon’s rugged mountains Wednesday to kill two gray wolves in the Imnaha pack, conservation groups challenged the kill order in court and called on Gov. John Kitzhaber to intercede.

Late in the day, the Oregon Court of Appeals granted their request to temporarily halt the hunt, The Associated Press reported.

Cascadia Wildlands, the Center for Biological Diversity and Oregon Wild contend that efforts by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to remove the pack’s alpha male and a younger wolf would leave only a female wolf and one pup born this year to fend for themselves this winter.

“They are proposing to take out the leader of the pack, which will, in my best estimate, render the pack unviable,” said Josh Laughlin, spokesman for the Eugene-based Cascadia Wildlands. “Oregonians are not going to stand for that.”

Read More: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/10/conservation_groups_win_tempor.html

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Oregon’s Governor Kitzhaber (503-378-4582) 

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Photo: Courtesy ODFW

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Oregon Wolves, Howling for Justice

Tags: Oregon Court of Appeals, Imnaha alpha male, ODFW,  ”kill order” stayed, Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands, Center for Biological Diversity

51,200 Dead Oregon Cows Not Killed By Wolves! Where’s The Media?

Slated to die. Alpha Male Imnaha Pack 2009

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Ok, 51,200 cows died in Oregon in 2010 from non-predation causes. (NASS 2010) This should be front page news, right? When wolves are involved in miniscule livestock losses they make the front pages of local media. So what about those 51,200 cows that weren’t killed by wolves?

Talk about making a mountain out of a mole-hill or big fish stories, this is the mother of all big fish stories.

ODFW is planning on killing the alpha male (pictured above) and another wolf from the Imnaha Pack, for livestock losses so small, they barely register statistically.  Yet incredibly large numbers of cows drop dead in Oregon every year and all we hear are “crickets”.

So here we are, two wolves facing a death sentence. Apparently they are being tracked right  now.

“A department hunter is looking first for a member of the pack not collared with a radio transmitter, Morgan said. Then he will go after the alpha male, which goes by the number OR4 and sired the first pups in Oregon since wolves began moving back into the state from Idaho in the 1990s.“

The alpha female and her pup of the year will be left to face the winter alone, with no help to bring down prey.

Here is B-300 better known as  ”Sophie”, crossing  into Oregon in 2008.  She would later become the alpha female of  the Imnaha Pack.  Look at her scampering along, beautiful and healthy. Little did she know what she was getting into.

In protest of  ODFW’s egregious intention to slaughter two perfectly healthy Imnaha wolves, leaving just the alpha female and her pup of the year, two Portland Animal Defense League protesters, Stephanie Taylor and Justin Kay, chained themselves to the ODFW headquarter doors with bike locks.

Two arrested during protest against wolf killings

Posted: Sep 27, 2011 6:31 PM MDTUpdated: Sep 27, 2011 7:31 PM MDT

By Brian MacMillan

SALEM, OR (KPTV) -

For nearly an hour and a half Tuesday morning, protestors took over the front entrance of the Department of Fish and Wildlife in Salem.

“We’ve tried everything from phone calls to the governor, phone calls here, letter writing, protests.  Finally today, it ended with an act of civil disobedience,” said Tim Hitchins, with the Portland Animal Defense League.

Read More: http://www.kptv.com/story/15563955/two-arrested-during-wolf-killing-protest

The sad news is this is probably the end of the Imnaha Pack.

“ODFW has been under really intense pressure from the cattlemen,” Pedery said from Portland, Ore. “This is really a kill order on the pack. It is very unlikely the mother and her pup will survive the winter unless they feed on gut piles (left by deer and elk hunters), which puts them at risk of poachers, or feed on livestock. They really have little hope of bringing down a deer or elk by themselves.”

Oregon had 1,300,000 cattle at the beginning of 2011. Wolves apparently were responsible for 14 cow losses in 1.5 years. But thousands and thousands of cows were keeling over in Oregon from all manner of things, not wolf related.

Digestive problems

Respiratory problems

Metabolic problems

Mastitis

Lameness/injury

Other diseases

Weather related

Calving problems

Poisoning

Theft

(NASS 2010)

Why aren’t ranchers  squawking about this? Those losses COULD affect their “bottom line”,  not 14 supposed wolf depredations.

Isn’t it time to call this situation what it is. If if looks like a duck, quacks like a duck then it’s a duck. Plain and simple intolerance of wolves is ruling the day in eastern Oregon.  Clearly ranchers don’t want them there and that’s what’s driving this train.  The wishes of Oregon’s wildlife advocates and others, who would enjoy seeing wild wolves, apparently don’t count. The scapegoating and hysteria that plague the other wolf states has apparently taken hold in Oregon.  Shame. This has completely altered my view of the state.

51,200 dead cows not killed by wolves. Where’s the media??

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Wolf kill order could spell end of Oregon pack

http://m.spokesman.com/stories/2011/sep/27/wolf-kill-order-could-spell-end-of-oregon-pack/

Please continue to call  Oregon’s Governor Kitzhaber (503-378-4582) to protest the kill order on the two Imnaha wolves. Ask why wolves are being treated like criminals, collared, tracked continually, when obviously these losses are ridiculously miniscule. 

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Photo: Courtesy ODFW

Videos: Courtesy YouTube

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Oregon wolves, Howling For Justice

Tags: wolf scapegoating, Imnaha pack, kill order,  Oregon wolves, ODFW

URGENT: TIME SENSITIVE!! TAKE ACTION FOR OREGON WOLVES NOW!!

It never ends.  If Oregon HB 3636 is signed into law by Governor Kitzhaber it would create the”Wildlife Conservation Fund”? The name is deceiving.

“The bill would create a voluntary fund for killing predators, including wolves and “fur-bearing mammals.”

Killing animals to conserve them? What fresh hell is this?

This would put Oregon’s tiny gray wolf population in extreme danger as well as other fur-bearers likes foxes, bears, raccoons, beavers and more.

From Oregon Wild:

“Rob Klavins of Oregon Wild says that rather than kill endangered wolves, “the state is required to conserve the species.” He says HB 3636 was “designed to fly under the radar” and slipped through unnoticed in the last days of the legislative session. Klavins says that it “hijacks the hunting license system.” He points out that Oregon’s 17 or so wolves already face 28 active landowner kill permits.”

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Contact Governor Kitzhaber and ask him to veto this bad bill. Let him know you are counting on him to do the right thing.

1-503-378-4582

license system.” He points out that Oregon’s 17 or so wolves already face 28 active landowner kill permits.”

You must do this by AUGUST 4th. Time is short. Do it today!! Thank you!!

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WILL GOV OK WILDLIFE KILL FUNDS?

A so-called Wildlife Conservation Fund is actually a wildlife-killing fund, according to Eugene-based Predator Defense and conservation group Oregon Wild. HB 3636 was passed unanimously by the Oregon House and by the Senate, and it awaits Gov. John Kitzhaber’s signature. The bill would create a voluntary fund for killing predators, including wolves and “fur-bearing mammals.” Oregon’s population of less than 20 gray wolves is state endangered species listed. Wolves in the western two-thirds of Oregon are also federally protected.

If Kitzhaber signs the bill into law, the fund would allow people applying for a license, tag or permit from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to make a voluntary contribution for predatory animal control within the counties that the license allows for the person to hunt.

This means the money will go to killing endangered gray wolves, as well as to lethally controlling bear, beaver, raccoons and foxes, among others. Sally Mackler of Predator Defense calls the bill “reckless” and says, “The state is spending a tremendous amount of money on killing wildlife.” Mackler says the amount of money the state spends on killing predators has doubled in the last biennium to about $840,000, but predators are responsible for very few livestock deaths.

Rob Klavins of Oregon Wild says that rather than kill endangered wolves, “the state is required to conserve the species.” He says HB 3636 was “designed to fly under the radar” and slipped through unnoticed in the last days of the legislative session. Klavins says that it “hijacks the hunting license system.” He points out that Oregon’s 17 or so wolves already face 28 active landowner kill permits.

A recent study in the journal Science says that humans’ destruction of top or apex predators like wolves causes previously unknown reverberations including changes in the landscape, increases in wildfires, pandemics and ecosystem shifts. The study called killing predators “humankind’s most pervasive influence on the natural world.”

The study gives as an example that when wolves returned to Yellowstone National Park it benefited creekside trees, and that without predators to kill deer, the populations explode with consequences such as more deer ticks to spread Lyme disease to humans.

Oregon Wild and Predator Defense are calling on Kitzhaber to veto the bill. Kitzhaber’s press secretary Christine Miles says, “The governor will review HB 3636 before making any decision on the bill.” — Camilla Mortensen

http://www.eugeneweekly.com/2011/07/21/news.html#6

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Photo: Creative Commons

Posted in: Oregon wolves, Wolf Wars

Tags: Governor Kitzhaber  Oregon wolves, bad bill HB 3636. Wildlife Conservation Fund, war on wildlife,

TAKE ACTION: More Oregon’s Imnaha Wolves Slated To Die

Alpha Male (father) Imnaha Pack  (Ear tagged and collared May 2011)

FROM: NE OREGON ECOSYSTEMS

More wolves to be killed, and extermination of the entire Imnaha pack is on the table.

ODFW announced yesterday that more Imnaha wolves may be killed, and Oregon conservationists share growing alarm that the entire pack may be exterminated. ODFW Regional Manager Craig Ely implied last month in a conversation with NE Oregon Ecosystems that this option might be on the table, and information from sources close to the ODFW have reinforced this conviction. As it is, the pack has been reduced from 16 members to 8 or less, and 3 wolves have been killed by ODFW this year. One has dispersed to Washington, one collared wolf has disappeared, the whereabouts of some others are unknown. The Imnaha pack is in real trouble…

The ODFW is under crushing pressure from Oregon cattlemen to kill wolves, and unless wolf supporters make their opinions known soon, this pack, Oregon’s first and biggest, its best chance of wolf recovery, will be killed. The opinions carrying the greatest weight will be those from NE Oregon residents. Our legislators, the governor, the ODFW, and the press need to hear from us, not just from the Oregon Cattlemen’s Assoc. and their friends.

Some points to consider:

The Imnaha pack represents half of Oregon’s wolves and the best chance for wolves to disperse to safer habitat in Central and Western Oregon, where livestock conflict is less likely.

Oregon wolves are protected by the Oregon Endangered Species Act. The Oregon Wolf Plan, implemented in 2005 and revised in 2010, requires wolves to be managed for recovery until their numbers allow them to be delisted. Treating every depredation as a crisis to be solved by lethal removals is not a satisfactory management plan for recovering a population. Killing wolves should be only a last resort.

There will always be stock losses from wolves, just as there are from coyote, bear, dog, cougar, eagle,and others. The OWP is not designed to eliminate wolf depredation, any more than state policy is to eliminate losses from any other predator. Predators are part of the livestock business in the West, where huge tracts of public land rightfully provide a home for wildlife, and from which the ranchers benefit by grazing allotments. Despite the presence of the Imnaha pack, no rancher has gone out of business or is in danger of doing so from wolves.

Confirmed wolf depredations are compensated at full market value and probables reimbursed at half market value by Defenders of Wildlife. Vet bills for confirmed wolf-caused injuries are fully compensated. A compensation bill is under consideration by the state legislature.

“The state Endangered Species Act prohibits the killing of listed species with very limited exceptions,” points out Jennifer Schwartz of Hells Canyon Preservation Council, “If ODFW is going to lawfully operate within that narrow window of exceptions, it must be able to show that lethally removing wolves in response to conflicts with livestock is somehow necessary to further their conservation in Oregon. With so few wolves in the state, we are very much unconvinced that we need to kill more wolves in order to promote their recovery.”

After a strong start last year, wolf tourism is just starting to take off this season, with eco-tours scheduled for this summer and private operators planning for 2012. Tourists are planning trips specifically to be in wolf country and Wallowa County will benefit. Obviously the slaughter of the county’s most famous and accessible pack will bring this to a halt, and may well give the county a bad odor to those planning a visit to view wildlife.

Oregon Wild, in a statement on Monday, listed these four ODFW shortcomings:

Violating the wolf plan by baiting members of the Imnaha Pack back to the site of reported depredations leading to more losses that may in turn be used to justify lethal control.

Failure to adequately document and publicly share information on claimed non-lethal preventative measures.

Issuing 24 landowner kill permits without adequately documenting and publicly sharing information demonstrating those permits were issued in compliance with the wolf plan.

Treating every conflict between wolves and the livestock industry as a crisis by devoting nearly all of the agency’s wolf-related time and resources on a small fraction of the duties prescribed by the plan at the expense of research, education, and conservation.

A note on incremental lethal removal:

The management policy being applied this spring by ODFW is called incremental removal and is used when stock predation becomes chronic. It should only be employed after all non-lethal tools have been used. It’s intended to spare the pack while removing the depredating wolves. In the case of the Imnaha pack, it may be a valid policy, but it’s not clear that all the stockmen suffering losses have in fact used all the non-lethal methods, especially removing dead calves from pastures. Dead animals left lying around draw predators, and scavenged carcasses can be presented as wolf kills.

The ODFW is following a protocol designed to save the Imnaha pack, but the pack may also be drawn to prey on cattle by carcasses left on the range.

Please contact the following to express your respectful opinion about lethal removal of the Imnaha pack.

Governor John Kitzhaber: gov.kitzhaber@state.or.us – 503-378-4582.

CC the following:

ODFW Director Roy Elicker: roy.elicker@state.or.us – 503-947-6044.

ODFW Commissioners: odfw.commission@state.or.us (Individual Commissioners here).

Please adapt your letter as a Letter to the Editor (300 word max) and send to

The Oregonian: letters@oregonian.com and post to http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/

The Chieftain: editor@wallowa.com

The La Grande Observer: tkramer@lagrandeobserver.com

The Baker City Herald: kborgen@bakercityherald.com

Thank you all,

NE Oregon Ecosystems

Imnaha Alpha male (father) August 2009

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Photos : Courtesy ODFW

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Oregon wolves

Tags:  ODFW, Imnaha Pack, Justice for wolves, Wallowa Country Oregon,  Pro-active animal husbandry, non-lethal tools, Oregon Cattlemen’s Association

Facts Highlight Hypocrisy Of Wolf Persecution…

The war against wolves continues unabated.

In Oregon, where the state harbors a very small, fragile wolf population, House bill 3562 just passed. It’s called the “defense against attacking wolves legislation” and  “allows people to kill gray wolves to defend one’s life or the life of another person”

What is the purpose of this bill? Wolves are the least dangerous of all large carnivores. In ONE HUNDRED YEARS there have been only two human/wolf fatalities in North America, both controversial and without eye-witnesses. On the other hand hunters kill almost 1oo people every year in the US and Canada, wounding another 1ooo. Cows kill twenty people a year. Domestic dogs bite over 4 million people annually  and kill another 20. I could go on and on but I think you get the point. People have a better chance of dying in a hunting accident, getting killed by their own dog, stomped to death by a cow, knocked out of commission by lightning or getting kidnapped by aliens then they do from a wolf attack, which are almost non-existent.  The only reason this bill passed was to throw a bone to the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, who sponsored this and other anti-wolf bills. Passing this bill further demonstrates the ugliness  of wolf persecution.

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House bills alter coexistence of ranchers, wolves

http://www.dailyemerald.com/news/house-bills-alter-coexistence-of-ranchers-wolves-1.2213417

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Photo: Courtesy All About Wolves

Posted in: Wolf Wars, Oregon wolves

Tags: wolf persecution, Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, wolf myths, wolf wars, Oregon HB 3562

OREGON’S WENAHA PACK PUPS!!

Here are the pics of Oregon’s Wenaha Pack pups. Thanks Erin for providing the links!

Not sure if the two pics are of the same pup or both pups. But no matter, the pics are adorable. Those little girls look wonderful. Can you imagine anyone hurting these babies?

Remember USFWS in Wyoming recently had 10 wolf pups killed, along with their parents. Those  pups were younger then this.

Photos: Courtesy of OFGProducerEd

Posted in: Oregon wolves

Tags: Wenaha Pack, Pups, ODFW, Biodiversity

Beautiful Boy! UPDATE: It’s Confirmed, He’s Been Shot Dead!

UPDATE: October 6, 2010

It’s true!! A disgusting poacher killed a federally protected Oregon male wolf. They need to find this person or persons and throw them in the slammer. Aren’t you sick and tired of reading about dead wolves? Enough!!

Wolf Wars is in full swing. While Mt. Rep. Rehberg, Mt. Senators Baucus and Tester, Idaho Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, Utah’s Reps. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, and Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah and Utah Senator Orin Hatch-R are backing legislation to strip gray wolves of their ESA protections, this little wolf is proving why wolves are not even safe while protected by the ESA, let alone without it!!

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Protected wolf in tracked pack killed in Ore.

The Associated Press

POSTED: Tuesday, Oct. 05, 2010

GRANTS PASS, Ore. State authorities confirmed Tuesday that a federally protected wolf has been killed in northeastern Oregon.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf coordinator Russ Morgan said the killed wolf was a 2-year-old Wenaha pack male recently fitted with a radio tracking collar. The silver male was captured and fitted in August, Morgan said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has jurisdiction since wolves were restored to the endangered species list in August, is investigating, he said.

Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Joan Jewett said it had no comment.

The wolf was a subdominant male and the only member of the pack carrying a radio collar, allowing biologists to track the pack’s whereabouts. The pack has four adults and at least two pups.

Wiped out in Oregon by bounty hunters more than 60 years ago, wolves first returned to the state in 1998 from Idaho, where they were introduced in a federal effort to get them off the endangered species list.

Two other wolves have been illegally shot since then. Two from the Imnaha pack were killed by government hunters for attacking livestock.

Ranchers angry over the state management plan’s limitations on killing wolves to protect livestock spoke out last week at an Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting.

“The more and more these depredations occur, ranchers are going to – I think these guys are going to defend themselves,” Oregon Cattlemen’s Association President Bill Hoyt said in an interview.

Steve Pedery, conservation director for Oregon Wild, a conservation group, said the Wenaha pack has not been tied to any livestock attacks.

“This wasn’t something easily brushed aside, like somebody mistaking it for a coyote,” said Pedery. “This was a silver wolf wearing a big honking radio collar that is hard to miss. Somebody was out to shoot a wolf. It is very important that the agencies get on top of this so it is a deterrent to other yahoos who want to follow suit. That’s what makes us nervous about them being completely silent now.”

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2010/10/05/1654050/protected-wolf-killed-in-ne-oregon.html#ixzz11YWx1Oyx

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UPDATE: October 5, 2010

There’s an unconfirmed but reliable report, posted in Oregon’s La Grande Observer, that this sweet guy has been shot and killed. Apparently he was found by wildlife officials during a routine telemetry check. Just another sad chapter in Wolf Wars that’s raging across the West, fueled by the blind hatred that caused the first Western extermination. It’s 1910 all over again.

Ironically there are meetings being held today in Hamilton and Dillon, by Montana Rep. Rehberg, to discuss his anti-wolf bill, that would strip gray wolves of their ESA protections. The meeting panels are stacked with the anti-wolf crowd but did we really expect the “listening sessions” to be fair and balanced? Absolutely not!!

The killing of this beautiful wolf is the reason wolves cannot survive in this country without the protection of the ESA. It’s very disturbing this Wenaha pack male had recently been collared. Coincidence that he is now dead? Did someone gain access to his telemetry? I’ll report more on this sad case when the information becomes available.

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August 9, 2010

Isn’t he a beauty?  He’s a two-year old male from Oregon’s Wenaha pack. The pack consists of four adults although he looks so much like a puppy. There are unconfirmed reports the pack has puppies. This picture was taken during the collaring process.

I don’t like collaring, someday this collar could get this guy in trouble. Traditionally collaring was used for research but now if wolves are suspected of livestock depredation it’s a way Wildlife (Dis)Services can track down the pack and kill the wolves. They’ve killed entire packs this way in the Northern Rockies.

Oregon has two confirmed wolf packs, the Imnaha and Wenaha packs. The Imnaha pack has been in the news because Wildlife Services was hunting two  uncollared  gray wolves from the pack. They say the wolves were involved in livestock depredations back in late Spring 2010. Several conservation groups filed a lawsuit to stop the hunts.

From NaturalOregon.org

“Four groups, the Hells Canyon Preservation Council, Oregon Wild, Cascadia Wildlands and the Center for Biological Diversity sued to stop federal agents from killing two members of the Imnaha wolf pack in Wallowa County. The agency carrying out the hunt is USDA’s Wildlife Service.

The lawsuit claims that Wildlife Services should have first conducted an environmental analysis to assess how much damage would be done by the hunt. There are two known packs in the state, with 14 wolves. There’s also a few more lone wolves roaming Oregon, so the total could be closer to 20. Killing two of them means reducing their numbers by ten percent – or more. If that kind of damage is considered “significant”, then the feds may be required to take the additional step of writing an Environmental Impact Statement.“

Wildlife (Dis)Services called off the hunt until they conduct an environmental review, so basically the hunts are over. I can do the review for them. Oregon has approx. twenty wolves, tops, two confirmed wolf packs and a few lone wolves. If they kill two of them for a few calves, that could seriously impact the wolves survival.

What you won’t hear about are the thousands upon thousands of cows  ranchers lose every year to weather, disease, reproductive issues and theft.  All predator losses are a tiny percentage of the totals. Wolves killed fewer cows than vultures nationally  (NASS 2006).

Happily the Imnaha’s are safe for now.

UPDATE: Remote cameras captured images of four Imnaha pups and six adult wolves, including B-300, the alpha female, nick-named Sophie. The alpha male was finally spotted on camera as well after he seemed to disappear for several months. His collar was not functioning and he hadn’t been sighted since May 31. Thankfully he’s alive.

Here are pics of the Imnaha pack with pups taken by the trail cameras.

Imnaha pups frolicking

Imnaha adult

Four Imnaha adult wolves

I’ll continue to follow the progress of  Oregon’s Wenaha and Imnaha wolf packs. These wolves are now protected by the ESA, since Judge Molloy relisted wolves on August 5th, 2010.

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Male wolf from Wenaha pack radio-collared and released in northeast Oregon

August 6, 2010

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/news/2010/august/080610.asp

Photos: Courtesy ODFW

Posted in: Oregon wolves

Tags: Wenaha pack, Imnaha pack, Oregon wolves, collared wolf, Wildlife Services

Puppies!! Four Imnaha Wolf Pack pups caught on remote camera!

Here are recent pics of four pups from the Imnaha wolf pack…aren’t they cute?  These little guys were caught on remote camera by ODFW, there could actually be more pups. Sadly their dad has not been spotted since May 31.

From the ODFW website:

Four pups for Imnaha wolf pack

ODFW

July 14, 2010

The Imnaha wolf pack has at least four new pups this year, images captured on a motion-triggered trail camera show.    

An image taken July 3 (attached) marks the first visual observation of new pups this year. The pack may have more pups than these four.

Wolf pups are born in mid-April and litters average four to six pups. Pups generally become active outside their pack’s den in June.

Six adult wolves were also seen in the images captured by the trail camera, including the alpha female. Past evidence, including a video taken November 2009, indicate at least 10 wolves made up the Imnaha pack before the pups were born this year. The alpha male, whose GPS collar has not been detected since May 31, was not seen in the images.

For more images of the Imnaha pack taken by a trail camera set up by ODFW in an area of pack activity, visit the website below (see first six photos). Note the alpha female is not pictured in these images.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/news/images/photo_gallery/wolves_in_the_news/index.html

It’s nice to report a little good news after all the bad and what’s cuter then adorable wild wolf puppies? Congrats “Sophie” and the rest of the Imnahas. I hope the dad is found alive.

Photo: Courtesy ODFW

Posted in: Oregon wolves, biodiversity, gray wolf/canis lupus

Tags: Imnaha wolf pups, Oregon wolves, alpha male missing, wolf recovery

 

ODFW Extends Wolf Kill Permit Two More Months…..

May 2010 recording of the Imnaha wolf pack howling.  Click link below to listen.

wolves-holwing-4_08_102.mov

Courtesy Oregon Public Broadcasting.

Well so much for progressive thinking in Oregon. Cattle trump wolves again.  The ranchers are whining about six calf depredations when they’ve lost hundreds probably thousands of calves to coyotes, weather, disease. Why aren’t they complaining about that?

I want the figures on cows and calves lost to non-predation and predation other then wolves,  since the beginning of 2010.  The new NASS numbers should be out but won’t cover 2010.  Stop acting like this is a big crisis. I’m sick of it. WOLVES ARE NOT THE PROBLEM. PEOPLE ARE THE PROBLEM!!

Why is Wildlife Services being allowed to relentlessly track two Imnaha wolves for two more months when the last depredation was on June 4, almost a month ago? Let’s hear the reasoning ODFW??  Don’t forget to publish the number of dead cows from other causes.  This is kabuki theater to get wolves killed. SHAME!!! 

Kabuki Theater

Oregon is turning out to be just as hostile to wolves as the rest of the Northern Rockies. How pathetic they can’t co-exist with FOURTEEN WOLVES??? Also the alpha male or father of the Imnaha wolf pack is STILL MISSING. I’m convinced  he’s dead, although I hope I’m wrong.  No way would he stay away from his mate and their pups this long.

BTW, Oregon’s Governor denied a direct appeal to grant clemency to the two wolves Wildlife Services is hunting.  Write to him!

FROM NATURAL OREGON: 

Oregon Wolf Hunt Extended Two More Months, ODFW Defends Its Actions

June 25, 2010

By Dennis Newman

Still missing. The alpha male of the Imnaha pack hasn’t been seen or heard from since May 31st. ODFW photo.

The hunt for two wolves in Wallowa County could last all summer long. That’s the latest word from Oregon Fish and Wildlife.

ODFW is now giving federal agents until the end of August to kill two members of the Imnaha pack. It’s the third time ODFW has extended the hunt.

Also new, ODFW is answering critics in the environmental community who think the agency is violating its own rules, and letting the wolf hunt drag out for too long.

“Chronic Depredation”

ODFW has extended the wolf hunt to stop what it says is “chronic depredation” of livestock in Wallowa County. There are six confirmed cases of wolf kills so far this year, and a few more unconfirmed cases. And even though there haven’t been any new attacks since June 4, ODFW says wolves are still being spotted in the area. In last week’s announcement, ODFW said it believed the wolves were moving away from private land.

Spokesperson Michelle Dennehy says all of this is allowed under the Wolf Management Plan which says wildlife officials can kill wolves to stop repeated attacks on livestock.

Rules Remain The Same

The rules governing the hunt remain the same. USDA Wildlife Services is only allowed to kill wolves without tracking collars. That’s designed to protect the breeding pair of the Imnaha Pack. Both the alpha male and female should be wearing collars. So should three other pack members. That leaves five of the ten member pack vulnerable to being killed.

The hunting is limited to privately owned pasture land near where the earlier attacks took place, and the size of the area where hunting is allowed hasn’t changed since June 9th.

 By the way, the alpha male is still missing. His collar stopped operating May 31st and ODFW has had no contact with him since then.

 Ranchers Are “Cooperating”

 Part of the dispute is about whether ranchers are doing everything they should to prevent wolf attacks. The wolf plan says non-lethal methods must be tried first, before wolves can be killed. The Hells Canyon Preservation Council and Oregon Wild say ranchers could be doing more. For example, they say some ranchers are leaving carcasses out in the open where they attract wolves, when they should be burying them.

 Dennehy says ODFW is getting good cooperation from Wallowa County ranchers. Here’s an excerpt from an e-mail she sent earlier.

 “Yes carcass piles can be a problem but ODFW believes ranchers have been very cooperative in carrying out non-lethal measures. We’ll continue to work with ranchers on non-lethal measures; it’s an ongoing project.”

 “Unfortunately, the non-lethal measures weren’t very effective–we have had six confirmed losses to wolves.”

Environmentalists Say…

 Oregon Wild tells me they’re not surprised by today’s news. Rob Klavins writes…

 The best that can be said now is that at least ODFW is being honest that this is essentially an open-ended kill order that won’t be rescinded until 2 of Oregon’s 14 endangered wolves are killed.  ODFW has violated both the spirit and letter of it’s own Wolf Conservation & Management Plan.  We have reluctantly supported the compromise plan in the belief that it would lead to science-based management of wolves that would only turn to lethal control as an option of last resort.  Trying to “send a message to the pack” through revenge killings weeks later is not science-based management.

 Time Running Out For Wolf Plan Comments

We’re now in our final days to comment on Oregon’s Wolf Plan. It’s undergoing a five year review period. ODFW is taking public comments until June 30, or Wednesday. Email them to ODFW.Comments@state.or.us. It will incorporate those comments into a revised plan that will be released later this summer.

http://www.naturaloregon.org/2010/06/25/oregon-wolf-hunt-extended-for-two-more-months-odfw-defends-its-actions/

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Time To Speak Up For Oregon’s  Wolves

http://www.naturaloregon.org/2010/06/08/time-to-speak-up-for-oregons-wolves/

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Contact: Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski

http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/contact_us.shtml

OR

“To get a message to the governor contact the office of Mike Carrier, Natural Resources Director: Jo Bell, Executive Assistant, 503-986-6525, jo.l.bell@state.or.us   Assistant to Mike Carrier “

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Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

3406 Cherry Avenue N.E. 

Salem, OR 97303

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ODFW WILDLIFE DIVISION STAFF DIRECTORY

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/agency/directory/wildlife_division.asp

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Main Phone (503) 947-6000 or (800) 720-ODFW [6339]

Comments:  odfw.info@state.or.us

To Enter Your Opinion About This Issue Into Public Record: Contact: odfw.comments@state.or.us

 

Photo: Courtesy ODFW

Photo: Kabuki Courtesy Nihon Daisuki

Posted In: Oregon wolves, Wolf Wars, Ranching and hunting influence

Tags: Imnaha Wolf Pack, wolf intolerence, ODFW bows to ranching pressure