At least it looks like a pair of wolves, rather than a single wolf has moved into Oregon. The tracks of the pair (and there could be more) have been repeatedly seen in the canyon and high peak country of the Wallowa Mountains.
Story in the Baker, Oregon (Baker City Herald). newspaper. Local wolves not all lone. By Jayson Jacoby.
When the wolf is delisted, slated for late February, any wolves in Eastern Oregon will lose their federal protection because the USFWS was careful to draw the delisting lines to more sure good wolf habitat adjacent to Idaho in other states would not be protected. Fortunately, Oregon does have a state wolf protection plan in place.
Comments
This is interesting, good and expected news. I hope these wolves are not killed like nearly all of the previous wolves have been. I’m not particularly familiar with northeastern Oregon but there should be plenty of prey for them there.
This is great news. I’d like to see breeding pairs of wolves in all of the surrounding states. It’s unfortunate that under this USFWS and their desliting proposals that so little of the historic range of gray wolves is going to be protected, but Oregon and Washington are both likely manage wolves in a much more progressive manner than Montana and particularly Idaho and Wyoming.
Frankly, I am surprised that more wolves have not gone to Oregon. I think that they probably have but either have been illegally killed, not noticed, or not reported. It could be a combination of all three. This doesn’t bode well for their future there.
Excellent news! As a fifth generation Oregonian and avid outdoorsman I am hopeful all Oregonians will work hard to co-exist with the wolves. The wolves will bring the wild back to Oregon that is sorely missed. Just like other places though, I know it will be a challenge. Northeast Oregon should be great habitat for wolves- miles of roadless areas, abundant wildlife and decent winter range. The conflict will be with the livestock that graze the area surrounding the wilderness of Oregon. As Oregon has been preparing for the wolf it is evident that many ranchers do not want to change their methods of ranching to co-exist with the wolves. This has been played out again and again in the West. All of us and our families have faced challenges in the ever changing world and ranchers need to face the reality that they are part of society. No one has a god given right to do what they have been doing just because that is what they have been doing. The world is changing and everyone has to change including ranchers and the way they do business. Just look at the amount of people that have lost there jobs over the last 20 years. A lot of these people were second and third generation employees of the same company, but the market changed/the world changed and they were laid off. I hope the future is bright for both Oregon ranchers and wolves and I will do my best to promote a balanced approach for both to survive and flourish. I will also fight like hell if people are unwilling to change and reason with the realities of the world we live in today.
Trent
Well, with this good news, there is more reason to support the lawsuit that’s coming once the delisting of wolves is final.
Ralph is right; the Yellowstone/Idaho DPS boundary was drawn specifically to obstruct the dispersal of wolves into suitable habitat, such as Oregon. When you combine the drawing of the DPS boundary with the removal of “historical” from the ESA definition of “significant portion of [a species’] range, what we’re seeing is a clear political determination to keep wolves out of places they once inhabited but in which they belong. The fight isn’t over.
This is great news it really shows Oregon’s ecosystem coming back into balance.
I was camping in that area this summer as after my yellowstone backcountry trip. It’s great habitat and great news.
Here is a link to an editorial in today’s Oregonian about The wolves;
http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/119750913061980.xml&coll=7
auuugh! I guess you will have to copy and paste…..
sorry, i am not a computer person.
Oh hey it worked!! I am intersted in your thoughts about it and will check back later.