What the spate of wolf poisonings says about Oregon’s co-existence with wolves, Beat Check podcast
In recent years, people have killed increasingly larger numbers of wolves in Oregon as the animals have rebounded in the state.And poisoning has emerged as one of the most common tools used to target wolves – an alarming trend, Oregon wildlife officials say. Since 2015, poisoning has killed 19 wolves in Wallowa, Union, Baker and Umatilla counties, on both private and public land.The latest case, announced earlier this month by Oregon State Police and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, involves three wolves poisoned in February in the Imnaha River drainage in northeastern Oregon. The source of the poison: a cow carcass placed by someone in a creek at the bottom of the timber canyon.The poisoning trend is concerning, wildlife officials say, because a single poison trap can kill multiple wolves and countless other animals and birds, including domestic dogs. Near the poisoned cow carcass, officials also found two dead golden eagles, a coyote, a mountain lion and several birds.Roblyn Brown, wolf program coordinator with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, talked on Beat Check about the poisonings, what they mean in the context of Oregon’s stagnant wolf population and how to bridge the divide between people who love wolves and those who want them gone.Brown said as wolves expand their territory – and increasingly use areas that overlap with those used by people – conflicts are bound to intensify. Oregon currently has 178 wolves, with most living in eastern Oregon.“We might be forced to acknowledge that wolf management is going to be harder in Oregon than it is in some areas of the northern Rocky Mountains because Oregon has a higher human population and less space,” Brown said. “We have high prey densities of elk and deer, which allows for a large wolf population, but we also have fewer large wilderness areas, higher road density and a higher overlap of wolf territories with livestock.”It’s hard to catch the people who kill wolves because the crimes they commit happen in remote areas and there’s a code of silence in rural communities when it comes to killing wolves, Brown said. There have been no convictions to date in any of the wolf poisoning cases, and only four people have been prosecuted in court for shooting wolves illegally in Oregon, she said.Environmental groups say poaching, poisoning and other forms of intentional killing of wolves could undermine the state’s conservation goals. And they say the state isn’t setting a good example by sanctioning the legal killing of wolves. State wildlife managers or ranchers can kill wolves that chronically attack livestock or that are caught in the act of attacking or chasing livestock or working dogs.The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association has said it does not condone poaching or other illegal killing of wolves. The group believes the state needs to do more to help offset the financial impact and emotional toll of wolf attacks on ranchers. In 2023, there were a total of 73 attacks on livestock by wolves, down from 76 in 2022.Brown said ranchers and environmentalists need to work together on wolf conservation. To that end, she said, minimizing livestock conflicts and reducing livestock losses is the most important part of Oregon’s wolf conservation plan. Under that plan, ranchers are compensated for confirmed and probable livestock losses to wolves and they’re also paid for using preventive measures to deter the animals.She also encouraged Oregon residents to learn more about wolves and their incredible stories of dispersal – some travel thousands of miles to look for a new mate. Last year, one of Oregon’s radio-collared wolves traveled more than 4,500 miles, a distance equal to traveling from Oregon to Florida and back.“Wolves are amazing animals,” she said. “They’re just one more wildlife species trying to make a living out there on the landscape. Wolves are not scary, bloodthirsty demons.”The Oregon State Police asks anyone with information about the wolf poisonings to call the Turn In Poachers program hotline: 1-800-452-7888. The program offers hefty cash rewards for information leading to an arrest. Callers to the hotline can remain anonymous.People in Oregon also can report wolf sightings to help establish where wolves roam and take a quiz to test their coyote versus wolf identification skills.Wondering what to do if you encounter a wolf? There’s no need to panic.— Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154.Read more about wolves and the conflict linked to their conservation:Investigators seek public’s help in investigation of wildlife poisoning in Wallowa CountyWolf killings in Oregon at all-time high while population remains stagnantTo some Oregonians, moving wolves to Colorado just shifts the problem and the painBiden administration brings back threatened species protections helping Oregon wolves, wolverines and spotted owls
Poisoning has emerged as one of the most common tools used to target wolves in Oregon. Roblyn Brown, wolf program coordinator with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, talked on Beat Check about the poisonings, the state's stagnant wolf population and how to bridge the divide between people who love wolves and those who want them gone.
In recent years, people have killed increasingly larger numbers of wolves in Oregon as the animals have rebounded in the state.
And poisoning has emerged as one of the most common tools used to target wolves – an alarming trend, Oregon wildlife officials say. Since 2015, poisoning has killed 19 wolves in Wallowa, Union, Baker and Umatilla counties, on both private and public land.
The latest case, announced earlier this month by Oregon State Police and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, involves three wolves poisoned in February in the Imnaha River drainage in northeastern Oregon. The source of the poison: a cow carcass placed by someone in a creek at the bottom of the timber canyon.
The poisoning trend is concerning, wildlife officials say, because a single poison trap can kill multiple wolves and countless other animals and birds, including domestic dogs. Near the poisoned cow carcass, officials also found two dead golden eagles, a coyote, a mountain lion and several birds.
Roblyn Brown, wolf program coordinator with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, talked on Beat Check about the poisonings, what they mean in the context of Oregon’s stagnant wolf population and how to bridge the divide between people who love wolves and those who want them gone.
Brown said as wolves expand their territory – and increasingly use areas that overlap with those used by people – conflicts are bound to intensify. Oregon currently has 178 wolves, with most living in eastern Oregon.
“We might be forced to acknowledge that wolf management is going to be harder in Oregon than it is in some areas of the northern Rocky Mountains because Oregon has a higher human population and less space,” Brown said. “We have high prey densities of elk and deer, which allows for a large wolf population, but we also have fewer large wilderness areas, higher road density and a higher overlap of wolf territories with livestock.”
It’s hard to catch the people who kill wolves because the crimes they commit happen in remote areas and there’s a code of silence in rural communities when it comes to killing wolves, Brown said. There have been no convictions to date in any of the wolf poisoning cases, and only four people have been prosecuted in court for shooting wolves illegally in Oregon, she said.
Environmental groups say poaching, poisoning and other forms of intentional killing of wolves could undermine the state’s conservation goals. And they say the state isn’t setting a good example by sanctioning the legal killing of wolves. State wildlife managers or ranchers can kill wolves that chronically attack livestock or that are caught in the act of attacking or chasing livestock or working dogs.
The Oregon Cattlemen’s Association has said it does not condone poaching or other illegal killing of wolves. The group believes the state needs to do more to help offset the financial impact and emotional toll of wolf attacks on ranchers. In 2023, there were a total of 73 attacks on livestock by wolves, down from 76 in 2022.
Brown said ranchers and environmentalists need to work together on wolf conservation. To that end, she said, minimizing livestock conflicts and reducing livestock losses is the most important part of Oregon’s wolf conservation plan. Under that plan, ranchers are compensated for confirmed and probable livestock losses to wolves and they’re also paid for using preventive measures to deter the animals.
She also encouraged Oregon residents to learn more about wolves and their incredible stories of dispersal – some travel thousands of miles to look for a new mate. Last year, one of Oregon’s radio-collared wolves traveled more than 4,500 miles, a distance equal to traveling from Oregon to Florida and back.
“Wolves are amazing animals,” she said. “They’re just one more wildlife species trying to make a living out there on the landscape. Wolves are not scary, bloodthirsty demons.”
The Oregon State Police asks anyone with information about the wolf poisonings to call the Turn In Poachers program hotline: 1-800-452-7888. The program offers hefty cash rewards for information leading to an arrest. Callers to the hotline can remain anonymous.
People in Oregon also can report wolf sightings to help establish where wolves roam and take a quiz to test their coyote versus wolf identification skills.
Wondering what to do if you encounter a wolf? There’s no need to panic.
— Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154.
Read more about wolves and the conflict linked to their conservation:
Investigators seek public’s help in investigation of wildlife poisoning in Wallowa County
Wolf killings in Oregon at all-time high while population remains stagnant
To some Oregonians, moving wolves to Colorado just shifts the problem and the pain