Oregon’s Troubling 2023 Wolf Report

From Oregon Wild:

Late last Friday afternoon, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) released its 2023 Wolf Report. The report, which was not directly linked to in the agency’s press release, update page, or email reveals a series of disturbing trends.

ODFW attempted to present its data in the most positive light. This is a trend we’ve discussed before. We even named our first deep-dive “Friday Trash” after the agency’s pattern of releasing embarrassing news on Friday afternoons to avoid scrutiny. For more analysis, check out our 2018 edition called “Spring Cleaning.”

 

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Poaching, suspicious deaths raise concern for Oregon gray wolf population

From Yahoo News:

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is showing concern over the number of confirmed poaching incidents and suspicious deaths of gray wolves in the state within the last year.

A new report released Thursday from the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management shows the state’s wolf population did not grow at all in 2023, remaining at 178 at the end of the year. This is first year of zero annual growth in 16 years, according to ODFW. The growth from 175 to 178 between 2021 and 2022 was also not much of an improvement, with the Center for Biological Diversity calling the stunted growth “a tragedy.”

 

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World-record coyote turns out to be protected gray wolf

From News Nation:

CALHOUN COUNTY, Mich. (WJW) – Michigan wildlife officials are investigating the killing of a rare gray wolf.

According to a press release from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, a hunter reported that he killed a large coyote. Coyotes typically weigh up to 40 pounds. This creature was 84 pounds. Genetic tests by the department showed the large animal was a gray wolf.

 

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Oregon wolf population holds at 178, ODFW says; livestock depredation falls; poaching, poisonings prompt concern

From KTVZ:

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The minimum known count of wolves in Oregon at the end of 2023 was 178 wolves, according to the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management annual report released Friday. That’s the same number documented in 2022 and does not include 10 wolves translocated to Colorado in 2023 to help establish a wolf population there.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said the annual count is based on verified wolf evidence (like visual observations, tracks, and remote camera photographs). The actual number of wolves in Oregon is higher, as not all individuals present in the state are located during the winter count.

 

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1228F part of first wolf pair to establish new YNP pack in 20 years

From Buckrail:

JACKSON, Wyo. — Despite all the challenges that Wolf 1228F has faced in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), she’s the first alpha female in nearly 20 years to successfully establish a new pack with just a mate.

Kira Cassidy, research associate with the Yellowstone Wolf Project, tells Buckrail that every other new wolf pack in the last two decades had at least three founding wolf members.

“Yellowstone is a competitive environment and pairs are usually squeezed out by larger packs,” Cassidy says.

 

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COLORADO CALF KILLED BY WOLF

From The Wildlife Society:

A wolf in Colorado has killed a calf, marking the first livestock kill after the predators were reintroduced to the state in December. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials confirmed the kill after examining the wolves and nearby tracks.

“The field investigation found multiple tooth rake marks on the calf’s hindquarters and neck, and hemorrhaging under the hide, consistent with wolf depredation,” Jeromy Huntington, one of the agencies wildlife managers, said in a statement.

 

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As Wolf Management Debate Reaches a Fever Pitch, the Interior Department Hires a National Mediator

From Outdoor Life:

America’s heated conversation over wolf management has turned into a screaming match in recent weeks. Death threats from wildlife activists poured into Wyoming last week after news broke that a resident captured a live wolf in February and paraded it around a bar before dispatching it. In Colorado, pissed-off landowners are withdrawing their cooperation with Parks and Wildlife after a second calf was killed by recently reintroduced wolves. The latest round of virtual discussions is today and tomorrow.

 

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CPW confirms second wolf-kill in week

From Montrose Daily Press:

Just days after Colorado Parks and Wildlife confirmed a wolf killed a calf in Grand County, the agency confirmed a second wolf-kill in Jackson County, where a field investigation confirmed a calf found dead had injuries consistent with wolf predation. Partial wolf tracks also were found in the area, where CPW is aware of at least four wolves, including wolves released last December, and a wolf or wolves with known territory in North Park.

The kill was confirmed April 7. The Grand County depredation was confirmed April 2 and announced April 3. These were the first CPW-confirmed wolf depredations of livestock since wolves were reintroduced to parts of the Western Slope of Colorado late last year, as required under a law voters passed in 2020.

 

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Will wolf-watchers flock to Colorado? Tourism leaders have mixed opinions

From KUST:

Wolves don’t just fascinate or intrigue Nathan Varley. They’re his livelihood.

Varley and his wife, Linda Thurston, run a wolf-watching business called Yellowstone Wolf Tracker. For 17 years, they’ve helped hundreds of tourists glimpse and photograph the national park’s famous wolf packs. Customers also see bison, grizzly bears, and other wildlife, but it’s the wolves that most tourists travel for and pay specifically to see.

“If there weren’t wolves, we wouldn’t have a business,” Varley said last month near his home in Gardiner, Montana.

 

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Gray Wolf Updates

From California Department of Fish and Wildlife:

As of April 11, 2024, CDFW has updated the CDFW Wolf Livestock Compensation Grants webpage with the following information to reflect the current status of the pilot program.

 

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