Dec. 17–A plan to remove federal endangered species protection for gray wolves — including Oregon’s famous wandering wolf, OR-7 — wraps up its public involvement period today.
A federal delisting would give responsibility for wolf management to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and could eventually clear the way for sport hunting across Oregon.
Most of the state’s estimated 46 wolves are found in eastern Oregon and were already removed from the federal endangered species list in 2011. Federal protection remains for wolves like OR-7 that migrate to the western part of the state. OR-7 gained fame after being the first wolf in nearly 90 years to cross into California.
Environmental groups submitted some 101,000 comments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in protest today, calling the delisting premature.
“Wolf recovery on the West Coast is in its infancy,” said Amaroq Weiss, an organizer with the Center for Biological Diversity, “and states where protections have been lifted are hunting and trapping wolves to bare bones numbers.”
Michelle Dennehy, an ODFW spokeswoman, said a delisting wouldn’t lead to immediate changes in Oregon wolf management because wolves are still protected under the state’s endangered species law. They can’t be removed until after 2014, depending on population trends.
For a state delisting, wildlife managers need to see four breeding pairs of wolves with two pups that survive through the end of a year, three years straight. Last year was the first to meet the criteria; 2013 could be the second.
Sport hunting can’t happen until seven breeding pairs are found in eastern Oregon for three straight years. This year is poised to be the first to meet that requirement, meaning hunting wouldn’t be allowed until at least 2016. The state’s plan wouldn’t allow hunting in western Oregon, where OR-7 has been spotted, until seven pairs are seen there for three straight years, too.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the gray wolf in 1974 after it was almost hunted to extinction in the lower 48 states. The service says population numbers have since bounced back to sustainable levels, with an estimated 5,360 now in the contiguous states. Most live in the northern Rocky Mountains and western Great Lakes.
A final federal decision is expected in December 2014.
— Rob Davis