The growth of gray wolves in Oregon remains slow, though the animals continue to expand their habitat westward, according to a new state report.
Oregon’s wolf population increased by three animals last year, rising from 175 to 178, according to an annual wolf report released by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. It follows a similarly low increase in 2021.
The wolf count documented 24 packs last year – up from 21 in the previous year – with 17 of the packs meeting the criteria of breeding pairs, up by one from the previous year. A pack is defined as four or more wolves traveling together in winter.
The wolves can be found throughout the state, but most of the packs are concentrated in the Wallowas in northeastern Oregon.
Because the report is based on a direct count during winter months – using visual observations, tracks and remote camera photographs – state wildlife officials said it’s likely the actual number of wolves is higher.
Environmental groups are worried that a high number of wolf deaths in the past two years is affecting the recovery of wolf populations in the state.
Wildlife officials documented 20 wolf deaths last year. People killed 17 of the wolves – including seven illegally, while the rest died naturally. Six of the wolves were killed legally for repeatedly harassing or killing livestock, two perished in car crashes, one was killed after it harassed horses near a family backcountry camping site and another was shot by a sheep herder when it was caught in-the-act of attacking his livestock working dogs.
In 2021, the state counted 26 wolf deaths, the highest thus far, up sharply from nine deaths in 2020 and seven in 2018.
“Poaching has been at an all-time high and the growth rate at all-time low in the past few years, which shows the species is not able to overcome that much mortality and still reach conservation goals,” said Danielle Moser, a wildlife program manager with Oregon Wild, a nonprofit that works to protect and restore Oregon’s wildlands and wildlife.
But state wildlife officials said wolves are doing well and expanding in range in Oregon.
Their lower rate of population increase in recent years is partly due to the limited habitat available in northeastern Oregon, the wolves’ stronghold, and to the turnover of breeding adults, said Michelle Dennehy, a spokeswoman with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
“We are confident in the overall health of the wolf population,” Dennehy said. “The fact that wolves are making it to western Oregon and to other states and breeding shows that the population has habitat connectivity, an important indicator of overall health.”
Dennehy acknowledged the number of illegal killings remains “unacceptably high” and is also playing a role in the smaller rate of increase.
The annual wolf count is part of the state’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, which was first adopted in 2005 and most recently revised in 2019. The wolf plan drives the state’s wolf conservation and management practices. The next wolf plan update will start later this year.
Wolves are a delicate topic in Oregon. Environmentalists and other people keen on protecting wildlife argue their population is nowhere near recovery and argue the state should focus more on nonlethal approaches when wolves harass livestock.
While the state does not have specific population targets in its wolf plan, a 2015 state analysis assessing the viability of future gray wolf populations, the most recent available, assumed the populations would increase an average of 7 percent per year – a higher percentage than the growth in 2022 or 2021. The analysis also concluded that human-caused wolf mortality had negative impacts on wolf population growth rates.
“We have a long way to go,” said Moser with Oregon Wild. “We’re not seeing growth at the level the state expected.”
According to an Oregon State University study, Oregon offers approximately 26,400 square miles of potential wolf habitat that could support a population of approximately 1,450 wolves.
But many Oregon ranchers have said the animals are a nuisance, killing and harassing livestock. Oregon compensates livestock owners for confirmed and probable losses to wolves, paying out $103,000 last year.
Gray wolves were once hunted to near-extinction across the nation and disappeared completely in Oregon. They became protected under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1970s. Their population rebounded, especially in Idaho and Montana, and has been considered a conservation success.
Their protected status has been frequently litigated, with the federal government repeatedly removing wolf protections, environmental groups suing and the courts restoring safeguards. In the meantime, states have relaxed wolf protections, leading to thousands of wolves being killed by hunters, trappers, wildlife officials and ranchers.
In 2015, wolves in Oregon lost statewide protections under the state Endangered Species Act when wildlife officials removed them from the list of protected animals. They are still considered a “special status game mammal” and protected by statute throughout the state. Oregon does not allow sport hunting of wolves, although the 2019 wolf management plan update opened the door to potential wolf hunting and trapping in the future.
The federal government last stripped wolves of protections throughout the U.S. in 2021. But in February 2022, following a court order, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service restored federal protections for gray wolves, including in much of western Oregon. State wildlife officials continue to manage wolf populations in the eastern part of the state, which is considered part of the larger Northern Rocky Mountain population and isn’t federally protected.
