Learning to live with wolves

Wednesday, April 06, 2011

By Kate Ritley

My great-grandfather homesteaded in eastern Oregon back in the days when wolf packs roamed the range. By the time his son -- my grandfather -- claimed a homestead, wolves were gone. Bounty hunters and settlers, perhaps including members of my family, had shot, trapped and poisoned Oregon's gray wolves to extinction.

Now, after a 60-year absence, wolves are mounting a historic comeback across our state. In 2009 several wolves, descendents of wolves reintroduced to the Rockies in the mid-1990s, wandered from Idaho into Oregon. Today three packs, comprised of two dozen wolves, live in northeast Oregon. For the first time in decades my relatives must readapt to the reality of ranching with wolves on the range.

But what does this look like where the rubber meets the road? What is different about living and ranching in a state with wolves? Can we coexist with another top-of-the-food-chain species? The decisions we make today will determine the answers to these questions.

One thing I know is that Oregon ranchers are some of the most determined and resilient folks on earth. Given practical guidelines and the proper tools, Oregon livestock producers can take proactive steps and successfully protect their livestock from wolves. In fact, some ranchers have already started the transition to wolf-compatible livestock practices.

Over the past month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been outfitting ranchers with electric flagging to string around livestock pens near wolf packs. This proactive measure, which shocks wolves if they try to enter a livestock pen and teaches them to stay away, has been an effective deterrent to wolves in the Rockies, the Great Lakes and Europe for years.

In neighboring Idaho, Lava Lake Lamb has experimented with tools to safeguard flocks in an area prolific with wolves. Lava Lake has adopted wolf-compatible ranching practices, from range riders patrolling the range on horseback to carefully disposing of bones and animal parts, and the operation has nearly eliminated livestock losses to wolves. The company, which has won multiple awards for its business practices, provides an excellent model for livestock producers in Oregon.

Inevitably, there will be some conflicts between wolves and livestock in the state. But through these proven, proactive measures we can reduce these conflicts, ease the transition for wolves into Oregon, and all the while protect livestock and livelihoods.

I encourage the Oregon Legislature to approve a plan to compensate responsible ranchers for livestock lost to wolves, particularly ranchers who have taken proactive measures to protect their livestock from conflict ahead of time.

But I vehemently oppose several bills currently being considered in the Legislature that would strip protection for wolves and encourage ranchers to protect their livestock with guns rather than preventive, proactive measures. These bills completely undermine the science and stakeholder support behind Oregon's current Wolf Management Plan. I shudder to think Oregon could regress to the days of wolf hunts before wolves even have a foot in the door.

Our generation of Oregonians has the opportunity to redefine our relationship with wolves. Will we be proactive and learn to coexist with this species, or will Oregon say goodbye to gray wolves for good?

Kate Ritley is executive director of Cascadia Wildlands, based in Eugene. 

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