SALEM — The Oregon Fish and
Wildlife Commission today decided to direct ODFW staff to develop two
options for delisting wolves from the state Endangered Species Act: one
that would delist wolves in eastern Oregon and one that would delist
wolves statewide.
The state’s wolf plan calls for
initiating a process to delist wolves from the state Endangered Species
Act when Oregon reaches the conservation objective of four breeding
pairs for three consecutive years in eastern Oregon. This objective was
met in early 2015.
The Commission heard ODFW staff’s Biological Status Review of wolves and also heard public testimony from 38 people. “This
is a success story,” said Russ Morgan, ODFW Wolf Coordinator in his
presentation of the Biological Status Review. “Not very many years ago,
we had no known wolves in Oregon. Now we not only have wolves, but the
population is healthy and growing.”
“I am very confident
that we are going to have a healthy, sustainable population of wolves in
Oregon,” said Commissioner Holly Akenson. “We have the protections and
the desire to maintain a wolf population in Oregon.”
Much
of the public testimony was against a delisting, and commissioners
noted that the option of no action also remained on the table. Noting
other staff job tasks, commission Chair Finley informed the public that
this two-option approach would require a substantial investment in time
and that a final proposal may not be available until the fall.
The commission's next meeting is scheduled for June 5 in Salem.
