17 April 2015
Wolf, © John Eastcott and Yva Momatiuk / National Geographic Stock

Posted by: Melanie Gade
The Fate of Oregon’s Wolves under Consideration: On Tuesday, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife launched the start of a formal review to determine if wolves in Oregon can be removed from the state list of endangered species. Wildlife officials will meet next Friday, April 24 to determine if there is sufficient information to move forward, although an official decision is not expected until August of this year. While Oregon’s wolf population continues to show signs of progress — no doubt a result of the state’s continued commitment to implementing balanced management policies for the species — the population is still incredibly fragile and by no means fully recovered. At last count, there were only 77 wolves in the entire state. Removing wolves from the list of state protected species will make it easier for local landowners to kill wolves they see as a threat to their livestock. And while we’re thrilled to see that Oregon’s wolf population has met certain recovery goals — for example, Oregon has maintained at least four breeding pairs for three consecutive years — the health of the wolf population needs to be evaluated as a whole. You can be sure that Defenders staff is working with state officials to ensure they conduct a neutral and unbiased status review to assess wolves’ overall population health. Stay tuned for updates on this subject in the next few weeks.

Congressman Beyer Takes a Strong Stand on Wolves: We were thrilled to see Representative Beyer’s video message to his Virginia constituents this week where he reaffirmed his opposition to a national wolf delisting and his lifelong love for the species. In his video, the congressman says that he has heard from an overwhelming number of his constituents who’ve asked him to fight for wolves’ continued protection under the Endangered Species Act. Beyer’s support is just what we need in Congress when congressional proposals to delist the species in certain states are more and more common. Check out Rep. Beyer’s video here. Show your support by commenting on the video, or by sharing the video with your own Representative, encouraging him or her to follow Beyer’s lead and to take a stand for wolves!



Melanie Gade

, Communications Specialist

Melanie handles press coverage for wildlife in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains as well as Defenders' national work on the Endangered Species Act.