Court orders Oregon to halt hunt for two wolves

As state biologists combed northeastern Oregon's rugged mountains Wednesday to kill two gray wolves in the Imnaha pack, conservation groups challenged the kill order in court and called on Gov. John Kitzhaber to intercede. Late in the day, the Oregon Court of Appeals granted their request to temporarily halt the hunt, The Associated Press reported. Cascadia Wildlands, the Center for Biological Diversity and Oregon Wild contend that efforts by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to remove the pack's alpha male and a younger wolf would leave only a female wolf and one pup born this year to fend for themselves this winter. The kill order came Sept. 23 after data from the alpha male's GPS collar confirmed he was at the scene where Joseph area rancher Todd Nash's calf was killed, said Michelle Dennehy, spokeswoman for the state wildlife agency...more