Feds probe wolf killing as ranchers struggle

It's been an eventful several weeks in the continuing story of the resident gray wolf on the northeast Oregon landscape. USDA Wildlife Services is investigating the illegal killing of a male gray wolf discovered Sept. 30 in the Umatilla National Forest east of Troy. The two-year old wolf had been captured and collared by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in early August. Wildlife Services is offering a reward of $2,500 for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for killing the wolf. Because the gray wolf is a federally protected species, the offense carries a federal penalty of up to a $100,000 fine and a year in jail. Killing a wolf is also a violation of state game law with penalties set by the court. Wildlife Service officials confirmed the eleventh loss of livestock in Wallowa County to wolf attack after rancher Denny Johnson reported the loss of a calf on Oct. 1 in the Divide area about 15 miles east of Enterprise. While events were transpiring in the field, the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission on Oct. 1 authorized revisions to the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan during the scheduled five-year plan update. The commission declined to add to the plan many of the suggestions made by the Oregon Cattlemen's Association. Cattlemen were turned down on their request for a plan that gives them the tools they feel are necessary to protect themselves including authorization to kill wolves caught attacking, biting, chasing or harassing humans, livestock, pets and sporting and working dogs. The commission also failed to include in the plan the cattlemen's suggestion that rural residents be authorized to use lethal means, without a permit, on wolves that come within 500 feet of houses...more