Kill order means initial wolf pack may not survive

The decision to kill two more wolves for preying on livestock could mean the end of the first Oregon wolf pack to successfully breed since efforts began to restore the predators. State wolf coordinator Russ Morgan said Monday that despite this setback, restoration of wolves is moving forward, with individuals striking out for new territories, and the newly formed Walla Walla pack in Umatilla County breeding its first two pups. "Recovery has a number of barometers," Morgan said from his office in LaGrande, Ore. "If we look at dispersal in the overall area in Oregon, it's clearly expanding. "The lethal control actions we are involved with now may have the effect of slowing recovery. But it is also tied to recovery. One of the premises of the Oregon wolf plan is that by directly dealing with depredation issues, that helps create a bit of tolerance. I suppose that remains to be seen." The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced last week that it will kill two of the four remaining members of the Imnaha pack, which has been responsible for 14 confirmed livestock kills over the last two years. A department hunter is looking first for a member of the pack not collared with a radio transmitter, Morgan said. Then he will go after the alpha male, which goes by the number OR4 and sired the first pups in Oregon since wolves began moving back into the state from Idaho in the 1990s...more