It seems a weekly routine, reading about new depredations on livestock in the Capital Press, hearing neighbors talk about sightings over breakfast at the local cafĂ© and finding ourselves in heated conversations about the “wolf problem.” Ranchers are restless without answers on this habitual issue, a terror in many rural communities. When I share an article about wolf attacks on OCA’s Facebook page, the comment "What is the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association doing to fix this problem?" becomes ever more prevalent.
The Oregon Wolf Plan revision was due in 2015, but stakeholders including OCA, ODFW, Defenders of Wildlife, Oregon Wild, OFB, Oregon Hunter’s Association and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation have failed to find middle ground on this plan, and here we are, 2019, with no answers for the hardworking citizens of this state.
The Cattlemen’s Association continues to put ranchers first and refuses to ignore these shattering attacks on cattle producers by compromising on a plan that brushes concerns under the table. Roger Huffman, OCA’s Wolf Task Force Committee chair from Union, calls the current situation “chronic depredation” because multiple attacks are occurring with no response or resolution from ODFW, and so the problem continues to amplify.
Many of you may have read the Capital Press article about Ted Birdseye in Jackson County, who awoke on New Year’s Day to find an injured, 5-month old calf with 2 feet of intestines hanging out of its backside. This has become “just another day at the office” for Birdseye as he has suffered at least five calf kills and one guard dog kill in 2018. If Birdseye’s situation is not “chronic depredation,” then what is?
Birdseye is not permitted to take lethal action against the wolves who are scarfing down his property for supper. The wolves are still federally protected under the Endangered Species Act west of highways 395, 78 and 95. This is the story for ranchers across the state, some of whom may face $20,000 or more in losses from wolves in a given year. So, the question returns to stakeholders, what are you doing to protect the ranchers of Oregon?
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