NEW BRIDGE, Ore. — Oregon State Police is investigating after someone killed a protected wolf in eastern Oregon last month, the agency said on Wednesday.
OSP's Fish & Wildlife division said that the wolf was killed west of New Bridge in the Skull Creek drainage of the Wallowa Whitman National Forest sometime around September 24. The U.S. Forest Service 7741 Road accesses the drainage, and the wolf was discovered off the 125 spur road, OSP said.
Most of Oregon's known wolf packs roam the counties of northeastern Oregon, including Baker. Those packs periodically prety on livestock, but the most active pack for depredation in recent years has been the "Rogue Pack" of southern Oregon.
Oregon’s Wolf Plan mandates that ranchers use non-lethal means to keep wolves away before lethal removal can be considered. In 2019, ODFW said, those measures included removing attractants, hazing, electrified fladry, fence maintenance, radio-activated guard boxes, increased human presence, range riders and other husbandry practices.
Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to contact OSP Sergeant Isaac Cyr through the Turn in Poachers (TIP) hotline at 1-800-452-7888 or *OSP (mobile).
Oregon's TIP program offers rewards for information that leads to the arrest or citation of poachers. For wolves in particular, the program offers a reward of $300 in the case of an unlawfully killing.
