wolves

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Washington Targeting Three Wolf Packs for Killing

by Nick Cady, Legal Director On November 7, 2018, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) authorized the killing of wolves in the Smackout pack in Stevens County and ordered the complete elimination of the Togo pack in Ferry County. Department staff are still actively trying to kill the last adult and pup in … Read more

Lawsuit Halts Wolf Killing in Washington!

August 20, 2018 — Two conservation groups filed an emergency lawsuit today seeking a temporary restraining order to stop Washington wildlife officials from carrying out a kill order for the Togo wolf pack in Ferry County. The decision, issued today, orders the death of the collared, black-male adult from the pack and holds open the possibility for killing additional pack members. The Togo pack consists of only two confirmed adults plus an unknown number of pups. The kill order was halted by the court late this afternoon.

Official 2017 Washington Wolf Count Released

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife released its official 2017 wolf count this past Friday.  You can find the report in full here, but fourteen wolves were killed by humans and the overall state population grew by just seven.  Concerns over high levels of human-caused wolf mortality are one of the reasons Cascadia Wildlands … Read more

Press release: Gray wolves documented on Oregon’s Mt. Hood

January 16, 2018 — The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced today that two gray wolves have been documented on the Mt. Hood National Forest. A remote camera captured an image showing two wolves traveling together in southern Wasco County. Until now, only lone wolves have been documented dispersing through the area since they began migrating back into the state from Idaho in 2007.

Reward Boosted to $20,000 in Search for Killer of Two Washington Wolves

December 11, 2017 — The Center for Biological Diversity and Cascadia Wildlands today increased a reward to $20,000 for information leading to conviction in the killing of two wolves last month in northeast Washington. 

Press Release: Conservation Groups Boost Reward to $16,750 for Oregon Wolf-killer Amid Poaching Surge

November 8, 2017 — Conservation organizations are bolstering a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services reward for information on the illegal killing of OR-25, a federally protected gray wolf in southwestern Oregon. The Service has offered a $5,000 reward, and six conservation organizations have contributed an additional $11,750.

The Deja Vu of Killing Wolves

Late last month, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that it would shoot up to four wolves in the Harl Butte pack. Again. In August, following conflicts between wolves and livestock in the same area, the Department killed another four wolves from the same pack.

Cascadia Lawsuit Challenges Wolf Killing in Washington!

September 25, 2017 — Two conservation groups filed a lawsuit today seeking to stop the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and its director, James Unsworth, from killing any more state-endangered wolves.

Oregon Killing Harl Butte Wolf Pack

August 3, 2017 — Today, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife signed a kill order for the Harl Butte  Pack in Northeastern Oregon.  The Harl Butte Pack territory largely overlaps with the former territory of the Imnaha Pack which was killed last year by the Department.  The kill order comes in response to two recent conflicts with cows on public National Forests, where one calf was confirmed killed by wolves. 

Press Release: Oregon Wolf Recovery Stagnant in 2016, Changes to Wolf Plan Concern Wolf Advocates

April 11, 2017 — Today the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife released its 2016 annual report for wolf recovery as well as its draft update to the Oregon Wolf Plan. Of particular interest, the annual report shows that wolf packs and breeding pairs documented in the state 2016 declined from 2015 numbers. Pack numbers dropped from 12 to 11, and breeding pairs from 11 to 8. (The state of Oregon defines “breeding pair” as a breeding adult male and female wolf that produce at least two pups which survive through the end of the year.) Overall population numbers in 2016 were largely stagnant from 2015, seeing a 2% uptick to a minimum of 112 wolves.