Commission votes to change wolf policy

September 10, 2005

TILLAMOOK -- The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted Friday to amend the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Recovery Plan and remove three proposed elements that were not acted upon by the Oregon Legislature last session.

Commission members emphasized that the remainder of the plan will stay in place to manage wolves if and when they arrive in Oregon.

The removed elements called for the designation of the wolf as a special-status mammal under the game mammal statute, creation of a state-funded compensation program for livestock killed by wolves and allowing ranchers and farmers to kill wolves caught in the act of killing livestock.

"All the conservation elements of the plan remain intact," said Marla Rae, the commission chairwoman. "Removing these three provisions reduces some of the wolf management flexibility we worked to provide in the original plan, but it allows wildlife managers to move forward with implementing the plan, if and when wolves arrive in Oregon."

The seven-member commission approved the Oregon wolf plan in February after a comprehensive public involvement effort involving a citizen committee meeting for more than a year to craft a draft plan and a four-month public-comment period.

Wolves are not confirmed to be in Oregon, but wolf experts believe wolves will migrate from the Idaho population into Oregon.

Amending the Oregon wolf plan requires the commission to take public comment on the plan. The comment period is Oct. 1 to Nov. 4 .

Comments can be mailed to Wolf Project Coordinator, 3406 Cherry Ave. NE, Salem, OR, 97303, or by providing comments at the Commission meeting. Comments also will be accepted via email, to Anne Pressentin-Young at anne.m.pressentin@dfw.state.or.us