reward offered in wolf shooting 080907

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Contact: Special Agent Jim Stinebaugh, USFWS, (503) 682-6131 Senior Trooper Darren Chandler, Oregon State Police, (541) 963-7175

Reward Offered in Wolf Shooting
August 9, 2007
A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for the death of a female gray wolf found May 25, 2007, in a forested area north of Elgin, Oregon. The wolf’s body was badly decomposed.

Forensic testing showed the wolf was genetically related to the wolf population in Idaho and had died from a gunshot wound. Anyone with information about the wolf’s death is asked to call Special Agent Jim Stinebaugh, (503) 682-6131, or Senior Trooper Darren Chandler, (541)
963-7175.

Any gray wolf that shows up in Oregon is listed as an endangered species under both state and federal law. Killing an animal protected under the federal Endangered Species Act is punishable by a fine of up to $100,000, one year in jail or both. Killing a wolf is also a violation of Oregon state game law, with fines and penalties assessed by the court.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 97-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 548 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 63 Fish and Wildlife Management offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.