Wolves are a contentious issue in Oregon, sparking heated debate between environmental conservationists who want to increase the state’s biodiversity and ranchers who are concerned for the safety of their herds.

But unlike deer, elk, or even cougars, very little is known about wolves in Central Oregon. According to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, they have only recently migrated into the region and have been rarely seen.

How does a wolf impact an ecosystem?

Biologists consider wolves to be a keystone species that help keep an ecosystem in balance.

The view of wolves started to evolve when wildlife managers in Yellowstone National Park observed drastic and negative changes in the ecosystem since wolves were hunted out of existence by the 1940s.

Without wolves to hunt them, deer and elk populations increased, wildlife managers observed. While that may not sound like a bad thing, it took a toll on the local ecosystem.

Native grasses and plants were being consumed like never before because of the increase, stripping vegetation from the landscape, damaging streams and water sources.

The loss of wolves also opened the door for coyotes to take over the top spot as a local predator. Increased coyote numbers caused a decrease in their competitors, namely badgers, foxes and martens.

“Wolves have benefits that cascade through the ecosystem as they influence the behaviors of other animals on the landscape that can trickle all the way down to improving stream bank health and thus water quality,” said Erik Fernandez, wilderness program manager at Oregon Wild, an environmental nonprofit.

How does the ODFW designate areas where wolves have been spotted?

Last year, the ODFW declared Deschutes County an Area of Known Wolf Activity, a formal designation that shows where an individual or group of wolves have been documented repeatedly over a period of time.

One group of wolves is located in the Metolius wildlife management unit, which covers parts of northern Deschutes and southern Jefferson counties. Wolves in this unit spend most of their time on the Jefferson county side, according to ODFW.

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A second wolf-activity area straddles a portion of southern Deschutes County and northern Klamath County.

As of March 2022, the number of wolves in Deschutes County was still in the single digits, said ODFW.

While it’s not in Deschutes County, the Warm Springs wolf pack has established itself on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, located 60 miles north of Bend. The first wolves were detected there in December 2021.

How many wolves now exist in Oregon?

Looking at the state as a whole, Oregon is home to around 175 wolves, according to a count conducted in 2021. ODFW has documented 21 packs, defined as four or more wolves traveling together in winter. The state is also home to 16 breeding pairs, defined as an adult male and female wolf with at least two pups that survive until the end of the year. Wolves first reappeared in the state in the late 1990s. Most wolves in Oregon are in the northeast corner of the state.

Trail cameras and radio collars have helped wildlife managers keep track of Oregon’s wolves. One of these animals, code-named OR-7, gained particular notoriety in the state for his widespread travels around the Beaver state. The male gray wolf, nicknamed “Journey” made his way from the Wallowas in Northeast Oregon to the southern Cascade Range and even into Northern California. He gained headlines for being the first wild wolf in California since 1924 and the first in Western Oregon since 1947. Journey has not been seen since April 2020 and is presumed to have died.

How many attacks on livestock have been recorded?

As the numbers have increased in recent years, so too have the attacks on livestock. As of 2021 more than 300 livestock or domestic animals have been confirmed killed by wolves in Oregon since their reappearance in the state in the late 1990s, according to data compiled by ODFW. Cattle and sheep account for most of the losses, but other animals killed include goats, llamas, alpaca, livestock, protection dogs, chickens and geese.

Read more: Deschutes County committee to claw away at tensions between wolves and ranchers

Around 25 Oregon wolves have been killed by ODFW or authorized agents in response to chronic attacks on of livestock. In addition, at least three wolves have been killed by livestock producers after an attack on their livestock or working dogs, according to ODFW reports.

ODFW’s Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan describes how the attacks are seasonal, spiking in spring when livestock gives birth and have vulnerable calves, then increasing again in fall when wolf pups are larger and can join the hunt.

Where did these wolves come from, and are they really new?

They are descended from wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and Central Idaho in the mid-1990s. Those wolves dispersed out of Yellowstone and Idaho, some packs making their way west into Oregon and Washington. Wolves from the Yellowstone ecosystem have also established a pack in Colorado.

But wolves are native to Oregon. They thrived up and down the West Coast until the mid-1800s, when extermination programs were set up at the urging of the livestock industry. The last bounties for wolves were paid in the late 1940s, after which wolves were exterminated in the state.

What is the state’s role in dealing with wolf-rancher conflicts?

ODFW is responsible for conducting wolf surveys and wolf protection, but it also intervenes when wolves get too close to humans. The agency must first attempt nonlethal measures to reduce wolf-livestock conflicts. ODFW lists a number of steps that ranchers and landowners can take to minimize wolf-livestock encounters. These include quickly removing things that attract them, such as dead livestock and bones. Other methods include fencing small and medium pastures or installing noise and light devices that are triggered by motion sensors and can scare the wolves.

Are wolves protected in Oregon?

Yes, current state and federal law protects wolves in Oregon. It is illegal to shoot a wolf in Oregon except in the defense of a human life or in certain circumstances when a wolf is attacking livestock.

In other circumstances, killing a wolf can result in a $6,250 fine and a one-year jail sentence. Civil restitution fines can add another $7,500.

Wolves west of U.S. highways 395 and 95 and state Highways 78 Oregon are listed on the federal Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for management decisions regarding the harassment and taking of wolves in the region. Wolves east of those highways are managed and protected by ODFW.

When conflicts with livestock occur, ODFW works to implement nonlethal tools to protect livestock when possible, sometimes hazing wolves. Lethal removal is conducted only after all nonlethal options have been exhausted, ODFW says.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture offers a financial assistance grant program to help counties pay for compensation due to wolf attacks. In addition to compensation for attacks, funds are also available for wolf-deterrence techniques.