The Oregon governor’s natural resources adviser listened to what the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association had to say…. When will they listen to what we have to say??
ODFWs Brown and WDFWs Martorello have proven Dr. Robert Wielgus study to be accurate… Killing of Wolves one year leads to more depredations the following year. WAKE UP BROWN AND MARTORELLO!!! You are managing our Resources in the best interest of Cattle Ranchers…..
Both sides of Oregon’s wolf management issue asked Gov. Kate Brown to intervene in ODFW’s handling of continued livestock attacks by the Harl Butte pack in Wallowa County.
ODFW staff shot three of the wolves this month and intends to kill a fourth as part of its “incremental” approach to controlling the pack. The pack, thought now to include at least seven adults and three pups, is blamed for eight confirmed livestock attacks since July 15, 2016, all within 9 miles of each other. The most recent was Aug. 16, when a range rider found a dead 450 pound calf on private grazing land leased by rancher Todd Nash, who is a Wallowa County commissioner and longtime wolf committee chair for the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association.
Tracking collar data showed that OR-50, the pack’s alpha male, was at the carcass 15 minutes before the range rider found it. The calf probably had been killed an hour or two earlier, according to an ODFW report. It had more than 100 bites and portions of its upper back legs had been torn away. Nash provided a photo to the Capital Press.
Nash and OCA Executive Director Jerome Rosa spoke this week with Jason Minor, the governor’s natural resources adviser. Rosa said he was encouraged by the conversation; Minor seemed well informed on wolf depredation issues and “asked all the right questions.”
Rosa also sent Minor a letter, suggesting he ask the governor to end the “needless suffering and killing of our cattle in Eastern Oregon.”
“OCA strongly recommends lethal removal of the ENTIRE pack to prevent continued needless suffering, injury and death to our defenseless cattle,” Rosa wrote. He said killing four wolves, the action ODFW settled on, will not be an effective deterrent.
“Our biggest concern is that progress can get slowed down,” Rosa said in an interview. “We hope (Brown) will reach out to ODFW to speed up the process.”
A coalition of 18 conservation groups, including Oregon Wild, took the opposite view. They asked the governor to intervene, saying ODFW’s recent action “clearly demonstrates the need for stronger requirements for transparency and public accountability.”
The groups said they are willing to work with ODFW to adopt a wolf management plan that achieves those goals. The state’s plan is up for review and possible revision this year by the ODFW Commission, a citizen panel.
ODFW spokeswoman Michelle Dennehey said the department has kept the Governor’s Office informed about the Harl Butte pack and ODFW’s lethal control decisions.
“The governor has not asked us to change any decision,” Dennehey said in an email.
Meanwhile, ODFW investigations confirmed two wolf attacks on calves on private land in Umatilla County. The Meacham Pack was blamed for injuring a 550 pound calf found Aug. 15 and a 450 pound calf found Aug. 17, both in the Sheep Creek area. In addition, the ODFW also confirmed the Walla Walla Pack killed a calf found partially consumed Aug. 13 on private land in the Government Mountain area.
Source: Cattle ranchers press for elimination of the entire Harl Butte wolf pack – – Capital Press
Comments
people shouldn’t put out their defenseless cattle where there are predators. They should be ranching prudently with fences, fladry ,outriders, hazing and all the rest of what modern ranchers actually do. Ranchers who just let their cattle out into an area exposed to all the elements mother nature has to offer should then expect the ;losses they incur . One range rider is not adequate; other means are necessary depending on the size of the herd.
Ranchers want the gov to pay for lost cattle but they can’t prove the numbers lost to wolves. They collect a check and then hunt the wolves . It’s a disgrace that they expect to free range the cattle but expect none of them to die. Get out of the busines and do something else beside killing the wildlife.