US Rep. Cliff Bentz to hold listening session on wolves this Thursday

In late February, a two-day old calf was killed by a wolf or wolves in Lost Valley in Wheeler County. Last week, wolves killed a calf in Morrow County and wolf sightings have been on the rise in north-central Oregon.

Wolf depredation of livestock has become a part of life for ranchers in Wallowa, Baker, and Umatilla County over the past decade. But wolves are now moving further west through the Blue Mountains and into the sparsely populated and livestock rich ranches in Wheeler and Gilliam counties.

Livestock producers are on high alert and some lawmakers in Salem and D.C. are continuing to push for solutions.

This Thursday, U.S. Representative Cliff Bentz (R-Ontario) will hold a listening session on wolves at the Pendleton Convention Center, starting at 1 PM. Bentz has argued that the gray wolf should be removed from the federal Endangered Species Act.

Gray wolves were reintroduced to southern Canada in the early 1990s and eventually made their way through Idaho and into Oregon in 1999. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) recognized the state's first wolfpack in 2008.

The gray wolf has been listed as an endangered species by the US Government since 1974. Oregon removed the gray wolf from its endangered species list in 2015 but the US Fish and Wildlife Service reauthorized the wolf as an endangered species in Oregon. In doing so, US Fish and Wildlife partnered with ODFW on its Wolf Conservation and Management Plan.

Under this plan, Oregon created an East and West boundary for wolves with Highway 97 as the dividing line. The plan also created a phased approach to managing wolf populations.

Phase I of the Wolf Conservation and Management Plan strives for basic recovery. Phase II recognizes wolfpacks and allows for ranchers to take lethal measures when livestock are threatened. Phase III of the plan aims to have seven breeding pairs of wolves.

The plan's final phase, "Management Phase," begins when seven breeding pairs of wolves have been present in a zone for three years in a row.

Eastern Oregon reached Phase III of its wolf management plan in 2016.

The plan estimates that the final phase will result in 8.4 packs of wolves, with 49–89 wolves in each pack. However, these estimates don't include lone wolves or other pairs that aren't breeding, which could add an additional 10–15% to the population.

ODFW tallied 178 wolves in 24 packs east of Highway 97 in its last assessment in 2022. The agency has worked extensively to monitor wolf movements and activities under the Wolf Conservation and Management Plan.

Counties have established Wolf Depredation Committees that recommend financial compensation amounts for ranchers. ODFW staff must validate each claim for compensation to be approved by the state.

In Salem, lawmakers are feeling pressure to do more and due to limitations imposed by the federal government, have turned to increasing the value of livestock killed by wolves.

In 2024, Rep. Bobby Levy (R-Echo) introduced House Bill 4107 that aimed to give ranchers seven times the value of livestock killed by wolves. Levy said that ranchers in Umatilla County asked for $129,163 in depredation compensation in 2023, the highest amount in the state. But Umatilla County received just $75,803. Baker County was second, requesting $86,135 but received just $72,900.

While the bill stirred new debate in the subject of wolf depredation, it ultimately died in committee.

The bigger issue, many argue, is that high wolf populations, as is outlined by the Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, present a safety and economic burden for people, livestock, and wildlife in Eastern Oregon.

Should eight packs of wolves - each fifty strong - exist east of Highway 97, the 400 wolves would do considerable damage to both livestock and wildlife.

A fix at the federal level is required to revisit the gray wolf's status in the Endangered Species Act.

In 2022, Cliff Bentz took a leadership role in this arena. Bentz is leading a group of 20 House Republicans who are urging the Biden administration to roll back protections for the gray wolf, pointing to the species' growing population size and conflicts with ranchers and farmers.

In a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Martha Williams, the GOP coalition argued that the gray wolf no longer needs to be listed under the Endangered Species Act. Bentz wrote that "protection merely for the sake of protection" is not the purpose of the law. Instead, he encouraged the agency to focus its efforts on protecting species in danger of extinction.

For Bentz, the wolf issue has provided an opportunity to lead and to find footing in a divided Congress.

Cliff Bentz was elected to the US House of Representatives in 2020 and was sworn in just days before the January 6 riots. Divisions and leadership changes in the Republican led House of Representatives have created a chaotic environment that has yielded the fewest bills in several decades.

But in 2023, Bentz was chosen to Chair the House Natural Resources Committee. He also became a vocal member of the Congressional Western Conference.

Bentz has used these positions to rally support for wolf depredation and other risks to farmers and ranchers.

This year, Bentz is running for re-election for the first time as Oregon's Representative for the 2nd District. Wolves and the rights of private property owners figures to play a significant part in his bid for a second term and his future in Washington D.C.

Editor's Note: Have you seen a wolf or wolves on your land? Have you taken measures to limit wolf depredation? We'd like to hear from you. Please call us at (541) 384-2421 or email tj@timesjournal1886.com