Officials have announced a $50,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest in the deaths of three endangered gray wolves in Oregon. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service revealed on Friday that the three wolves were discovered east of the rural community of Bly in southern Oregon late last year.
On December 29th, the digital collars worn by two wolves emitted a mortality signal, according to the service. Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division troopers discovered the two collared wolves, along with an additional wolf that was not wearing a collar, all deceased.
The collared wolves, one of them a breeding-age female and the other an adolescent, belonged to what researchers have identified as the Gearhart Mountain Pack. The service stated that the deaths occurred within an area of wolf activity spanning Klamath and Lake counties.
However, specific details regarding the cause of death of the wolves were not disclosed. Gray wolves, the largest Canidae family members, including dogs and coyotes, are classified as endangered in the western two-thirds of Oregon.
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Historically, gray wolves were widespread across the continental United States. However, their numbers drastically declined due to predator-control programs in the 1900s. 1978, they were reclassified as endangered throughout the United States and Mexico.
The protection of wolves continues to be a contentious and politically charged issue. In 2021, the administration of President Donald Trump terminated the national protections for wolves, and management responsibilities were transferred to individual states.
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In December last year, five gray wolves were reintroduced into Colorado’s Rocky Mountains as part of a voter-approved reintroduction program. While the initiative garnered strong support from much of the state’s predominantly Democratic urban population, it faced significant opposition in conservative rural areas.
Farmers and ranchers in these areas expressed concerns about the safety of their livestock. One user commented on the issue, stating, “I was raised on ranches in Eastern Oregon and Montana.
The incidence of wolf predation on livestock is extremely rare, and few ranchers have ever experienced it. Wolves are good for the environment as predators are the canary in the coal mine of the environment.”
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Another user added, “The left’s ultimate goal is no hunting, period. They are using the reintroduction of wolves as an end-around. They want to be able to say, ‘see, we no longer need hunting, nature is keeping populations in check.’ Then, in just a few short years, the deer populations will be devastated. Then the wolves move on to elk, then antelope, etc.
The wolf population will thrive out of control, then attack livestock, pets, and humans. There was a reason they were eradicated. Some things are best left to educated biologists and game management, rather than emotional, uneducated activists.”
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