Investigators are searching for the person who illegally shot and killed a wolf in eastern Oregon last week, officials said Wednesday, and conservation groups have put up a reward of more than $20,000.
Oregon State Police troopers were called to a remote location east of La Grande in Union County on Feb. 15. They discovered a single black female wolf, who was fitted with a tracking collar and was known as OR 109, had been fatally shot.
Investigators believe the wolf was killed that same morning.
The troopers were alerted by officials from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife who saw the animal’s tracking collar was showing no movement.
The death of OR 109 is the latest in a string of recent violent attacks on wolves in the eastern part of the state.
In January, a 2-year-old female fitted with a tracking collar, OR 106, was found fatally shot in Wallowa County. At least eight wolves were fatally poisoned in eastern Oregon over several months last year in Union County. A reward of nearly $50,000 has been offered for information that leads to a conviction in the poisoning case.
Tension between wolf advocates and ranchers, whose livestock has sometimes been preyed upon by the canids, has festered in Oregon since the animals began repopulating the state in the early 2000s. Debates on how best to resolve conflict have grown contentious at times.
Six wolves from the Lookout Mountain Pack, in Baker County, were killed by the state earlier this year after repeated attacks on livestock in the area.
Wolves have been under different levels of protection in the state as their population has grown since their return. The latest count, as measured at the end of 2020, put the minimum number of animals in Oregon at 173.
Last year, federal protections for wolves under the Endangered Species Act were rescinded by the Trump administration, but many were restored earlier this month when a judge ruled that removing protections could put the population at risk in some areas.
The ruling restored protections for the animals in western Oregon, but wolves on the eastern side of the state, where the poachings have been concentrated, remain under state jurisdiction and can be killed after repeated attacks on livestock.
IN the case of OR 109, investigators asked anyone with information to call Oregon State Police at 800-452-7888 or email at TIP@osp.oregon.gov, referencing case #SP22039030. Conservation groups — including Cascadia Wildlands, Oregon Wild and the Center for Biological Diversity — put up a $22,500 reward for anyone who comes forward with information that leads to a conviction in the case.
— Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale