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A pup from northeast Oregon’s Wenaha pack that was born in spring 2011. Image taken by remote camera on Dec. 11, 2011. Courtesy of ODFW. Photo courtesy of ODFW-

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

LA GRANDE, Ore --(Ammoland.com)- Photos captured on an ODFW remote camera in northeast Oregon show the Wenaha wolf pack had at least one pup this year.

The photos were taken on forested land in western Wallowa County as part of ODFW monitoring efforts for the Wenaha pack. They are the first indication that the pack’s alpha pair reproduced in 2011.

The finding means that all four wolf packs in Oregon reproduced this year. The Imnaha, Wenaha and Snake River packs all had at least one pup. The new Walla Walla pack produced at least three pups.

While any reproduction is good news for wolf conservation, only one pack, the Walla Walla, will likely be determined to be a “breeding pair” for 2011, or a wolf pack that has produced at least two pups that survive through the end of the year. Breeding pairs are an important measure of wolf conservation for wildlife managers.

The Wenaha pack was determined to be a breeding pair in 2010. It is also believed to be the first pack to reproduce in Oregon since wolves were extirpated back in the 1940s, when a July 2008 howling survey found evidence of pups.

ODFW’s efforts to find additional pups for the Wenaha and other packs will continue so the department can get a complete year-end count of all pups born in 2011.

More information on wolves in Oregon.

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Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

MISSOULA, Mont. --(Ammoland.com)- The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation today cheered federal delisting of wolves in the Great Lakes states, as well as the State of Wisconsin’s rapid movement toward implementing its own science-based wolf management plan.

Both actions help pave the way toward predator populations that are in better balance with elk, deer and other species commonly preyed upon by wolves.

“Barring any legal holdups from animal rights activists, we should see science-based wolf management and control measures go into effect by February, and that’s great news for conservation overall in the Great Lakes region,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO.

On Dec. 21, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that gray wolf populations in the Great Lakes region have recovered and no longer require the protection of the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is publishing a final rule in the Federal Register removing wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and in portions of adjoining states, from the list of threatened and endangered species.

Upon the announcement, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker ordered the Department of Natural Resources to begin implementing the state’s wolf management plan. The agency will issue permits to landowners experiencing wolf-caused losses beginning Feb. 1.

There are more than 4,000 wolves in the three core recovery states in the western Great Lakes area, a total that far exceeds recovery goals. Minnesota’s population is estimated at 2,921 wolves, while an estimated 687 wolves live in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and another 782 in Wisconsin.

Each state has developed a science-based plan to manage wolves after federal protection is removed.

About the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
RMEF is leading a conservation initiative that has protected or enhanced habitat on over 6 million acres–an area larger than Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain and Great Smoky Mountains national parks combined. RMEF also is a strong voice for hunters in access, wildlife management and conservation policy issues. RMEF members, partners and volunteers, working together as Team Elk, are making a difference all across elk country. Join us at www.rmef.org or 800-CALL ELK.

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