The wolf population in Oregon will remain delisted after the Oregon Court of Appeals tossed a lawsuit filed by three environmental groups.
The Oregon legislature passed a bill into law in 2016 ratifying action by the Oregon Department of Fish (ODFW) and Wildlife to remove wolves from the state endangered species list in late 2015. The appeals court stated that legislative action made the subsequent environmental suit moot.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation filed an amicus brief in January 2017 supporting ODFW and its efforts to delist wolves in Oregon. RMEF maintains that state agencies should manage wolves just as they manage elk, bears, deer, mountain lions and other wildlife.
State wildlife biologists counted 137 wolves in Oregon during the 2018-2019 winter, marking a 10 percent increase over last year’s count of 124, although they concede the actual number of wolves is likely much higher.
(Photo source: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife)