Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 5 wolf packs in S.E Oregon????

I was talking to the vet today, who has a friend in Eastern Oregon, who said the S.E area of Oregon has 5 wolf packs!
The area isn't that rugged or vast. Are there any deer or elk left there? Is this true?

Have not heard about SE Oregon. But here in NE Oregon we have 7 packs of wolves. The Snake River pack the Imnaha pack, Minam pack, Chesnim pack, Sled Springs pack, Wenaha pack, and Walla Walla pack. And probably more wolves just not confermed breeding pairs to call it a pack. They are taking a toll on elk their main food source, in some areas.

SE Oregon is very rugged, remote and vast. HUGE expanses of desert, deep canyons, etc. The area called the ION (Idaho, Oregon, Nevada), south of Jordan Valley, and over towards Silver City and south towards the Nevada line is mostly roadless.

Yep. It is, simply, some badass f'kin' country.

http://www.dfw.state.or.us/wolves/

This is ODFW's take on it. They have a lot of complex fooling around to do when it comes to defining a wolf pack or wolf depradation.

They also move the mark on paying reparations.

They do the naming game too. Calling the Canadian timber wolves they imported into NE Oregon Grey wolves is roundly criticized.

I usually hunt Wallowa and Union counties so I am more fmiliar with that area.

Are there any deer and elk left in SE Oregon? Populations seemed good last year but my number of visits is small. Mackay Sagebrush, 1 Minute and others would know way more. There are other things also.

I am unsure how areas should be defined as vast or not. To me it is pretty big country, Maybe not hugely mountainous but full of canyons and draws filled with boulders, few roads and fewer water holes. They could hide there pretty well and probably take advantage of the limited water.

Over 10 years ago I saw a Wolf just inside Idaho on the Owyhee river. A older lone Male was my determination. I had been seeing his scat for several days, then got a real good look at 600yrds through good glass. He was hunting the rims in an area with a good Snow shoe Population. I have cut Wolf tracks twice Off highway 31 in the area N/W of the town of silver Lake. In the Malhure River country I have Cut tracks and found a fresh deer kill site where multiple wolves completely devoured the deer in one meal. And the Local Ranch owner had seen a pair multiple times in the same area. The Wolves are in S/E Oregon, But 5 packs seams High. The Ranches Fly the country Killing coyote. The Biologists Know the wolf is out there, but keep it fairly well out of the public eye. The Upper Rogue watershed Pack has had its second litter of pups the year.

It doesn't get much "vaster" than SE Oregon. At least for lower 48 country.

Much vaster than I originally thought.

Yeah isn't it funny how the Oregon wolf got all that attention as being this lone wandering wolf, that suddenly ends up with a mate in SW Oregon near Lake of the Woods, where there are no wolves. Had one wanderer which they were tracking like a mofo, and now all of a sudden he finds a receptive mate in an area with no other wolves.

What a freakin' coincidence. He found another wolf in a wolfless area. What are the odds? Don't suppose he had some help finding a mate do ya? Nah, that would be underhanded, and probably completely illegal. Who would do such a thing?

One thing's for sure, now I gotta carry one more piece of gear when coyote hunting that I'd rather not. Anybody know what the lightest weight shovel is?

No, I don't. It is **possible**, but it is not a necessary explanation. There have been wolves here all along, just not officially recognized.

Two were killed by the gov't trapper on the Winchuck River behind Brookings in the early-mid 70s that had not ever lived in captivity per their dental condition. That was written up in the Curry County Reporter.

I saw (lets leave it at that) one on the south side of the Umpqua between Elkton and Tyee in the early 1990s.

I saw one cross I5 at the Sunny Valley exit just north of Grants Pass in the middle of the night in '87 or '88.

One of the other 'fire members told me of seeing a pack near Powers. I think he said they were on a cow carcass, probably one they'd killed, but I can't swear to that.

Wolves are not the oddest thing in our woods. I think I found a grizzly track in the upper South Umpqua 2 years ago. Best explanation I have for it. Too narrow across the heel for a bigfoot track, way way way too big for a double-stepping black bear. Not many options left with those removed.

Tom

To date, I'm not aware of any documented resident wolves in SE Oregon. We have tons of elk, but deer are down slightly probably due to 3 successive drought years.

Yes, I bump into folks all the time insisting they saw 9 or 10 wolves on this ridge or that mountain just "you pick the day." I'd personally attribute most of these to a collection of coyotes when they're lucky enough to score a deer or happen upon a dead cow. Without a bit of time to observe behavior or tracks, I'd be hard pressed to bet a paycheck on a short duration, long range wolf/coyote sighting. Coyotes, ravens, magpies, and vultures do keep an eye on one another, and when something of substance dies, they all show up. Yearling deer, elk, cattle, or pronghorn can be completely devoured in a single night with nothing but scattered hair remaining on site, and one can see 6 or 8 coyotes dispersing from such areas in the AM's. The heavier bones of older animals typically take a bit more time to consume or disperse, and a few days may be needed for such to be completely eliminated.

Our damage control officer has not taken any or received any complaints, ODF&W personnel are not see/hearing wolves on their fall/winter/spring census routes, stockmen are not reporting any losses, and our stock (cattle mostly but some flocks of sheep) are not exhibiting behavior changes typical of animals were wolves are present. Here's a link to a lay version of a recent study on behavior disparities in cattle.
Livestock wolf interactions link

Also, if they're about they are a very quiet lot. Cookie and I spend many nights out in both the desert and timbered environments around here and are yet to hear one. I've heard several in Alaska and Wyoming, so I do know what they sound like.

We've had a some pass through the region (both sightings and tracks), but they've kept going. While we do have vast expanses of empty country, those same expanses are typically devoid of big game as well. Coyotes do fine out here, but their diets are pretty much based on a variety of small rodents, nesting birds, ground squirrels, and when times are really tough, vegetable matter like grass and juniper berries. With the exception of some isolated pockets of big game, a number of wolves would have a tough time eeking out a living from a centralized home site or den.

Lastly, getting out and bouncing around the country is about the only past time we have out here. The third "S" in the famous "triple S" wolf management program is the most difficult to execute, and if one had been bagged by a local, the word would be out.

Smoke a pack a day!

I like S O S

OR, ID, & NV run together out there and between them, it's a plot of sagebrush bigger than a lot of states. A few wolves have been seen south of the Snake River in ID but they haven't really been an issue yet. It's such a big area that there can be a lot of wolves and still not be seen at all.

58gscott: Sad state of affairs for big game (Wolves migrating into an area!) and big game Hunters!
The transplanted Wolves DEVASTATED big game herds in many parts of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho!
And they have disrupted and significantly changed big game habits in many more ares.
Moose have also been decimated by Wolves in many areas where I Hunt Elk and Deer here in Montana and Deer!
The Wolves also predate on Bighorn Sheep.
NOTHING good comes from Wolf re-introductions and migrations in my estimation!
My family used to Hunt Mule Deer in eastern Oregon when I was child and a young man.
Back then (1950's and early 1960's) the Mule Deer herds were healthy and high in numbers (Coyotes were kept in check back then and NO Wolves then) - I have not Hunted thereabouts for a long time though.
If Wolves come the big game herds WILL suffer - its just that simple!
Thanks for NOTHING rmWf!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

There was a very good reason why we shot them off in the first place.

Game management by Washington DC and PC folks is a pretty poor idea.

Steve

There was a very good reason why we shot wolves down to low numbers. Left uncontrolled, they simply eat their way through our game populations.

Game management by Washington DC and PC folks is a pretty poor idea.

Steve

According to some members of the fire, shooting wolves doesn't help the situation.. To my mind, every dead wolf is one less.. That can't be bad!!!SOS!!

It's not game management and never has been. From the start the intro of wolves has been designed to reduce game animals to unhuntable numbers. It's just a very effective anti-hunting program.
This isn't just my opinion. They've said so themselves.

Tinfoil hat firmly secured...I do believe that the govt doesn't want a citizen population that can self sustain, by hunting and farming. This just supports my belief. SOS...then S.