Wolves have certainly been in the news lately! Multiple confirmed sightings of gray wolves have already been recorded this year in La Pine, Sunriver and even Bend. Many people are giddy with the idea of wolves in our nearby forest ecosystems. Yet, some people are fearful and feel this is too close to home. Education and understanding can help to narrow this gap in public opinion.
What is a Wolf’s Nature?
Wolves are extremely social animals and efficient hunters that help provide food for their pack. Yet, they are naturally shy and tend to avoid humans. Wolves live in tightly knit family groups with strong social bonds. They raise their young collectively, pups learn through observation and injured pack members are cared for by the group. Play also plays an important role in maintaining social bonds and developing skills within the pack.
Wolf History
Though we can now find limited numbers of wild wolves residing in our state, this was not always the case. Historically, bounty hunting, poisoning, trapping and shooting resulted in the elimination of wolves from most of the American northwest by the early 1900s. Wolves were reintroduced to Idaho as part of the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan in 1995-1996, the same reintroduction plan as in Yellowstone National Park. The first wolf found in Oregon was seen as a “disperser” after crossing the Snake River from Idaho in 1999, half a century after their human-driven extinction from the region.
Status of Wolves in Oregon
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s 2025 Wolf Report gives an overview of the state of wolf populations in Oregon. Wolves in different sections of the state have different management protections. For example, those west of Highways 395, 78 and 95 are listed under the Federal Endangered Species Act, making the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service responsible for their management. Wolves to the east are largely under state jurisdiction. All wolves in the state of Oregon are protected as a special status “game mammal.”
Oregon’s wolf population is expanding westward. The state’s population in 2025 was up to 230 wolves with 23 breeding pairs. Wolf mortality numbers in 2025 were concerning, with a total of 42 known wolf deaths, 39 of which were human-related (this included 27 killed through government action and four poached).
Conflict & Coexistence
Wolf-livestock depredation happens, and indeed sheep and cattle ranchers are impacted, with 106 confirmed events in 2025. Education about the value of the wolf in the ecosystem, depredation compensation to ranchers with losses and rancher’s willingness to apply nonlethal means of wolf “control” need to be our goals in dealing with this. This is not impossible.
When a depredation occurs, livestock producers must first implement “nonlethal measures” to decrease depredation before the ODFW will permit wolf “removal” (extermination). The new bill just passed into law this spring, “1.25% for wildlife,” will be one source of funding for both coexistence and compensation.
Nonlethal livestock-wolf mitigation measures include:
- Range riders and increased human presence
- Livestock guardian dogs
- Prompt carcass removal and attractant management
- Permanent and portable electric fencing
- Improved husbandry and livestock management practices
- Protecting calving and lambing areas
- Avoiding known wolf den and rendezvous sites
- Deterrents such as fladry, alarm systems, lights, and drones
At a time when our ranchers and the wildlife of our state need more help in managing coexistence in a humane and conservation-oriented method, the Federal government has reduced and/or eliminated funding for employing biologists and rangers needed for this work, including the elimination of a full-time staff person locally despite growing wolf numbers.
The presence of wolf populations in our forests means that single transient wolves will occasionally travel close to rural, and even urban, communities as they pass through. Wolves often travel along roadways for ease of navigation and hunting.
The wolf will move on. Don’t be fearful. Be smart. Bring pets in at night. Marvel in the fact that we have these wonders of the wild close by. The coexistence problem lies not with the wolves per se, but with what humans will accept. Differing points of view each have their own deeply held, real points to make. Let’s educate each other, to learn what is at stake on all sides.
Humans have so altered the natural world that allowing displaced species to re-establish in what was once their home is made more challenging now that the wild is often closely bordered by human civilization, towns and ranches. Wolves have the native right to be here.
Balance
This next part may be controversial all on its own, but I think it deserves a moment. Some hunters feel that predators compete with them for game animals. Actually, population control of deer, by hunting, only became necessary as humans decimated predator populations. If our natural predator populations rebound, then that piece of wildlife management will need another look. Perhaps we need to adjust the number of deer and elk that are allocated to be removed by human hunters, thereby allowing the wolves and other top level predators the prey they need to thrive. This is beneficial for livestock, as top level predators are less likely to go after livestock if their natural prey is plentiful.
The effect of a healthy and balanced top level predator population will result in a healthier, balanced deer and elk population, and may improve the health of all levels of the ecosystem.
Want to help?
Volunteer and donate. Support local wildlife organizations like Think Wild, based in Bend, working to support landholders, agencies and wildlife in coexistence.
Advocate for protections. Speak up for protective wildlife management policies, including the Endangered Species Act and efforts combating poaching. Join as a public viewer or provide public comment in the quarterly Deschutes County Wolf Compensation and Financial Assistance meetings.
Recreate responsibly: When hiking in the Deschutes or Ochoco National Forests or surrounding wilderness areas, keep dogs leashed and on trail, properly secure or pack out food and trash and follow permit restrictions. Drive with extra caution in the early morning and evening to prevent vehicle strikes.
Report Sightings: Help biologists at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife by accurately reporting wolf sightings or wolf signs.
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