Oregon DFW Jan 6 Meeting to Update Wolves and White Sturgeon

Be sure to check out the link "2011 Oregon Wolf Management Report" below.

December 30, 2011
SALEM, Ore.—The Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet Friday, Jan. 6 at ODFW Headquarters, 3406 Cherry Ave NE, Salem.
The meeting begins at 8 am and proceeds through this agenda
The Commission is expected to take action on plans to purchase a new ODFW headquarters building in Salem. The lease on ODFW’s current location runs out Aug. 31, 2013. With assistance from the Department of Administrative Services over the last year, ODFW has conducted a search for suitable properties in Salem. Criteria for reviewing properties included cost, public access, building size and configuration, and availability of parking.
The proposed new building is located at 4030 Fairview Industrial Drive SE in Salem. The purchase will be financed by $16 million in bonds approved by the 2011 Oregon State Legislature. At the full bonding amount, the debt service on the 25-year bonds will be roughly equal to what ODFW now pays to lease its headquarters plus property taxes on the leased space. At the end of 25 years, ODFW will have full equity in the property and reduced operating costs. Like current lease payments, the bond will be repaid using hunting and fishing license and tag revenues.
The Commission will be briefed on the Governor’s 2013-15 budget process and the 2011 Oregon Wolf Management Report summarizing ODFW’s wolf management activities since January 2011.
Finally, the Commission will consider issues related to the white sturgeon fisheries in the Columbia and Willamette rivers.
On the Columbia, ODFW staff will ask for authorization to re-open negotiations with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in order to consider reducing the sturgeon harvest guideline for the upcoming season. The current Joint Accord calls for a harvest guideline of 14,625 sturgeon for 2012. However, Oregon and Washington staffs are estimating the number of legal-sized sturgeon in the Columbia in 2012 will be about 20 percent fewer than in 2011, continuing a downward trend that began in 2008. In response, managers are discussing reducing the harvest rate used to calculate the harvest guideline in 2012 and 2013, two years earlier than called for in Oregon’s conservation plan for white sturgeon in the lower Columbia River. Under one possible scenario, the harvest guideline in 2012 would be reduced to 12,514 which is 15 percent less than what the current Joint Accord calls for and over 25 percent less than the 2011 harvest guideline.
On the Willamette, staff will be asking the Commission to re-affirm the guidance it provided last year to allocate the available harvest to the spring fishing season. Under the current Joint Accord, the harvest guideline in 2012 would be 2,200 fish. Based on 2011 catches, when the harvest topped 300 sturgeon per retention day, the full guideline would be used up in only 6-8 days of fishing.
Sturgeon seasons for both rivers will be set later in January.
The Commission is the policy-making body for fish and wildlife issues in the state. The seven-member panel meets monthly. Agenda item exhibits are available online or at the meeting.
Public testimony will be held Friday morning immediately following the expenditure report. Persons seeking to testify on issues not on the formal agenda may do so by making arrangements with the ODFW Director’s Office, at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting, by calling 800-720-6339 or 503-947-6044.
Reasonable accommodations will be provided as needed for individuals requesting assistive hearing devices, sign language interpreters or large-print materials. Individuals needing these types of accommodations may call the ODFW Director’s Office at 800-720-6339 or 503-947-6044 at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.

Oregon's Wenaha Wolf Pack has a Pup

Dec. 23, 2011
LA GRANDE, Ore.—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.

Oregon Weekly Outdoor Recreaction Report

Hunting, Fishing, Wildlife Viewing

December 20, 2011

Hunter education registration is online now
Students can register online or at a license sales agent. New customers need to choose “New customer” under the Hunter/Angler ID# tab. List of classes and field days are here
Cougar hunting may close in Zone A (Coast/North Cascades)
Cougar take in Zone A is nearing the quota of 120 and the hunting season could be closed before the end of the year along the entire coast and in the North Cascades. Cougar hunters, keep an eye on ODFW’s website for a closure. See a map of the zones
Start planning next year’s hunting or fishing trip
2012 Sport Fishing and Big Game Regs are online and at license sales agents. Find them here.

Columbia Basin Access Program Click to enlarge

Oregonopenfields.com offers new hunting opportunities
Bird hunting opportunities on private land in the Columbia Basin and Willamette Valley through this program, see the website or http://www.oregonhuntingmap.com/
Great bird hunting in the Columbia Basin
Use ODFW’s new Columbia Basin Bird Hunting Guide to find out how to access the area’s 250K acres open to hunting.
Go crabbing
Crabbing has been excellent in many of Oregon’s bays and estuaries and crabbing in the ocean opens Dec. 15. Check the Marine and Southwest Zone reports for the latest updates.

Oregon DFW Recreation Report

Hunting, Fishing, Wildlife Viewing

December 13, 2011

Five Wildlife Areas to require parking permits on Jan. 1, 2012
As of Jan. 1, 2012, wildlife viewers and anglers will need a parking permit at five ODFW Wildlife Areas. A daily permit is $7 an annual permit is $22. Permits can be purchased online or at an ODFW office that sells licenses or at a license sales agent.

• Denman Wildlife Area, Central Point
• E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area, Monmouth
• Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area, La Grande
• Summer Lake Wildlife Area, Summer Lake
• Sauvie Island Wildlife Area, Sauvie Island

More information
Hunter education registration is online now
Students can register online or at a license sales agent. New customers need to choose “New customer” under the Hunter/Angler ID# tab. List of classes and field days are here
Cougar hunting may close in Zone A (Coast/North Cascades)
Cougar take in Zone A is nearing the quota of 120 and the hunting season could be closed before the end of the year along the entire coast and in the North Cascades. Cougar hunters, keep an eye on ODFW’s website for a closure.See a map of the zones
Start planning next year’s hunting or fishing trip
2012 Sport Fishing and Big Game Regs are online and at license sales agents. Find them here.
Oregonopenfields.com offers new hunting opportunities
Bird hunting opportunities on private land in the Columbia Basin and Willamette Valley through this program, see the website or http://www.oregonhuntingmap.com/
Great bird hunting in the Columbia Basin
Use ODFW’s new Columbia Basin Bird Hunting Guide to find out how to access the area’s 250K acres open to hunting.
Go crabbing
Crabbing has been excellent in many of Oregon’s bays and estuaries and crabbing in the ocean opens Dec. 15. Check the Marine and Southwest Zone reports for the latest updates.
Elk viewing is excellent at Jewell Meadows Wildlife Area
Elk have been visible throughout the day on the Fishhawk Tract at Jewell Meadows. Best viewing times are from 9 a.m. to about noon each day. Learn more on the ODFW website and in the Northwest Zone Viewing section.

Another Heifer Cow Killed By the Imnaha Wolf Pack

Dec. 13, 2011

LA GRANDE, Ore.—ODFW confirmed that another cow was killed by wolves from the Imnaha pack over the weekend. The yearling heifer was found dead on private land in Wallowa County.

This brings the total number of confirmed livestock losses by Imnaha pack wolves to 19 since spring 2010. It is the fifth confirmed livestock loss to wolves since an Oct. 5, 2011 court-ordered stay ended ODFW plans to kill two wolves from the Imnaha pack in an attempt to stop further livestock losses.

While the pack is continuing a pattern of chronic livestock depredation begun in spring 2010, ODFW wolf coordinator Russ Morgan characterizes the recent kills as a “significant” change in the pack’s behavior. Previously the pack killed mostly smaller calves, but now it has shifted to larger-sized yearling and adult cows. The timing is also new, as depredation by this pack has not been previously confirmed during the period October through December.

“The latest incident reaffirms that the pack is in a pattern of chronic depredation, which we expect to continue,” said Morgan. “While we believe the appropriate response is lethal removal of these problem wolves under the chronic depredation rule, that option is off the table due to litigation.”

The wolves targeted the ranch twice over two days. The cattle involved had recently been gathered and placed into a holding pasture near the main ranch house, as they were scheduled to be hauled on Monday. On Sunday morning, the landowner discovered that the cattle had been run through the fence and the yearling heifer was found dead a half mile away. The cattle were returned to the pasture, only to be scattered again by Monday morning. GPS radio-collar data shows that the alpha male of the Imnaha wolf pack was present at the site of the depredation and was also in the area when the cows were scattered the next day. Other wolves from the pack were likely with the alpha male, but their VHF radio-collars don’t allow such close location tracking.

The alpha male wolf was in remote country about five miles from the pasture the evening before the Sunday morning attack, yet by 2 a.m. he was only about 300 yards from the main ranch house, on the way to the pasture with cattle.

This rancher had taken a variety of non-lethal measures on different areas of his large ranch over the past two years. He had installed barrier fences with fladry (flagged fencing that can deter wolves) on parts of his ranch and has used a radio-activated guard device that makes noise when a radio-collared wolf approaches. The rancher had also increased monitoring of his livestock and has used a radio receiver to detect when a collared wolf was nearby.

“This is a good example of a situation where the landowner had done everything right,” said Morgan. “I don’t think there are other measures that could have been reasonably taken in this case, so it is a very frustrating situation for livestock producers and wildlife managers.”

ODFW continues to work with area landowners on non-lethal ways to avoid wolf-livestock problems. For example, ODFW sends twice-daily text messages about wolves’ locations to area livestock producers. A range rider funded by ODFW and Defenders of Wildlife has monitored the wolves’ location in relation to livestock.

Besides non-lethal measures, ODFW has also provided some ranchers with permits to kill a wolf they catch “in the act of biting, wounding or killing” livestock or with permits that allow them to haze wolves. The chance to use these permits is rare because wolves typically avoid people and usually attack livestock at night. None of these permits issued by ODFW has ever been used, again because it is very rare for a person to actually be present when a wolf is “in the act” of attacking livestock.

This landowner and others that have lost livestock animals to wolves are likely to be compensated for their losses. Earlier this year, the Oregon State Legislature and Governor Kitzhaber directed the Oregon Department of Agriculture to create a wolf compensation program. The program is expected to be in effect in early 2012. Ranchers that lost livestock since early September 2011 (when a compensation program funded by Defenders of Wildlife ended) will be eligible for retroactive compensation.

Summaries of the wolf investigations and confirmations can be found on ODFW’s livestock loss investigations page.

More information on wolves in Oregon.

###

Contact:
Michelle Dennehy
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
(503) 947-6022
Michelle.N.Dennehy@state.or.us

Washington DFW Will Enlist Anglers In Pending Battle Against Voracious Northern Pike

OLYMPIA - Concerned about the spread of northern pike in Washington waters, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is gearing up for a spring campaign to halt the advance of the voracious, non-native fish toward the Columbia River.

In the coming months, state fishery managers plan to enlist anglers to remove as many northern pike as possible from the Pend Oreille River, a conduit for pike moving downstream from Idaho and Montana.

"Anglers can play a major role in this effort," said John Whalen, WDFW’s regional fish program manager in Spokane. "Come spring, we’re going to need their help to keep northern pike from invading the Columbia River."

A new webpage ( http://wdfw.wa.gov/ais/esox_lucius/ ) on WDFW’s website outlines the rapid proliferation of northern pike in the Pend Oreille River since 2004 and the threat they pose to native fish species.

Biological surveys conducted in conjunction with the Kalispel Tribe and Eastern Washington University reveal a dramatic decline in native minnows, largemouth bass, yellow perch and other fish species that inhabit the 55-mile Box Canyon Reservoir.

"Non-native northern pike are high-impact predators of many other fish," Whalen said. "We’re increasingly concerned about future impacts to native trout and other species, including salmon and steelhead."

Fish managers have traced the movement of northern pike into the Pend Oreille River from rivers in Montana, where they were stocked illegally. Last spring, Canadian anglers reported catching them in the Columbia River near its confluence with the Pend Oreille, just north of the border between Washington state and British Columbia.

"That’s a big concern," Whalen said. "If northern pike start spreading down the Columbia River, they could create significant ecological and economic damage."

Earlier this year, WDFW held public meetings in Spokane and Newport to discuss possible options for controlling northern pike. Regardless of what other methods are used, anglers represent a major line of defense, Whalen said.

"These fish average 2-3 pounds, but can run up to 30 pounds apiece," he said, noting that there are no daily catch limits or size limits on northern pike in Washington state.

To help reduce the pike population, WDFW has proposed changing state fishing regulations to allow anglers to fish with two poles in the Pend Oreille River. The department has also proposed stripping the northern pike from its designation as a "game fish," while continuing to classify it as a "prohibited species" that cannot lawfully be transported to state waters.

"That change would help clarify our management goals," Whalen said. "Anglers could keep fishing for them, but the change in designation would signal that the priority is to control the spread of northern pike and their impact on native fish species."

The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission, which sets policy for WDFW, will hear public testimony on that and other proposed fishing rule changes during a public meeting scheduled Jan. 6-7 in Olympia. WDFW will also accept written comments on those proposals through Dec. 30. The commission is scheduled to take action on those proposals at a public meeting Feb. 3-4 in Olympia.

For more information on the rule-making process, see the WDFW website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/regulations/rule_proposals/ .

Washington Fish & Wildlife Adopts Controversial Gray Wolf Management Plan

OLYMPIA - After four years of development and extensive public review, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission today unanimously adopted a plan that will guide state conservation and management of gray wolves in Washington state.

The citizen commission, which sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), approved the Wolf Conservation and Management Plan at a public meeting in Olympia.

Key provisions of the plan establish recovery objectives for gray wolves in three regions in Washington, along with procedures for addressing predation on livestock and impacts on ungulates such as deer, elk and caribou.

Prior to the final vote, the commission approved several changes to the draft plan, including one that modified the distribution of breeding wolf pairs needed to remove wolves from the state’s endangered species list.

Once abundant in the Pacific Northwest, gray wolves are currently classified by the state as endangered throughout Washington. They are also listed under federal law as endangered in the western two-thirds of the state.

WDFW began developing the wolf-management plan in 2007, anticipating that gray wolves would naturally migrate into the state from Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and British Columbia. Since then, five wolf packs have been documented in the state - three in northeastern Washington and two in the Cascade Mountains.

During the past four years, the plan developed by WDFW in conjunction with a 17-member citizen Wolf Working Group has been the focus of 23 public meetings, 65,000 written comments and a blind scientific peer review.

"This plan establishes recovery goals for wolves, while also giving wildlife managers and individuals the tools they need to protect livestock and wildlife populations," said Miranda Wecker, commission chair. "The goal is that wolves will no longer need special status in our state and can be managed as part of the overall ecosystem."

Key elements of the plan approved by the commission include:

• Recovery goals: The plan establishes a recovery objective of 15 breeding pairs of wolves that are present in the state for at least three years. Before gray wolves can be removed from the state’s endangered species list, at least four of those breeding pairs must be verified in Eastern Washington, four in the northern Cascades, four in the southern Cascades/Northwest coastal area and three others anywhere in the state. The commission also allows WDFW to initiate action to delist gray wolves if 18 breeding pairs are documented during a single year.
• Livestock protection: The plan provides a variety of management measures - from technical assistance for landowners to lethal removal - to control wolves that prey on livestock. The plan also establishes conditions for compensating ranchers who lose livestock to wolf predation.
• Wildlife protection: The plan allows WDFW to use lethal and non-lethal measures to manage wolf predation on at-risk deer, elk and caribou populations if wolf numbers reach or exceed the recovery objective within a region where predation occurs. The commission modified the definition of "at-risk" populations to give WDFW more flexibility in responding to the effect of wolf predation on those animals.

WDFW is not allowed to import wolves from other states or seek to increase the wolf population to historic levels under the parameters set for the new wolf management plan by an associated environmental impact statement.

All aspects of the state’s plan will take immediate effect east of state highways 97, 17 and 395, where gray wolves were removed from federal protection last May. In the rest of the state, federal law will take precedence over the state plan until wolves are delisted under the federal Endangered Species Act in that area.

The draft Wolf Conservation and Management Plan is posted on WDFW’s website at http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/ . The final plan, incorporating amendments adopted by the commission, will be posted on the site by mid-January.