Wolves Come Home to Oregon

Gray wolves were once common in Oregon, occupying most of the state. But as soon as Euro-Americans starting settling in Oregon, they set out to wipe out the wolves. This campaign finally succeeded in extirpating the last Oregon wolf in 1947.

Sixty years later, wolves are making a comeback in Oregon and there are now 81 wolves roaming eastern and southern Oregon. For wolf advocates that number is a good start but hardly an ultimate goal, while many ranchers in eastern Oregon still feel that any wolf is a wolf too many. Recently the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission delisted wolves as an endangered species. On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Rob Klavins, Northeast Oregon Field Organizer for Oregon Wild, about Oregon wolves' long road to recovery and what Oregon residents can do to increase, not reduce, protections for our wolf population.