I'm pat Doris. Welcome to the sy
and welcome to Friday. You know,
all week we've been talking about the
cultural differences in Eastern Oregon.
Tonight we're going to take a lk
at a particularly touchy issue.
Wolves. Many on the West
side of the state where
there are few love them. Many on the east
side, where there are many hate them.
Wolves return to Oregon for the modern era in
2008. That was more than 60
years after the last one was
shot and killed for bounty.
They were not brought into the state,
but rather allowed to wander
in from neighboring Idaho,
protected under the federal
Endangered Species Act.
In just three years,
the federal government found that enough
Gray wolves had returned to Easn
Oregon that they could be takenf
the endangered species list the.
In 2015, the state of Oregon took wolves off
the state endangered species list as well,
although there are still
restrictions on killing the ani.
By the end of 2021,
the state reported at least 21 different wolf
packs in Oregon with at least 175 members.
This map from Oregon Fish and Wildlife shows
where most of the packs are now located.
See the upper right hand corner of the state?
That's where most are found.
And that's where we are headed.
We'll drive 100 miles north andt
from John Day in a snowstorm to reach
a tiny town called Medical Spri.
It's on the edge of Union County
and is home to thousands of cat.
We've come to Eastern Oregon to talk about
the urban rural divide and the frustration
driving the Greater Idaho movem.
11 counties have voted to start talking
about moving the border with Idaho to
leave Oregon and become part of Idaho.
It's doubtful that will ever really happen,
but it shows lots of people out
here feel ignored by the big ci,
which have significantly higher populations
and therefore all the political power.
The urban areas can decide what
they think is best for everyone,
and the rural areas just have to live
with it, and that includes wolv.
I'm not a biologist here,
but it seems to me like there's three
packs here around around this a.
And it it's breeding season right now,
so you tell me what the wolf nus
are going to look like here in another
few months when those females have pups.
Coleman Lay is a 30 year old rar
and I am the 6th generation
and my son is the 7th.
My great, great, great grandfatr
homesteaded up the road about
7-8 miles about 125 years ago.
And built a family here and I'm
the tail end of them I guess.
My little boy and little
girl are are the 7th. So
he has a degree in marketing and supply
chain management from Boise Stae
and loves this land and his herf
cattle I visited during calving season.
He has 1000 Mama cows as he calls them.
The moms of these two little
ones did not survive.
Coleman showed me how to give
one a bottle of warm milk.
When we were finished,
I learned that around hungry ca.
It's best to keep your guard
up. I think you're about done t,
pal. They just stop.
Or shall I pull it out? You'll .
Did you hear that air kind of go out?
Yeah. That one's done.
A shot to the to say thank you.
Yeah. Thank you. So that's all t
a good lesson for a reporter from the city.
Really, as I recovered, Coleman talked about
the Greater Idaho movement. The Greater
Idaho movement to me like is
more of the fact that there's
just so many people who are so
tired of like not having a say.
They're like, hey,
my life is basically being
dictated by a completely other
side of the state that has
nothing that really has no clue
what we're dealing with.
Overhearing
during the birthing season,
Coleman spends long days
checking on the young calves.
He tells me this one is fine.
That one is, too.
While Coleman's working with the cattle,
he has one predator that he wors
about all the time, the wolves.
And around here,
it's not a theoretical concern.
In early February,
Wolves came right here to his he
and attacked and killed his dog.
He shared this picture with us.
We're blurring out most of it.
It's too disturbing to show, he said.
ODFW biologists inspected the
remains of his dog, named Dodge.
And confirmed he'd been killed by wolves.
Coleman said it happened
overnight while he slept.
Obvious question,
but I'm sure you miss your dog.
Yeah, I miss him every day.
It's not the first time
wolves have attacked here.
Coleman shared this picture
of a cow killed by wolves
and said there are others.
The state does allow some pushb.
In late February,
ODFW approved the killing of two
wolves near Medical Springs aftr
three documented attacks in pasture lands.
On top of that,
three more wolves have been legy
killed in Eastern Oregon this
year for attacking livestock.
Yeah, this is a major problem.
Like, I don't feel safe with
going on walks with my dogs.
I don't feel like my family,
like I got to have an
eye on them at all times.
Coleman turned to Facebook to
share news of his dog's death.
But it was more of the fact I wd
to post that to realize, like, ,
this is what we're dealing with. Like,
we're it's we're really struggling, like.
You know, there might be some fs
that hear or see of a dead cow picture,
you know, they're like hey,
the wolves killed that cow.
They're like well, So what I don't have cows.
The cows are cows.
That's kind of what happens out West.
Cowboys deal with with wolves all the time.
That that's just what happens.
But then when you add a picture of a dead
dog on your on your page or whatever,
they're like wow,
that that resonates with a lot e
people because it's, you know,
it's family, pets, dogs, cat li.
You know it.
They're not going to discrimina.
If they bet you anything if they
found one of the barn cats you w
right up on the hill like they'e
going to they're going to kill ,
you know.
So it it's just gaining some moe
awareness to what what's truly going on.
But
you were saying there were some haters too.
Oh yeah there's
there's some people that you knw
that that almost think that a
wolf has more right to live tha.
You or I like and I I had it fit
hand like they you know the some
of the nasty comments you'll get
and you know I get some of these
people are just sitting behind a
computer acting tough or whatev.
They're going to come.
You know kill your family or whatever
if you ever harm a wolf. And
have you had threats like that.
Oh yeah. Yeah. And it's.
You know, I don't usually their names like
Wolf lover 242 or something like that.
There is a wolf kill compensation fund
set up by the state legislature in 2011.
It's a mixture of state and federal tax
money that pays for prevention measures
to protect livestock from wolve.
It also pays for animals that
are dead or hurt or missing.
In 2022, the fund paid
$393,682 for wolf attacks and prevention.
The payout since the fund began totals
$1,187,000. That's not much comt
for ranchers like Coleman Lay,
who wishes Oregon's leaders on the West
side of the state knew what it was like
to live with wolves on the east side.
Soon he'll take his cattle up io
the heels to graze on the edge f
the stunning eagle Cap wilderne,
and he'll be in the middle of wolf country.
There's just so many wolves in
one specific area, and I don't.
People probably already
know I don't like wolves,
but I also see my opinion is
not the only one that matters.
So what I am asking or saying
is too much of anything is not
good if we've got if we have
way too many wolves in one area,
there needs to be ways or avenu.
Ranchers or outdoorsmen or
sportsmen alike can finally
have two limiting numbers.
Just today, by the way,
the state of Oregon put out an update
on wolves around medical spring.
At one point, it appeared they e
two packs attacking livestock ie
area and in a place called High Valley,
which is just a bit to the nort.
Well, the state now says it's
actually one group they've named
the Wolves the Black Pines Pack.
By the way, Wolf supporters point out
that wolves are vital for regulg
populations like deer and elk.
And thanks to a ruling by
a federal judge last year,
wolves are again covered by the
federal Endangered Species Act
in Central and Western Oregon.