Large Rewards Offered For Wolf Poaching Cases In Oregon
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is offering a $10,000 cash reward for information regarding a wolf poaching that took place in Morrow County back in November. This is in addition to the standing reward of $10,000 offered by the Oregon Wildlife Coalition, raising the reward total to $20,000.
ODFW crews discovered the carcass of a gray wolf, identified as OR 159, on November 8th on private land, about 20 miles south of Heppner. This is just one of several poaching incidents in 2024 where reward money is still available. Other cases include Prairie City, Wallowa County and Bly:
Prairie City: Rewards stand at $12,100 or five ODFW hunter preference points for information related to poachers shooting a yearling wolf south of Prairie City in Grant County, on or about May 19, 2024. ODFW biologists and OSP F&W Troopers located the carcass on private property, about 11 miles SE of Prairie City, adjacent to County Road 62. Officials believe the yearling male wolf died between late evening on May 18, and early morning on May 19 after being shot from the roadway. OWC if offering $11,500 and Oregon Hunters Association (OHA) is offering an additional $600.
Wallowa County: Rewards stand at $38,700 for information related to the poisoning deaths of three gray wolves and two golden eagles in the Snake River Wildlife Management Unit and Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, about 11 miles northeast of the town of Imnaha.
From February through March 2024, OSP F&W Troopers located the remains of a female gray wolf, a male gray wolf, a juvenile gray wolf, two golden eagles, a cougar and a coyote in the Lightning Creek drainage, which is a tributary to the Imnaha River. Testing and examinations conducted by the Clark R. Bavin National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory determined all seven animals died from poison.
Bly: Rewards stand at $60,000 for information regarding the deaths of three endangered gray wolves east of Bly in southern Oregon. The deaths occurred in an area of known wolf activity, as defined by ODFW, across portions of Klamath and Lake counties. On December 29th, 2023, OSP F&W Troopers and an ODFW biologist discovered three wolf carcasses. The wolves were identified as the adult breeding female OR115 and the subadult OR142 from the Gearhart Mountain Pack. The third wolf was also a subadult.
Gray wolves are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in the western two-thirds of Oregon (west of Highways 395-78-95). USFWS is offering a $50,000 reward; OWC is offering an additional $10,000; and OHA is offering $600 for information that leads to an arrest or citation. Reporting parties may opt for five ODFW hunter preference points instead of the cash.
ODFW reminds everyone that reporting parties can choose to remain anonymous and may opt for five state hunter preference points instead of cash rewards. Anyone with information about any of these cases should call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at (503) 682-6131, or the Oregon State Police Dispatch at (800) 452-7888, or the Turn In Poachers TIP Line at *OSP (*677) or email TIP@osp.oregon.gov.
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