Wolves

The JPR news team gathers for a roundtable discussion of the top news stories they've worked on this week.

As wolf populations grow in Southern Oregon, ranchers are looking for non-lethal ways to keep the protected animals away from their livestock.

Oregon and California are among the states where public hunting of the animals is currently prohibited

The wolves kept other species in check, like deer and elk, and maintained a healthy environment.

Oregon's gray wolf population took several hits in 2023, causing its growth rate to drop to zero for the first time since wolves started returning to the state.

Conservation groups are taking the federal government to court over environmental protections for gray wolves across the West — including in northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington, where they are not listed as an endangered or threatened species.

Federal wildlife officials have decided not to extend protections to wolves across portions of six states, including Oregon and California, allowing hunting to continue in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Colorado's ambitious plan to restore wolves taps into years-old tensions in Oregon.

A $5,000 reward is being offered for information about a gray wolf that was illegally killed in Southern Oregon.

State fish and wildlife officials authorized the killing of six gray wolves in eastern Oregon during the past six weeks, bringing relief to ranchers who lost livestock to the wolves and anger to conservationists who see the killings as inhumane and ineffective.

Northwest wolves could soon head to Colorado. Wildlife managers there say they need wolves from out-of-state to build back their population. But will Northwest states help out?

As in many arguments, opposing sides don’t always speak the same language. Such is the controversy of wolf management in the West, which is why new research found it’s important to clarify what people mean when they talk about managing the predators.