The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider adopting a long-awaited update to the state’s Wolf Conservation and Management Plan at its April 19-20 meeting in Astoria.
A decision was scheduled for Jan. 19 in Salem, but the commission decided more time was needed to work on the proposal after drawing criticism from ranchers and environmentalists alike.
At the last commission meeting in December, environmental groups argued the plan would move to lethal control of wolves too quickly in cases of livestock predation. Cattlemen, on the other hand, said they would like to see management zones for wolves across the state, with population caps.
The Oregon wolf plan was last updated in 2010, and a scheduled five-year update is now three years overdue.
Public testimony about the plan will be taken at the Astoria meeting, or can be submitted via email at odfw.commission.state.or.us.