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Old West to new: Court order makes Ore. 'wolf-safe,' forcing ranchers to try new measures

By: Jeff Barnard, The Associated Press

Saturday, Mar. 2, 2013 at 12:17 PM | Comments: 0

This Sept. 1, 2009 file photo provided by Robert Millage shows his rifle with a wolf he shot on the first day of wolf hunting season along the Lochsa River in Northern Idaho. A temporary court order in Oregon has barred wildlife authorities from killing wolves that attack livestock for the past year. While Oregon has seen wolf attacks on livestock remain static while wolf numbers has risen to 46, Idaho last year saw the numbers of livestock attacks rise dramatically as hunters and wildlife agents killed 422 wolves. Wolf advocates hope tha ccidental experiment will lead other states to reconsider lethal controls as wolves spread through the West. (AP Photo/Robert Millage)

GRANTS PASS, Ore. - As long as wolves have been making their comeback, biologists and ranchers have had a decidedly Old West option for dealing with those that develop a taste for beef: Shoot to kill.

Due to a temporary court order, Oregon has been a "wolf-safe" zone for the past year, creating a kind of accidental experiment that is challenging the idea that the way to lower livestock attacks by wolves is to kill more wolves.

In Oregon, while the number of wolves roaming the state has gone up, livestock kills haven't.

And in Idaho, 2012 saw the number of livestock attacks increase even as more wolves were killed.

That has conservation groups hoping Oregon can serve as a model for other Western states working to return the predator to the wild.

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