Oregon state court gives reprieve on the killing of 2 members of Imnaha Pack
Pack has declined from 16 to 4, with 2 on death row-
The execution of two members of the Imnaha Pack has been stayed by the Oregon Court of Appeals. They wolves might yet be put to death. With just 2 wolves remaining after that the Imnaha Pack would very likely disappear, especially because one marked for execution is the alpha male.
The state’s known wolf population has dropped a great deal from 2010, from 21 to 14. There is more hope than some have indicated, however, because there are several other packs, one new pack, and several dispersing wolves known in the states. A wolf pack can grow very quickly, just like it can decline in a blink.
As mentioned above, there are four wolves left in the Imnaha pack; four in the Walla Walla pack, 2 pups were confirmed in it this year; four in the Wenaha pack which has stayed “out of trouble”; and two wolves are dispersing as lone individuals.
I wrote this story like a stay of an execution of a prisoner because most “wolf control” is more like execution than removal of an animal that has troubled some livestock owner. Consider the appeals, the emotion on both sides, and news attention. It is also like a lynching because the guilt of a particular wolf is rarely established.
There are numerous news accounts of the stay on-line. This event seems to have unified and galvanized Oregon wolf conservationists.

Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University. He has been a Western Watersheds Project Board Member off and on for many years, and also its President. For many years he produced Ralph Maughan's Wolf Report. He was a founder of the Greater Yellowstone Coalition. He and Jackie Johnson Maughan wrote three editions of "Hiking Idaho." He also wrote "Beyond the Tetons" and "Backpacking Wyoming's Teton and Washakie Wilderness." He created and is the administrator of The Wildlife News.
Subscribe to Blog via Email
Recent Posts
- Another Misleading New York Times Fire Article August 4, 2022
- San Pedro Grazing Challenged August 3, 2022
- M-44 Ban On Public Lands Near Enactment August 1, 2022
- Michael Garrity–Working to Protect the Northern Rockies Ecosystem July 31, 2022
- NYT Promotes Logging in Yosemite NP July 28, 2022
Recent Comments
- Mark L on Another Misleading New York Times Fire Article
- Ida Lupine on M-44 Ban On Public Lands Near Enactment
- Beeline on Another Misleading New York Times Fire Article
- Ida Lupine on Michael Garrity–Working to Protect the Northern Rockies Ecosystem
- Ida Lupine on Michael Garrity–Working to Protect the Northern Rockies Ecosystem
- Susan on Another Misleading New York Times Fire Article
- rastadoggie on San Pedro Grazing Challenged
- rastadoggie on Michael Garrity–Working to Protect the Northern Rockies Ecosystem
- Karl J. Findling on San Pedro Grazing Challenged
- Maggie Frazier on M-44 Ban On Public Lands Near Enactment
- MK Ray on M-44 Ban On Public Lands Near Enactment
- Robert Goldman on A White Mountain National Park? Has its time arrived?
- lou on NYT Promotes Logging in Yosemite NP
- Ida Lupine on NYT Promotes Logging in Yosemite NP
- Maggie Frazier on NYT Promotes Logging in Yosemite NP