Oregon biologists recommend taking wolves off state endangered list

By Shelby Sebens PORTLAND, Ore. (Reuters) - Oregon wildlife biologists are recommending the state remove gray wolves from its list of Endangered Species while retaining some protections when it votes next month, angering conservationists who said the move is premature and opposed by the public. "The information that we have about wolves, which is all hard data, we believe justifies a delisting," state wildlife commission spokeswoman Michelle Dennehy said on Friday. In reaching their decision, she said, state biologists found the wolves cover a large geographic area, that populations are expected to increase, the probability of extinction is low, and the wolf habitat in Oregon is stable. The commission is due to vote on Nov. 9 on whether to delist the wolves under the state's Endangered Species Act, and the recommendation prompted dismay from wildlife advocates. Steve Pedery, director of Portland-based advocacy group Oregon Wild Conservation, said in a statement that the public overwhelmingly supports continued protections for wolves. "Conservation groups and tens of thousands of Oregonians have told the commission that delisting of Oregon's tiny wolf population is premature and that wolves still face threats ... in significant portions of their historic range - and the scientific community wholeheartedly agrees," Pedery said. Gray wolves, native to Oregon but wiped out in the state by an eradication campaign in the early 20th century, first returned in 2008 and have spread to several parts of the Pacific Northwest state. Oregon has about 80 wolves and 15 packs. Dennehy, the commission's spokeswomen, said delisting the wolves would not immediately change protections for the animal, and that a general season hunting of wolves would still be prohibited. "There's still a lot of protection for wolves going forward," she said. But wildlife advocates highlighted comments from some scientists who have questioned the state's process for recommending the delisting. Michael Nelson, a professor of environmental ethics and philosophy at Oregon State University, said it was "logically indefensible" to suggest wolves are recovered when they are missing from almost 90 percent of their suitable range. "Dropping state protections for wolves right now would suggest that politics, rather than science and law, are guiding wildlife management decisions in Oregon," Nelson said in a statement. (Reporting by Shelby Sebens; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Sandra Maler)