It was a tough summer for rancher Jim Popson in southern Oregon, as wolves attacked his cattle with frustrating regularity.

Popson grazes yearling steers on 2,080 acres of grassy pasture in the Wood River Valley near Fort Klamath. The pasture borders the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, where the Rogue Pack of wolves has established its territory.

This year, Popson said, wolf problems have escalated dramatically. Between May and September, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that wolves had killed or injured 12 steers in the area, seven of which were at Popson’s ranch.

He suspects the total may be higher, but several carcasses were eaten down to the bones, meaning investigators could not determine a cause of death.

“We never had to worry about these problems (before),” Popson said. “Now you wake up in the middle of the night and you wonder what the hell is going on out there.”

When it came to keeping wolves away from his livestock, Popson said his hands were tied, and so were those of state wildlife managers. Wolves were protected under the federal Endangered Species Act across the western two-thirds of Oregon and Washington state. That meant ranchers and managers could use only nonlethal deterrents such as flashing lights, guard dogs and range riders, none of which are foolproof.

That could soon change. The Trump administration has followed through on its controversial decision to take gray wolves off the list of endangered species in the Lower 48 states.

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt made the announcement during a ceremony at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Bloomington, Minnesota.

“After more than 45 years as a listed species, the gray wolf has exceeded all conservation goals for recovery,” Bernhardt said.

The estimated minimum wolf population is 158 in Oregon, 145 in Washington and 14 in California.

Wolves were driven to near-extinction in the early 20th century by hunting, trapping and other government-funded extermination programs. Certain subspecies and regional populations were originally listed under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, then under the new Endangered Species Act in 1973.

In 1978, wolves were reclassified as endangered throughout the Lower 48 and Mexico. At the time, about 1,000 wolves lived south of Alaska and Canada.

Today, more than 6,000 wolves roam the Lower 48. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued its latest delisting proposal in March 2019. It would hand over wolf management to state and tribal governments.

The agency’s final rule was published Nov. 3 and is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 4.

Environmental groups, however, have already vowed to fight the rule in court, arguing it is premature and will hinder wolf recovery in regions like the West Coast.

“Gray wolves occupy only a fraction of their former range and need continued federal protection to fully recover,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. “We will be taking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to court to defend this iconic species.”

The final rule does not include the Mexican gray wolf, which will remain listed as endangered.

Gray wolves living in the northern Rocky Mountains — including Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and eastern Oregon and Washington — were previously delisted.

State management

The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission removed wolves from the state endangered species list in 2015, though the federal designation remained in the western two-thirds of the state.

Popson said he and other ranchers tried everything to protect their cattle using nonlethal tools. He installed flashing lights and radio-activated alarm boxes to spook wolves. Both state and federal wildlife managers began driving nightly around the valley checking for wolf activity.

One rancher, Ted Birdseye, even used an inflatable waving “tube man” — like those often seen at used car lots — to guard his pasture.

Still, the Rogue Pack kept coming back.

“It’s totally frustrating,” Popson said. “The guys I work with, they’re great people, but their hands were tied because of the listing.”

The Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan allows wildlife officials to consider killing wolves that habitually prey on livestock, a standard known as “chronic depredation.”

If delisting stands in court, the Department of Fish and Wildlife can consider killing members of a pack if they attack livestock four times in six months under phase I of the state wolf plan.

Wolves enter phase II, or the transition phase, of the plan once the population reaches four breeding pairs in the region for three consecutive years.

They enter phase III, or the management phase, once seven breeding pairs have been established for three consecutive years.

In phases II and III, the definition of “chronic depredation” changes to two confirmed kills in a nine-month period.

“I just feel like we should be able to take care of the problem the way we see fit,” Popson said. “I think this will help, with the delisting.”

Tom Sharp, president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, was the only nonlocal rancher invited to speak at the delisting ceremony in Minnesota.

Sharp, who ranches in southeast Oregon near Burns, said about 50 people attended the chilly outdoor event. The real task now, he said, is balancing conservation with efforts to mitigate livestock depredations and personal stress in places like the Rogue Valley.

“We think it makes sense that people at the state level should have a better understanding and knowledge of the situation regarding species management,” Sharp said.

Other agricultural and livestock organizations similarly welcomed the delisting rule.

Zippy Duvall, the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said gray wolf recovery is “an Endangered Species Act success story.”

Marty Smith, the president of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, said the decision promotes science and law over emotion and politics.

“As ranchers, we remain optimistic that we will be able to protect our livelihoods and ability to produce a safe, affordable, domestic food supply, while working in tandem with wildlife managers for balanced management and realized success,” said Ashley House, executive vice president of the Washington Cattlemen’s Association.

Lawsuit planned

Wolf advocates, however, argue the species has not recovered yet in a significant portion of its historical range, as required by the Endangered Species Act.

Amaroq Weiss, the senior West Coast wolf advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the group did an analysis in 2014 that found gray wolves occupied only about 30% of suitable habitat totaling 530,000 square miles in the Lower 48.

“It’s quite clear the rule is not based on the best available science. We also know it’s illegal,” Weiss said.

A peer review team made up of five scientists also criticized the administration’s delisting proposal after it was released in 2019.

In its 245-page report, the team found the Fish and Wildlife Service misinterpreted some of the science used to make its conclusion, did not fully consider the impacts of range reduction and did not provide an adequate review of factors relating to persistence of the wolf population — such as disease, available prey and climate change.

“The only reason that we have wolves back anywhere in the country is because federal protections were put into place. That was the only thing that stopped the rampant killing of this species,” Weiss said. “What is needed in order for continued wolf recovery — which itself is needed to get wolves back to historical parts of their significant range — are these protections.”

According to one analysis conducted by the Center for Western Priorities, a nonpartisan conservation group based in Denver, more than 97% of the 757,000 public comments submitted to the Fish and Wildlife Service opposed the agency’s delisting proposal, with 1.5% in favor and 1.1% unclear.

John Mellgren, an attorney with the Western Environmental Law Center, said the determination that wolves have successfully recovered “does not pass the straight-face test.”

“On its face, this appears to be politically motivated,” Mellgren said. “While the Trump administration may believe it can disregard science, the law does not support such a stance. We look forward to having a court hear our science-based arguments for why wolves desperately need Endangered Species Act protections to fully recover.”

Meanwhile, gray wolves have been off the endangered species list for nearly a decade in Idaho as part of the northern Rocky Mountain population.

Toby Boudreau, the wildlife bureau chief for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said the species was first reintroduced in Idaho in 1995 and 1996. By 2009, the population numbered about 700, and the Fish and Wildlife Service moved to delist it for the first time.

A federal judge relisted wolves in Idaho and Montana in 2010. The population was subsequently delisted again in 2011 by Congress.

Since then, Boudreau said the state has brought back seasonal hunting and trapping of wolves as part of its management program. The department also works with USDA Wildlife Services to kill wolves that prey on livestock. In all, Boudreau said, 292 to 450 wolves are harvested annually.

Yet the total number of wolves in Idaho has continued to increase and is estimated at 1,540. Boudreau said wolves occupy roughly 70% of the state, and he is optimistic the population is beginning to stabilize.

“We’re nowhere near the lower limits of wolf populations in Idaho,” he said. “I don’t see us ever going back to that point with any method that we use.”

Boudreau said he understands wolves are a touchy subject, with some people who think one wolf killed is too many and others who fall at the opposite end of the spectrum. But, he said, wolf management is the state’s job, as with other big game animals.

“Wolves are a very prolific species, and they are adaptable,” Boudreau said. “I think they will persist on the landscape very well.”