Rep. Bentz holds wolf discussion in Prineville

U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz recently came to Prineville to host a listening session regarding the reintroduction of wolves in Oregon and its impact on the ranching industry.

The event, which drew a crowd of about 60 people to Carey Foster Hall, included a panel of representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Department of Agriculture as well as Crook County Judge Seth Crawford, who serves on the Crook County Wolf Committee.

Bentz began the approximately hourlong session by sharing that he is the current chair of the House of Representatives’ Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee. He added that the committee members plan to hold a hearing on wolves.

“The purpose of the hearing will be to call out issues, such as the ones you are going to raise here today,” he said.

Bentz went on to say his background is in cattle and ranching, so the wolves issue is front and center for his family. He admits that if it were up to him, he would rather Oregon didn’t have any wolves.

“But we do have them, so we have to deal with them,” he said.

One of the main issues Bentz raised is who should pay for wolf reintroduction, who should bear the cost. He clarified that he didn’t mean the cost to the agencies but the cost imposed on those who have to bear the burden of reintroduction or preservation of the species.

“That cost is dramatically understated,” he said.

Toward the beginning of the event, Bentz shared a slideshow that highlighted the amount of wolves that have been identified in Oregon – officially. He said the numbers, compiled by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, are lower than they should be. As of December 2022, there were 178 known wolves in the state. The majority of them were located in northeastern Oregon and few in the southwestern portion of the state. None have been officially identified in Crook County.

During the listening session, Bentz invited ranchers, leaders of a local wolf committee and hunting representatives to share their thoughts. He often would ask follow-up questions and solicited suggestions on how to present issues to his congressional colleagues.

Paulina area rancher, Trent Smith, said that wolves should be removed from the Endangered Species List on the west side of Highway 395. Currently, wolves have been delisted east of that highway, which runs north to south through Eastern Oregon.

“Oregon has a great wolf management plan, but we have to be able to use it,” Smith added. “We can’t do anything because our hands are tied. We need to move forward to get the delisting, absolutely, but we also need to look at allowing states to manage this wolf problem by themselves. It needs to be handled by the state.”

Bentz countered with an argument from his fellow lawmakers that giving the states control will result in them driving the species into extinction. Smith disagreed, recommending that Bentz tell his colleagues, “There is absolute proof that this problem can be managed.”

“The states that have to manage these animals are not driving them to extinction,” he continued. “Their numbers are thriving. They are stable.”

Smith’s view was echoed by John Dehler, President of the Ochoco Chapter of the Oregon Hunters Association.

“Oregon does have a good plan,” he stressed. “If we are allowed to manage these wolves, we will find a good balance. If we follow basic rules, we get along as a society, and the wolves can fit in our society.”

Also speaking at the listening session was Ellie Gage, chair of the Crook County Wolf Committee, who also does work for Western Landowners Alliance. She explained that the Alliance has developed policy for wolf/landowner conflict reduction. That policy is known as the four Cs – conflict resolution, compensation, lethal control and collaboration.

“What we have found across the West is that areas where there is conflict between wildlife and livestock, if all four of those Cs are not available for management practices, it is not effective,” she said.

Gage went on to say that the Alliance is working with Natural Resources Conservation Service to have practices in the future covered through cost share opportunities that will cover range riding, fencing and carcass management.

“Those are the three most well-researched tools for conflict reduction on working lands,” she said.

Throughout the listening session, Bentz asked several times for messages to share with his congressional colleagues that would resonate and help them understand the issues that ranchers face amidst wolf reintroduction and preservation. Tim Deboodt, Crook County’s natural resources manager, offered an analogy with which he felt all people could relate – shoplifting.

“Not everybody who walks in my store is a shoplifter,” he said, “but shoplifters cause costs to my business. They steal product, so I can’t sell it and they do vandalism. I think all of those things that I can attribute to wolves on a ranch.”