ODFW releases 2025 wolf report
By Terry Murry on Monday, April 20th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SALEM – The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that the minimum number of known wolves at the end of 2025 was 230. There were 204 in 2024. There were 30 packs documented with 23 meeting the criteria of breeding pairs, up from 17 in the year prior.
Wolves east of Highway 395, Highway 78, and Highway 95 are handled by ODFW. The agency said that wolves on the east side continued to exceed the minimum management objective of seven breeding pairs. Those wolves therefore will continue to be managed by the state under Phase III of the Wolf Plan.
West of those highways, the wolf population continued to grow but still remain under the more stringent protection of the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife. If seven breeding pairs are again recorded at the end of this year, the West Wolf Management Zone will move directly to Phase III of the ODFW Wolf Plan.
A total of 42 wolf mortalities were documented during the year, including 39 that were caused by humans. There were 106 confirmed events of livestock depredation in 2025, compared to 69 in 2024). Twenty wolves were lethally removed by ODFW in response to chronic depredation in the East Wolf Management Zone. In addition, livestock producers lawfully removed three wolves caught in the act of attacking livestock.
The complete 2025 Wolf Report is at 2025_Annual_Wolf_Report_FINAL_260417.pdf.
File photo from ODFW
