Or. Admin. Code § 635-110-0010

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 11, November 1, 2024

Section 635-110-0010 - Harassment and Take of Wolves during Phase I (Conservation)

NOTE: As of June 7, 2019, the portions of these rules regarding harassment and take of wolves are pre-empted in a portion of Oregon by the endangered status of the gray wolf under the federal Endangered Species Act. In the portion of Oregon where federal protections are reduced to a level below that of Oregon law, these rules govern harassment and take of wolves in Oregon.

(1) This rule describes factors and regulations related to harassment and take of wolves during Phase I of the Oregon Wolf Conservation and Management Plan.

(2) Non-injurious harassment.

(a) Subject to the conditions specified in paragraph (b), the following persons may use non-injurious harassment against wolves without a permit:

(A) Livestock producers (or their agents) on land they own or lawfully occupy; or

(B) Grazing permittees (or their agents) legally using public land under valid livestock grazing allotments.

(b) Non-injurious harassment is allowed without a permit under this rule only if:

(A) The wolf (or wolves) is in close proximity of livestock or in the act of other wolf-livestock conflict;

(B) The harassment in fact does not result in injury to the wolf (or wolves); and

(C) The harassment is reported to the Department within 48 hours.

(c) Any non-injurious harassment that does not meet each requirement of this rule requires a permit in advance from the Department.

(3) Non-lethal injurious harassment.

(a) Non-lethal injurious harassment is conducted for the purpose of minimizing wolf-livestock conflict when livestock are present.

(b) Subject to the conditions specified in paragraph (c), in addition to state employees or state authorized agents, the following persons may use non-lethal injurious harassment against wolves by permit:

(A) Livestock producers (or their agents) on land they own or lawfully occupy;

(B) Grazing permittees (or their agents) legally using public land under valid livestock grazing allotments.

(c) As to non-lethal injurious harassment on either private or public land, pursuing wolves is allowed.

(d) Non-lethal injurious harassment is allowed by permit from the Department only if:

(A) The Department confirms wolf depredation on livestock or other wolf-livestock conflict in the area;

(B) The applicant confers with the Department to determine the most effective harassment method(s);

(C) The Department considers the location of known den sites;

(D) The harassment in fact does not result in the death of a wolf;

(E) No identified circumstance exists that attracts wolf-livestock conflict; and

(F) The harassment is reported to the Department within 48 hours.

(e) Permits for non-lethal injurious harassment remain valid for the livestock grazing season in which issued, provided the livestock operator complies with all applicable laws, including permit conditions. The agency shall inform harassment permit holders of non-lethal methods for minimizing wolf-livestock conflict and provide guidance upon request. Receiving future lethal control permits is contingent upon documentation of efforts to use non-lethal methods.

(4) Relocation. The Department may authorize relocation by state personnel when a wolf (or wolves) becomes inadvertently involved in a situation, or is present in an area, that could result in conflict with humans or harm to the wolf, provided that the Department has no reason to believe that the wolf actually attacked or killed livestock or pets. The relocation will be designed to prevent conflict with humans or reduce the possibility of harm to the wolf. The wolf (or wolves) would be relocated to suitable habitat at the direction of the Department.

(5) Lethal take of wolves in the act of biting, wounding, killing or chasing livestock or working dogs.

(a) A person, or an agent as described in paragraph (b), may lethally take a wolf on land the person owns or lawfully occupies only if:

(A) The wolf is caught in the act of

(i) Biting, wounding or killing livestock or working dogs; or

(ii) Chasing livestock or working dogs, if the person has first undertaken nonlethal actions as specified in 8(b)(C) and 8(c) of this rule, and the taking occurs during a time period in which the Department has determined a situation of chronic depredation exists; and

(B) No person has used bait or taken other intentional actions to attract wolves.

(b) A landowner or lawful occupant of land may authorize an agent to enter the land for the purpose of taking wolves pursuant to 5(a) on the landowner or occupant's behalf. The authorization must be in writing, be carried by the agent when wolves are taken, and must include:

(A) The date of issuance of the authorization;

(B) The name, address, telephone number and signature of the person granting authorization;

(C) The name, address, and telephone number of the person to whom authorization is granted; and

(D) The expiration date of the authorization, which may not be later than one year from the issuance date.

(c) Any person who takes a wolf pursuant to 5(a) and 5(b) of these rules must make all reasonable efforts to preserve the scene, not remove or disturb the wolf carcass, and report the take to the Department within 24 hours.

(6) Lethal take to address chronic livestock depredation. The Department may authorize its personnel or authorized agents to use lethal force on a wolf or wolves it reasonably believes are responsible for chronic depredation upon livestock where each of the conditions in subsections (7) through (10) of this rule is satisfied. The Department shall limit lethal force to the wolf or wolves it deems necessary to address the chronic depredation situation

(7) Conditions for Lethal Take by the Department. The Department's discretionary authority for use of lethal force pursuant to this rule may be exercised if the Department:

(a) Designates an Area of Known Wolf Activity, the boundary of which may be adjusted as new data or information become available;

(b) Upon the designation of an Area of Known Wolf Activity, coordinates in a timely manner with potentially affected livestock producers and other relevant interests to provide information on:

(A) The provisions of the Oregon Wolf Conservation & Management Plan and associated rules,

(B) The current state of knowledge of wolf behavior, management, and conservation,

(C) Procedures for documenting and reporting wolf activity to the Department, including depredations upon livestock, and

(D) Non-lethal measures, incentives and available assistance aimed at minimizing conflicts between wolves and livestock or domestic animals in the Area of Known Wolf Activity;

(c) Confirms an incident of depredation of livestock by a wolf or wolves;

(d) Within 14 working days of the Department's confirmation of the first incident of depredation in an area:

(A) Designates an Area of Depredating Wolves, the boundary of which may be adjusted as new data or information become available;

(B) Concurrent with the designation of an Area of Depredating Wolves, prepares and publicly discloses an area-specific wolf-livestock conflict deterrence plan in coordination with potentially affected landowners, livestock producers and other relevant interests. The plan shall identify appropriate non-lethal measures according to which measures are likely to be most effective in a given circumstance, including the nature of the livestock operations, habitat, and landscape conditions specific to the area, as well as particular times of the year or period of livestock production. The plan shall be based on information compiled by the Department before and/or during the planning effort on potentially successful conflict deterrence techniques, scientific research, and available financial resources and/or partnerships that may aid in the successful implementation of the plan. The Department may update an area-specific conflict deterrence plan as new data become available.

(e) Confirms a total of at least 4 qualifying incidents of depredation of livestock within the previous 6 months by the same wolf or wolves.

(f) Issues and makes publicly available, prior to the exercise of lethal force, a written determination by the Department Director or director's designee to use lethal force to address a specified situation of chronic depredation, along with supporting findings that:

(A) The conditions of Sections 7, 8, and 9 of this rule have been satisfied;

(B) Livestock producers in the Area of Depredating Wolves have worked to reduce wolf- livestock conflict and are in compliance with wolf protection laws and the conditions of any harassment or take permits.

(C) The situation of wolf depredation upon livestock in the Area of Depredating Wolves is likely to remain chronic despite the use of additional non-lethal conflict deterrence measures; and

(D) The wolf or wolves identified for removal are those the Department believes to be associated with the qualifying depredations, the removal of which the Department believes will decrease the risk of chronic depredation in the Area of Depredating Wolves.

(8) Qualifying Contingencies and Counting Incidents:

(a) An incident of depredation is a single event resulting in the injury or death of one or more lawfully present livestock that is reported to the Department for investigation, and upon investigation by the Department or its agent(s), the Department confirms to have been caused by a wolf or group of wolves.

(b) A qualifying incident of depredation is a confirmed incident of depredation for the purposes of this rule if:

(A) The depredation is outside of an Area of Known Wolf Activity or Area of Depredating Wolves. Only the first confirmed depredation by a wolf or wolves may count as a qualifying depredation,

(B) In an Area of Known Wolf Activity, the landowner or lawful occupant of the land where the depredation occurred had:

(i) At least seven days prior to the incident of depredation, removed, treated or disposed of all intentionally placed or known and reasonably accessible unnatural attractants of potential wolf-livestock conflict, such as bone or carcass piles or disposal sites, and

(ii) Prior to and on the day of the incident of depredation, been using at least one measure the Department deems most appropriate from non-lethal deterrence measures identified pursuant to section (7)(b)(D) to protect calving operations, nursing cattle, sheep operations, or other reasonably protectable situations, not including open range situations. Once a confirmed depredation has occurred in an Area of Known Wolf Activity and while the Department is in the process of designating an Area of Depredating Wolves and creating an area-specific conflict deterrence plan, only one additional confirmed depredation in an area may count as a qualifying depredation under this subsection.

(C) In an Area of Depredating Wolves, the landowner or lawful occupant of the land where the depredation occurred had:

(i) Complied with subsection (B) of this section, and

(ii) Prior to and on the day of the incident of depredation was implementing at least one non-lethal measure identified in the area-specific conflict deterrence plan developed under subsection (7)(d)(B) that is specific to the location, type of livestock operation, time of the year, and/or period of livestock production associated with the depredation. The conflict deterrence plan measure implemented by a landowner or lawful occupant must address wolf-livestock conflict in open range situations when that situation exists.

(c) Human presence, when used as a non-lethal measure under this rule, is presence which could reasonably be expected to deter wolf-livestock conflict under the circumstances and, regardless of the temporal requirements of sections 7(b)(B) and (C) of this rule, may be considered an appropriate non- lethal measure if it:

(A) Occurs at a proximate time prior to and in an area proximate to a confirmed depredation as determined by the Department, and

(B) Indicates a timely response to wolf location information in situations of potential wolf- livestock conflict.

(9) Transparency and Public Disclosure.

(a) Except as provided in section (c) below, prior to using lethal force to address chronic wolf depredation, and in a timely fashion, the Department shall document and make publicly available on at least its website:

(A) The determinations and supporting findings referenced in section (7)(f) of this rule;

(B) Information including but not limited to summaries of confirmed incidents of depredation and associated depredation investigation reports, maps of areas of known wolf activity and areas of depredating wolves, including changes and amendments to those maps, and area specific conflict deterrence plans; and

(C) Documentation of measures implemented pursuant to Section 8 of this rule. In documenting the removal of unnatural attractants and implementation of conflict deterrence measures, the Department may rely upon documented personal observation and/or written statements by the owner or lawful occupant of the land where qualifying incidents of depredation have occurred that confirm the non-lethal deterrence measures being utilized prior to and at the time of the qualifying depredation.

(b) In any signed statements and other information publicly disclosed pursuant to this section, the Department shall redact from public disclosure the personal information of landowners, lawful occupants, or other relevant individuals consistent with the Oregon public records law, ORS Chapter 192.

(c) In the case where the conditions in Section 7(f) of this rule have been met but strict compliance with the public disclosure requirements of this section cannot be accomplished without a delay that impedes the Department's ability to pursue an immediately available opportunity to remove the wolf or wolves it reasonably believes responsible for chronic depredation prior to another depredation event on livestock, this section is deemed satisfied if, prior to the use of lethal force, the Department:

(A) Provides email or phone notification from the Department Director or designee to a list of interested stakeholders communicating the findings in Section 7(f) of this rule and the Department's intent to pursue immediate lethal action based on those findings,

(B) Has previously documented and disclosed, on at least the agency's website, the information referenced in subsections (a)(A)-(C) of this section with respect to all but the most recent qualifying depredation that resulted in the Department's determination to pursue lethal action, and

(C) Provides the remaining information referenced in subsections (a)(A)-(C) of this rule in a timely manner with respect to the most recent qualifying incident that the Department pursues with immediate lethal action.

(10) Duration of chronic depredation lethal take authority. Take authority issued pursuant to subsection (7) expires:

(a) When the wolf or wolves identified for lethal removal have been removed by Department or any other party.

(b) The Department may reinstate its take authority if the Department confirms one additional qualifying incident of depredation within two months after the last confirmed qualifying depredation by what it believes to be a member or members of the same wolf pack and non-lethal efforts specified in Section 8 have continued to be implemented by the owner or lawful occupant of land where the additional depredation occurs;

(c) 45 days after issuance of the take authority and determination referenced in Section 7(f), unless the Department confirms, within that time period, another qualifying incident of depredation on livestock by what it believes to be the same wolf or wolves identified for lethal removal and non-lethal efforts specified in Section 8 have continued to be implemented by the owner or lawful occupant of land where the additional depredation occurs; or

(d) If the Department determines the wolf or wolves identified for lethal removal have left the Area of Depredating Wolves. To support this determination, data must show more than just a short-term or seasonal movement outside the area's boundary.

(e) Except as allowed under subsections (b) and (c) of this Section, any subsequent authorization or reinstatement of take authority by the Department must comply with Sections 7 through 9 of this rule, and must be based upon at least one additional qualifying depredation.

(11) Lethal take in the case of extreme circumstances. Notwithstanding sections (7) and (8) of this rule, the Department may authorize the use of lethal force in extreme circumstances.

(a) Extreme circumstances means:

(A) Four or more confirmed incidents of depredation of livestock by what the Department reasonably believes to be the same wolf or wolves within seven days;

(B) The Department determines, based on evidence it makes publicly available, that there were no intentionally placed or known and reasonably accessible unnatural attractants such as bone or carcass piles or disposal sites that contributed to the incidents of depredation, and that non-lethal measures are and will likely remain ineffective; and

(C) The Department finds that depredation has rapidly escalated beyond the reasonable, available means of the Department and affected livestock owners to stop additional livestock losses from occurring.

(b) A decision to utilize lethal force authority due to extreme circumstances shall be made by the the Department director or director's designee, accompanied by the findings and determinations required in section 11(a) made publically available on the Department's website, and exercised within 14 days of the determination to exercise lethal force authority under this section, or of the last confirmed depredation, whichever comes later.

Or. Admin. Code § 635-110-0010

DFW 12-2005, f. & cert. ef. 3-9-05; DFW 92-2010(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 6-29-10 thru 12-25-10; DFW 144-2010, f. & cert. ef. 10-11-10; DFW 42-2013(Temp), f. & cert. ef 5-23-13 thru 11-17-13; DFW 73-2013, f. & cert. ef. 7-12-13; DFW 115-2013(Temp), f. & cert. ef. 10-1-13 thru 3-29-14; Administrative correction, 12-19-13; DFW 2-2014, f. & cert. ef. 1-14-14; DFW 76-2019, amend filed 06/17/2019, effective 6/17/2019

Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 496.012, 496.138, 496.146, 496.162, 498.012 & 498.014

Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 496.012, 496.138, 496.146, 496.162, 498.002, 498.006, 498.012 & 498.014