MEDFORD, Ore. — At least three wolves have been newly documented near the North Umpqua River, creating a second group of wolves joining OR-7’s Rogue Pack in Western Oregon.
Images of the three so-called Indigo wolves were captured Feb. 20 in the Umpqua National Forest on remote trail cameras set out by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced late Thursday.
The photographs validate what members of the public have suggested for years — that there was wolf activity around the North Umpqua River — and biologists late last year found tracks of multiple wolves, suggesting that wolves were residing in the area and not just passing through, according to ODFW.
State wildlife managers say they have little information about the group, such as the animals’ sex, breeding status or the specific areas they are using.
The designation creates Western Oregon’s third Area of Known Wolf Activity, this one in eastern Douglas and Lane counties, the first such designation in that part of the state.
However, the Indigo wolves are not considered an official pack like the Rogue Pack.
Under Oregon’s wolf definitions, a pack is four or more wolves moving together through winter.
The Rogue Pack has had pack status the past four years and is the only official pack in Western Oregon. The Indigo wolves are joined by a pair known to be in the White River area, and an isolated wolf known to be in the Silver Lake area, according to ODFW.
The confirmation comes a week after the Trump administration announced it will seek to drop federal endangered species status for gray wolves throughout the lower 48 states.
Western Oregon wolves currently have protection as threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.
In northeast Oregon, wolves have been delisted federally and are managed through ODFW’s Wolf Management Plan.
