State wildlife biologist kills Black Pines breeding male wolf in Keating Valley

Brian Ratliff, district wildlife biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Baker City office, shot and killed the breeding male of the Black Pines Pack from a helicopter at about 7:15 a.m. on Feb. 19 in the Keating area, roughly 15 miles east of Baker City, after the pack “killed or injured cattle several times” in Keating Valley last fall and this winter.

Ratliff estimated the breeding male was about 7 years old and said the animal had been part of the Black Pines Pack during at least 10 documented livestock attacks in 2023 in the Keating and Medical Springs areas. Ratliff described the Feb. 19 removal as part of a recent set of actions: “The breeding male is the fourth wolf from the Black Pines Pack that officials have killed in the Keating area over the past three weeks.” He also said ODFW had authorized killing up to four wolves from the pack.

The Black Pines Pack’s recent history stretches back to late 2023, when Ratliff said officials killed six wolves from the pack in late November and early December 2023 “after the repeated attacks on cattle.” Ratliff said the last wolf removed in that 2023 operation was the pack’s breeding female, and that after the female’s removal the remaining wolves “dispersed almost immediately and stayed away from the Keating Valley.” The pack later reconstituted when the breeding male found another breeding female and a litter was born in spring 2025.

Ratliff’s public account includes several recent removals and, in the same statements, an apparent inconsistency about survivors. He is quoted as saying, “The three other wolves, all pups born to the pack in the spring of 2025, were trapped and killed in late January or early February.” Elsewhere in the same public account Ratliff is quoted saying “the remnants of the pack include the breeding female and two pups from the 2025 litter.” Those two statements appear to conflict, and ODFW has not provided further clarification on which animals remain.

Ratliff said he attached a tracking collar to one of the pups, a female, earlier this winter and that officials will continue to monitor the area. He warned of further removals if livestock losses continue: “Officials will continue to monitor the three remaining wolves, and if they continue to attack livestock 'we will act accordingly,' Ratliff said.” Ratliff also described one surviving pup as the “runt of the litter,” adding that he doubts a runt male would be able to compete as a breeding male.

The Baker City Herald Facebook post announcing the operation drew 324 reactions, 69 comments and 22 shares. Public replies ranged from support for the removal to concern over lethal control. Pam Cindell wrote, "It's a start. We simply don't have room for this type of apex predator. Somehow, the landscape is different than it was 100 years ago." Christopher Lee McQuilken commented, "Good for the farmers." Kim Adams asked, "How will this prevent other packs from moving into that area ? I’m sorry for the ranchers but I am sad to hear them being shot. Aren’t there deterrents to use along fence line ?"

ODFW’s authorization to remove up to four wolves frames the operation, but the extent of any federal role in the helicopter shoot has not been confirmed. Ratliff’s statements make clear that agency staff will keep monitoring Keating Valley and that additional action is possible if cattle depredations persist.