Wildlife Agents Kill Another Black Pines Pack Wolf in Keating Valley

A Wildlife Services employee trapped and killed a collared pup from the Black Pines pack in Keating Valley on Tuesday, the fifth wolf removed from the group since late January as the depredation response in the grazing area roughly 15 miles east of Baker City continued.

Brian Ratliff, district wildlife biologist at ODFW's Baker City office, said the April 7 wolf was from the pack's 2025 litter. Some Keating Valley ranchers had reported the collared animal frightening cattle, but Ratliff said ODFW had received no confirmed reports of it injuring livestock. He said he expects the removal will at least temporarily end the recurring wolf conflicts that began last fall, when the Black Pines pack started descending nightly from National Forest land north of the valley into private grazing areas.

The removal effort traces back to Jan. 13, 2026, when ODFW issued its first lethal authorization after the pack killed four calves and injured four cattle in the Keating area. Wildlife Services employees then trapped and killed three pups from the 2025 litter between Jan. 29 and Feb. 3. Ratliff shot the pack's breeding male from a helicopter on the morning of Feb. 19, in the Keating area; that wolf was estimated at about 7 years old. By mid-March, with four wolves dead and three still accounted for in the pack, ODFW authorized the killing of the remaining animals. Tuesday's removal is one of those three.

The livestock toll on Keating Valley producers has been severe. Rancher Christopher Porter had three steers killed and a fourth injured in January alone. Baker County is now asking the state for $43,300 to compensate multiple ranchers for losses tied to Black Pines attacks over the past several months.

The pack's history in this valley is long. In 2023, the Black Pines pack attacked livestock at least 10 times in Baker and Union counties, prompting ODFW to kill six wolves in late November and early December of that year. After those removals the pack scattered and stayed out of Keating Valley, only to reconstitute when the breeding male found a new female. At least five pups were born from that pairing in spring 2025, and those yearlings became the primary targets of the 2026 removal effort.

Under Oregon's wolf management framework, wolves east of Highways 395, 78 and 95 are not covered by the federal Endangered Species Act and can be killed by state order when they repeatedly attack livestock. The Keating Valley falls within that zone, giving ODFW the authority to act without first navigating federal review.

Whether any Black Pines wolves remain, and whether the breeding female will produce another litter this spring, are questions ODFW will answer through continued monitoring. Ratliff noted in March that the female could potentially find a new mate and have pups later in 2026, a prospect that would renew concerns for ranchers who have spent this winter cycling through confirmed attacks, removal authorizations, and compensation applications.