Oregon wolf population rises, increasing concerns for Union County ranchers

Oregon’s minimum known wolf count rose nearly 13% at the end of 2025, reaching 230 wolves from 204 a year earlier. For Union County ranchers, the bigger number is not just a statewide tally. It points to more livestock conflict, more pressure on compensation programs and more debate over how aggressively the state should respond when wolves move through grazing country.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s annual wolf report covers Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2025, and shows the species remains concentrated in Northeastern Oregon, including Baker, Union and Wallowa counties. Union County has already seen the consequences. Media coverage and depredation records show six depredations in the county in 2025, with 15 animal casualties between Jan. 7 and Nov. 22. A wolf was also killed in a vehicle collision on Interstate 84 in Union County, underscoring how often the conflict reaches beyond remote rangeland and into major travel corridors.

Statewide, the pressure has grown unevenly. Wildlife biologists counted seven breeding pairs in the West Wolf Management Zone in 2024, up from three in 2023. Under Oregon’s Wolf Plan, four breeding pairs for three straight years could move the West Zone to Phase 2, and seven breeding pairs for three straight years could move it to Phase 3. If that level holds, the state could reach those thresholds as early as 2027. Gray wolves are federally protected only in Western Oregon; east of the Cascades, they are managed by the state with fewer protections.

That split matters in Union County, where livestock owners can seek permits to kill a wolf in a pack if the state determines it killed livestock. The 2024 annual update recorded 69 confirmed livestock depredation events statewide, down from 73 in 2023, and 22 human-caused wolf deaths, including 11 wolves lawfully removed under ODFW authorizations and three killed by livestock producers when caught actively attacking livestock. But the latest 2025 figures show renewed strain: ODFW confirmed 106 livestock deaths, and wildlife officials lethally removed 20 wolves in response to chronic depredation, all in eastern Oregon. Ranchers legally killed three more wolves that were actively hunting livestock.

The state’s compensation system has become part of the policy response. Oregon’s Wolf Depredation Compensation and Financial Assistance County Block Grant Program began in August 2011 under HB 3560, has expanded from eight counties to 18, and currently operates in 16. Lawmakers approved higher payouts in 2025 for ranchers whose livestock is killed by wolves, a sign that the financial stakes are rising along with the wolf population.