Wasco County to get wolf committee

WASCO CO. — After a years-long hiatus, producers will be able to access monetary compensation for expenses and damages resulting from wolves’ return to Wasco County, said Commissioner Jeff Justesen.

Through this yet-to-be-established committee, producers can get state money to help them fortify ranches — reimbursements for damage, or compensation for protecting livestock and securing ranches in ways that have been unnecessary for a generation.

Wasco’s former wolf compensation committee dissolved over time and has been gone for a few years, said Aaron Bott, a wolf biologist with Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. “We have been trying for a long time to get Wasco County to fix this,” he said.

Justesen is tasked with re-starting the county wolf committee, and said he hopes to get it running by September of this year. 

“I have begun my research into the requirements of forming the committee, and have also begun making contacts with appropriate agencies,” Justesen said. “Wasco County recognizes the need for a strong county wolf program, and I look forward to making that happen.”

Transient, dispersing wolves and a couple of resident packs use Wasco County as habitat, Aaron said. This area is on the forefront of wolf recolonization in Oregon. ODFW investigations confirmed two livestock depredations by wolves in Wasco County in 2024, and none so far in 2025.