Sightings of a new gray wolf family raise hopes for a resurgence in Oregon.Oregon

With sightings of a new gray wolf family in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains, wildlife advocates hope the state’s endangered species’ recovery is accelerating.

A group of two adults and two puppies were filmed on trail cameras in August, according to the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).

Authorities designated the Warm Springs Reservation where a new area of ​​known wolf activity (AKWA) was discovered. Wolves are now officially known as the Warm Springs Pack. Members who survived at the end of the year.

“Wolves disperse to different locations, but if they are inhabited as we know they are staying in the area, that is when we create AKWA,” said the agency communication. Coordinator Michelle Dennehy said. told USA Today.

Decades of gray wolf hunting had nearly wiped out the species in 48 states in the continental United States by the middle of the last century, with only 14 wolves remaining in Oregon at the end of 2009.

With protection under the Endangered Species Act beginning in 1974, numbers have slowly increased, reaching 175 individuals in Oregon by the end of last year, living in more than 35 colonies. According to ODFW figures.

ODFW’s wolf biologist Roblyn Brown said in a statement, “Wolves numbers have not increased as much as in previous years, partly due to increased mortality, including the loss of adults during breeding. That’s for sure.

Earlier this year, Judge Restoration of federal protection From hunting gray wolves discarded during the waning days of President Donald Trump.

Wildlife activists tell District Court Judge Jeffrey White of Oakland, Calif., that U.S. fish and wildlife We have been unable to demonstrate that wolf populations can be sustained in parts of the Midwest and West that are not protected under the Endangered Species Act.

“Illegal wolf killing is so prevalent in Oregon that these animals need to be as safe as possible,” said Amarok Weiss, senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biodiversity. . said in a statement.

“We hope this will be an exciting new chapter in the story of wolf recovery in a state that sees wolves disperse in territories they haven’t lived in for decades. Establishing habitats and families for wolves is critical to the long-term survival of these beautiful animals.”

According to the Associated Press, the remaining population of the western Great Lakes region has expanded to about 4,400 wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, with more than 2,000 wolves in six states in the northern Rockies and Pacific Northwest. occupies the