PORTLAND, Ore.— The Oregon Division of Fish and Wildlife issued a report in the present day asserting video footage of the den website of what may very well be a comparatively new wolf household in southwestern Oregon. That is the primary recognized modern-day occasion of a California wolf dispersing to Oregon and certain beginning a household.
The mated pair of radio-collared wolves are Oregon-born feminine wolf OR-115 and California-born male wolf LAS013, who left his delivery pack in Lassen County, California and migrated to Oregon in late 2020. The video of one of many grownup wolves close to their den website was captured by aerial surveillance know-how and shared on the division’s YouTube web page.
“We’re so glad these wolves discovered one another,” stated Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate on the Heart for Organic Range. “The thrilling story of wolf restoration in Oregon and California continues to be in its infancy. Since wolves don’t use courting apps to search out one another, they want different wolves of their neighborhood to maintain the story going.”
This new wolf household, whose territory contains components of Klamath and Lake counties, has not but been given a pack identify by the Division of Fish and Wildlife. Whether or not they are going to depend as a “profitable breeding pair” for functions of the division’s annual 2022 report is determined by whether or not the pair has at the least two pups that survive till the tip of December.
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Oregon’s wildlife company issued its annual wolf report in April 2022 for the calendar 12 months 2021. That report estimated the state’s wolf inhabitants to be 175 people in 21 packs, with a complete of 16 profitable breeding pairs. Whereas LAS013 and OR-115 have been first noticed collectively in early 2021, they didn’t depend as a breeding pair at the moment because the division had no proof exhibiting the pair had reproduced that 12 months.
This 12 months marks the primary time by which the wolves’ radio-collar alerts indicated they’d localized at a den-site, and this was subsequently confirmed by the aerial video surveillance. Localized radio-collar alerts are steadily how wildlife companies be taught {that a} pair of wolves has made a den, which regularly signifies they’ve given delivery to pups. The division’s report signifies the video footage will permit wildlife officers to focus their efforts to search out and depend any pups.
“The truth that this California-born wolf probably has pups born in Oregon underscores how important it’s for wolf populations to be legally protected and related, and never merely relegated to remoted, postage-stamp-size restoration areas,” stated Weiss. “Happily, we’ve managed to get federal protections restored to wolves on this a part of Oregon and California, and we’ll work to make sure these protections stay in place.”
Background
Wolves in Oregon as soon as trekked statewide however they’d been killed off by the late Nineteen Forties to appease agricultural pursuits. In 1999 wolves from Idaho started to make their means into Oregon, and the state’s first pack was confirmed in 2008. Wolves from Oregon started to make their means into California in late 2011, and California’s first wolf household was confirmed in 2015. At the moment, California has three recognized wolf packs, together with the pack from which LAS013 originated.
On Saturday morning at the Navy All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, three-star prospect T’Andre Waverly announced his commitment to Oregon State over Washington and Notre Dame.
The product of Kamiak High School in Mukilteo, Washington, is ranked as the nation’s No. 96 athlete and No. 18 player in the state in the 2025 class by 247Sports. Once he arrives in Corvallis, he’s expected to play tight end.
“I believe in [offensive coordinator Ryan] Gunderson for the future,” Waverly told 247Sports’ Brandon Huffman. “And I’m excited to get to know the new tight ends coach [Will Heck].”
“[Head coach Trent] Bray seems like a real get to business guy and I like that. I don’t want a coach who will pamper me. I want someone who will tell me what I need to do and what to do.”
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Despite seeing the in-state prospect going elsewhere, tight ends coach Jordan Paopao has pulled in a promising batch at the position after signing four-star Baron Naone and three-star Austin Simmons in December.
For an athlete, a loss can shake even the strongest mental foundation. For Ohio State quarterback Will Howard, those feelings bubbled up after losing to the Oregon Ducks 32-31 at Autzen Stadium in early October.
While interviewing with ESPN before Ohio State’s semifinal game against the Texas Longhorns for the College Football Playoffs, the quarterback reflected on that feeling of loss.
“It’s been a rollercoaster. Some of the ups and downs that we did go through are why we’re sitting here today in the semifinals and probably playing our best ball right now,” Howard said. “There have been some tough moments. I’d say that Oregon loss early on in the season was rough.”
Oct 12, 2024; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) walks off the field after losing 32-31 to Oregon Ducks during the NCAA football game at Autzen Stadium. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Howard, who went 28-35 passing for 326 yards and two touchdowns, remembers what he did after that fateful quarterback keeper turned slide that sealed the fate of the Buckeyes during that regular season encounter with the Ducks.
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“Coming out of it I felt like I played a good game but it was really just the ending. I sat there and stewed over just how could I have done that differently. But when we got back here I think it was about six in the morning. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was kind of at a loss. I went into the indoor and I just laid there for about an hour – hour and a half. I was in a dark place. I just wanted another crack at them so bad. I just couldn’t stop thinking about the next chance I could get,” Howard said.
It wasn’t too long before Howard got his second chance with Oregon. After winning the Big Ten Championship, the No. 1 ranked Ducks were seeded for the Rose Bowl. With the Buckeyes easily beating Tennessee at home the previous week, Ohio State faced the Ducks once more.
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) motions at the line of scrimmage during the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“Before every game, I listen to two voicemails that my late grandmother sent me and I’ve been doing that every game for the last three years now,” Howard said. “I listened to the voicemail and it just brought this immense peace over me. This year for the playoffs it actually probably got me going even more. It really helped.”
Those voicemails helped Howard correct his headspace before facing Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Howard went 17-26 in passing for 319 yards and three touchdowns. The Buckeyes completely shut out Oregon in the first quarter, with the Ducks only responding at the end of the second quarter with a touchdown and two point conversion. Howard reflected on the point in the game where the Buckeyes were up 34-0 against the No. 1 team in the nation.
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Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) holds a rose following the College Football Playoff quarterfinal against the Oregon Ducks at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. on Jan. 1, 2025. Ohio State won 41-21. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“Ecstatic. I mean, at that point it felt like it was almost not real. It was like ‘Man, are we really up on the No. 1 team in the country right now that we were in a dog fight with at their place?’” Howard said.
The Buckeyes won against Oregon 41-21, advancing to the Cotton Bowl Classic against the Texas Longhorns, where Howard and the Buckeyes are knocking on the door of a National Championship.
“You take a big National Championship ring and hoisting the trophy up. It takes a lot of the hardships and bad things that happened this year and kind of go out the window,” Howard said.
Some private universities in Oregon are offering extra assistance — from crisis counseling to emergency financial aid — to students who call Southern California home.
This comes amid the devastating wildfires currently burning in Los Angeles.
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Lewis & Clark College, University of Portland and Reed College sent out messages of support to students with home addresses in Southern California this week.
Administrators at Lewis & Clark contacted around 250 undergraduate students in the region affected by the blazes. These students represent close to 12% of the college’s current undergraduate students.
The school, which begins its next term on Jan. 21, is opening up its dorms early for Southern California students at no extra cost.
“We will keep communicating with students in the weeks and months ahead to know how this impacts their next semester and beyond,” said Benjamin Meoz, Lewis & Clark’s senior associate dean of students. “That will mean a range of wraparound academic and counseling support.”
Lewis & Clark also pushed back its application deadline for prospective students from the Los Angeles area to Feb. 1.
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Oregon crews arrive in Southern California to aid wildfire response
Reed College began reaching out to about 300 students who live in Southern California on Wednesday. In an email, the college urged students and faculty impacted by the fires to take advantage of the school’s mental health and financial aid resources.
Reed will also support students who need to return to campus earlier than expected. Classes at Reed do not begin until Jan. 27.
Students at University of Portland will be moving back in this weekend as its next term begins on Monday, Jan. 13. But UP did offer early move-in to students living in the Los Angeles area earlier this week. A spokesperson with UP said four students changed travel plans to arrive on campus early.
Students are already back on campus at the majority of Oregon’s other colleges and universities, with many schools beginning their terms earlier this week.