The Keystone Project of the Grant County Conservationists works to re-establish keystone species and their habitats. These are species that by their presence or absence define local biodiversity. Our particular efforts focus mostly upon beaver, well known for raising water tables and restoring aquatic habitat. We are also very interested in wolf recovery.

When the wolf was proposed some years ago as a keystone species by conservation biologists it was controversial. But research papers documenting the amazing recovery of beaver populations and aquatic habitat in Yellowstone with the recovery of wolf packs have put this behind us. Without their chief predator, Yellowstone elk were over abundant and riparian damage was severe. With the patrolling wolf packs keeping the elk moving, the beaver had a chance to do their keystone thing, causing the flourishing of riparian habitats and the fish and wildlife which depend upon them.

Three of us spent most of a day in the North Fork John Day Wilderness last fall with Russ Morgan, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist charged with wolf recovery. Not only were we fortunate to be with Russ and have him share his knowledge and hear his stories, but also much to our astonishment we found wolf scat and tracks.

Alas, Morgan returned to the area with his U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counterpart (equipped with traps, radio collars, etc.) but was unable to raise even a howl.

According to Morgan, the recovery of the requisite wolf packs in Oregon will be conducted with total transparency. And yes, the first wolves will be collared (if they can catch them). Many of us oppose collaring along with the opening of a hunting season for trophy animals. The latter is objectionable because of the unusual complex social structure of wolf packs.

Many ranchers locally shudder at the thought of these predators. We appreciate the efforts of Morgan and others such as senior U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Ed Bangs in their efforts to allay fears. You pick up any current book in the library on wolves and you will read about Ed Bangs. And Bangs has been to John Day.

Although wolves feed on elk, deer, coyotes and beaver, they will occasionally go for cows. The news is not totally dismal, however, as in Northern Minnesota, where a fairly substantial wolf population has been stable for decades amid cattle and other domestic livestock, the predation rate is 1 percent. It is speculated by some that wolves can learn to like beef when it is available to them in carcass dumps. This may be a problem that could be dealt with locally by other means of disposal.

Many admire wolves because of their symbolic relationship to wild and ecologically intact habitat. We welcome the return of this keystone species and we applaud the people of Oregon for having a collaboratively driven Wolf Management Plan in place.

Linda Driskill writes occasionally about wildlife issues in Grant County.