Oregon Senate approves wolf settlement

ENDANGERED SPECIES — The Oregon Senate passed a bill on Thursday that puts into law provisions of a settlement allowing the state to resume killing wolves that make a habit of attacking livestock.

The vote was 30-0.

The House has passed it, and Gov. John Kitzhaber is expected to sign it once the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission approves other provisions of the settlement.

Oregon has been barred for the past year and a half from killing wolves while the Oregon Court of Appeals considered a lawsuit filed by conservationists.

A settlement was reached in May with the conservation groups, the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association and the governor’s office.

It creates a new rulebook that makes killing wolves a last resort, and gives ranchers wider rights to kill wolves they catch attacking their herds.