Problem Solvers: Oregon family farm seeks changes to federal protections after lone wolf kills several calves

Wolf conservationists call case 'outlier,' say changes to Endangered Species Act could be catastrophic

LAKE COUNTY, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Despite the presence of U.S. Fish and Wildlife at the Flynn family farm for nearly a month, Oregon Wolf 158 continued to wreak havoc, killing multiple calves and resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in damages. The family is now advocating for reforms to the Endangered Species Act.

The Flynn family farm in Southern Oregon has been in operation for three generations. The property in Valley Falls, Oregon sits just a short drive from the California and Nevada state lines, a prime location for America's growing wolf population.

After Oregon Wolf 158 went on a killing spree as he traveled through Northern California, and even prompted a public safety emergency, he came face to face with Tom Flynn on his farm.

"That wolf had killed the calf," Flynn recalled, telling Problem Solvers about how he approached the wolf and captured the entire encounter on camera.

His video shows the wolf standing for minutes and looking at Flynn as the calf's mother sits just feet away, watching the wolf in terror.

"I mean, he had his back turned towards me. There was zero feeling of a threat," he said as he rewatched the video.

Flynn grabbed his gun, ready to defend his family and his livelihood, the hundreds and hundreds of cattle on his farm.

"He just killed one. He has no fear of me. There's more babies out here just, you know, within a couple hundred yards of him."

Tom called to his wife and veterinarian, Elise, so she could contact ODFW.

She recalled, "They said that in self-defense, we could shoot him, but they made it also made it clear that he had to be actively lunging at you."

Tom Flynn, who was worried about facing federal prison, chose not to kill the wolf, a decision that would prove costly.

For the next three weeks, Wolf 158 would attack and kill at least eight more cattle, according to the Flynns, all while Fish and Wildlife officers were embedded on the family's property.

Video taken during the operation shows the wolf roaming the farm, just feet away from several cattle - "right below my barn," Tom says as he records the predator.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife's goal (with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife also on scene) was to try and use every non-lethal method to move the wolf due to the Endangered Species Act -- "and they had no success," exclaimed Elyse.

Her husband added, "They (Fish and Wildlife) would be in our feed grounds at night - and then that next morning, we'd have a kill."

Each animal lost cost at least $2,000, plus the hundreds of hours of labor spent on protecting the farm with fencing and wire.

After three weeks of trying to humanely move the wolf, Fish and Wildlife officers made the decision to euthanize the animal, drawing outrage from the Flynns.

"After a three-week period, it finally came back to what I could have done in the first five minutes of, of encountering that wolf," he told the Problem Solvers.

The Flynns' experience is now empowering them to change the Endangered Species Act. They want local control.

But conservation advocates like Bethany Cotton who works as Conservation Director for Cascadia Wildlands says that change could be catastrophic for the species.

Cotton, who's from rural Southern Oregon, says Oregon Wolf 158 is an outlier, and the methods Fish and Wildlife use to relocate wild animals work.

"I've never seen anything like this before in all the years I've done this work," she told the Problem Solvers. "All the peer-reviewed science says that those tools are really effective, and in the vast majority of cases, they work really well."

So what's the answer?

Cotton believes there needs to be education.

"We work with ranchers and talk to ranchers who have used them (non-lethal methods) for years and have never had a predation occur on their property and successfully coexist," she said.

For the Flynns, they want to be able to protect their way of life: "There's just a huge misconception, disconnect from urban and rural lifestyles."

The Problem Solvers reached out to both the Oregon and U.S. Fish and Wildlife concerning the Flynns' experiences, but they declined to comment. In light of this, we submitted a Freedom of Information Act request concerning the case and information about Oregon Wolf 158.

Due to backlog and short-staffing, Fish and Wildlife say they plan to have a response and provide the needed documents to us in June.

The Problem Solvers have reached out to lawmakers both at the state and federal levels concerning the couple's troubles, asking what conversations need to happen to protect families like the Flynns while preserving wild animals like the wolf population.

We'll have an update on this story as soon as possible.