Oregon has had a ban on killing wolves since September 2011 . . .
As long as wolves have been making their comeback, biologists and ranchers have had a decidedly Old West option for dealing with those that develop a taste for beef: Shoot to kill. But for the past year, Oregon has been a “wolf-safe” zone, with ranchers turning to more modern, nonlethal ways to protect livestock.
While the number of wolves roaming the state has gone up, livestock kills haven’t — and now conservation groups are hoping Oregon can serve as a model for other Western states working to return the predator to the wild.