Pack status: No longer active. Designated in 2016.
A pack was discovered in January 2016 in southwestern Umatilla County, Oregon. The pack included 2 adults and 3 pups born in 2015, and counted as a breeding pair. The pack was set to be named after further investigation determined its use area. However, the pack was not rediscovered during the spring, summer, or fall of 2016, and no official pack name was given.
In January 2017, three wolves were again counted in the area.
In 2018, two separate groups of two wolves were documented to be using the area. As of June 2019, wolves continued to use the area. No pups were sighted.
In 2019, a breeding pair established control of the territory and raised three pups that were counted in the 2019 annual survey. The male is the former breeding male of the Meacham Pack, which no longer exists. He was born in the Imnaha Pack. The breeding female is also collared.
Three pups survived through 2020, and the pack was again counted as a breeding pair. ODFW reported radio-collar data displaying a 253 square mile use area for the pack, with 57% of data points located on public lands and 43% on private lands.
The breeding male and female of the Heppner Pack died in early 2021. No wolves were documented in this area during the winter count, so this AKWA is discontinued. The Department continues to monitor the area for wolf activity.
Useful Links
Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife – The Heppner Pack
