BOUNTY BOOKS

Coyote entries are numerous in bounty record books from 1902. (The Observer/DICK MASON).

Dick Mason

The Observer

Although spare entries written in pencil are all that is found in these books, the bland pages provide intriguing clues about wildlife virtually erased from Union County.

The volumes in question are bounty record books for 1899-1902 and

1909-1921. A look through these ledger books provides evidence that:

• Wolves were present in Union County at least through 1921.

• Northeast Oregon's cougar population slipped dramatically in the early 1900s.

• Lynx may have been more common than cougars in Union County in the early 1900s.

• Coyotes are remarkably resilient creatures.

Now to the details and the most controversial animal on the list — the gray wolf.

Bounty records for 1899 to 1902 indicate that no bounties for wolves were paid in this period. The 1909-1921 record book reveals that two wolves were taken during this span. The first was killed Feb. 1, 1913, the second April 18, 1921.

Wolves are believed to have become extinct in Northeast Oregon soon after 1921. The extinction date is not known, but retired Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Biologist Bill Brown said that when he came to Northeast Oregon in the late 1940s no wolves were here.

Wolves, of course, are a big issue today because they are expected to return soon to Northeast Oregon. They will move into Oregon from Idaho where they were successfully reintroduced.

Union County bounty records also provide information on another animal rare in this region — the lynx. Records indicate that between 1909 and 1921 bounties were paid for about 50 lynx. The number is intriguing because U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service records indicate that there were only 53 lynx sightings in Oregon between 1897 and 1998, according to an article in the Sept. 16, 1998, issue of the Observer.

Brown believes that the Union County lynx bounty records may be misleading. The biologist said some of the lynx may have actually been bobcats. Brown explained that in the early 1900s, bobcats were listed in some wildlife books as bay lynx.

Bobcats were common here in the early 1900s, according to Union County records. Bounties were paid for about 260 bobcats between 1909 and 1921.

Union County bounty records do not reveal apparent population trends except in the case of cougars. The records reveal a possible dramatic cougar population drop just after the turn of the century. Bounties were paid for 58 cougars from 1899 through 1902 but only 12 between 1909 and 1921.

From 1912 to 1921, bounties were paid for only two cougars.

Union County bounty records are available just through 1921. Bounties for cougars, which were paid with state funds, continued to be offered through the early 1960s. By that time cougars were extremely rare in Northeast Oregon. They remained only in Wallowa County in the Bear Creek and Minam areas, said Brown, who lives in the Spokane area. Brown served as director of the ODFW Northeast Region for 25 years until retiring in 1977.

The Northeast Oregon cougar population has rebounded dramatically since the early 1960s. The jump has been particularly strong since 1994 when voters approved a measure that prohibits the use of dogs when hunting cougars.

Bounty payments apparently had a significant impact on cougar populations in the early 1900s. But they appear to have made almost no dent in coyote numbers. At least 1,000 coyotes were killed for bounties in Union County from 1899 through 1902. Bounties for at least 3,000 coyotes were paid between 1909 and 1921.

The bounties for coyotes and bobcats were paid by the county, Brown said. The species paid for varied by county throughout the state decades ago. For example, in Harney County, money was once paid to hunters who took jackrabbits.

"You were paid five cents a rabbit. Some people made a living killing jackrabbits,'' Brown said.

Harney County hunters were even paid for rabbits found dead along the road.

"It was legal but considered unethical,'' Brown said. "You were supposed to shoot your own.''

Bounty records for Oregon counties are available to the public.

Information on what records each county has is available online at http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/county/cpquick.html.