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3mo ago

California Confirms Three New Gray Wolf Packs, Raising Total to 10

The expansion of the state’s endangered wolf population is straining livestock operations, prompting emergency declarations in northern counties.

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This June 18, 2019, file photo from remote camera video provided by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife shows an adult wolf and three pups in Lassen County in Northern California.
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FILE – In this Feb. 2021, file photo released by California Department of Fish and Wildlife shows a protected gray wolf (OR-93), seen near Yosemite, Calif., shared by the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Biden on Thursday finalized rules for protecting imperiled species that reverse changes under former President Donald Trump that weakened the Endangered Species Act. (California Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP, File)

Overview

  • The newly recognized Ashpan, Tunnison and Ishi packs are now established in eastern Shasta, central Lassen and eastern Tehama counties.
  • State investigators confirmed that wolves caused 16 of 26 reported livestock fatalities between January and March.
  • Five rural northern California counties have declared states of emergency over growing wolf-related threats to ranching communities.
  • Gray wolves are protected under federal and California endangered species laws and the state’s compensation program for ranch losses remains underfunded.
  • Meeting the breeding-pair threshold has advanced California into phase two of its 2016 wolf conservation plan, which could introduce nonlethal hazing methods and more flexible management tools.