Wolves in California

BREAKING NEWS- California is now experiencing an event that has been the fervent wish of many people for decades. This event serves to remind that for some past environmental wrongs, there is the potential for rectification -- and that a species that was reviled as vermin and rendered nearly extinct through a wholesale extermination campaign can return to its rightful place in ecosystems from which it has long been banished. After a 300+ mile trek across Oregon, with a few loping strides, wolf OR-7 has crossed the border into California, in a region of our state that has excellent wolf habitat. Since he is the first confirmed wild wolf in California since 1924, it's an extraordinarily exciting moment in the natural history of this species and this state. When it comes to their role in the ecosystem, wolves are about as important a player as there can be. Though its return to any location always stirs controversy, due to the myths and folklore surrounding wolves, OR-7 brings with him the opportunity for Californians to learn about and appreciate a once-native species, and that's something to celebrate.

In discussing the history of wolves in the southwestern United States, Brown (1983) reported that despite an abundance of what appear to be suitable habitats; virtually no wolves have been seen in California. Schmidt (1987, 1991), however, came to a different conclusion based on his review of historical records. He found clear records from 1750 to 1850 indicating that wolves were present in the Coastal Range from San Diego to Sacramento when these areas were first being explored and settled. From 1850-1900, wolves were seen in Shasta County and in the central Sierra Nevada. These historical reports of wolves appear in divergent areas of the state; reports surfaced in different areas over time as European exploration and settlement shifted from the coasts toward the inland forests, mountains and plains. Geddes-Osborne and Margolin (2001) reported that the wolf was known among many California tribes statewide, as demonstrated in language, artwork, ceremonial garb, and creation stories. The most compelling evidence of widespread wolf presence is found in tribal languages; more than 80 distinct languages were spoken in California when Europeans first arrived and most had clearly differentiated words for wolf, coyote, fox and dog.

European settlement changed the very landscape of California from wilderness to a land marked by Missions, towns, ranchos, agricultural development and roads. Simultaneously, prey populations that would have supported wolves were decimated by market hunters, and the state legislature enacted bounty laws to rid the state of wolves and coyotes. By the middle of the 1920’s any wolves that may have existed in California seem to have disappeared entirely. One was trapped in San Bernardino County in 1922. Another, the last to be captured in the state, was trapped in Lassen County in 1924. Although the US Forest Service estimated that some 50 wolves existed in the Lassen, Tahoe, Eldorado, Stanislaus, Angeles, and Rouge River National Forests as recently as 1937, there was little evidence that any wolves were actually present. Schmidt concluded that all of the wolves trapped in recent years have been ones released from captivity.

Schmidt noted two compelling reasons for trying to determine the past distribution of wolves in California. First, the possibility of reintroducing wolves to the state has frequently been discussed, and information about their historical range could be useful in this debate. A feasibility study for the restoration of the wolf to the Klamath-Siskiyou and Modoc Plateau regions that overlap northern California and southwestern Oregon, conducted by the Conservation Biology Institute, determined this area could support up to 470 wolves (Carroll et al., 2001). Second, eradication of the wolf may have had an important impact on the ecosystems from which they were eliminated, which might help to explain the current distribution of species such as elk, deer, and coyotes. Reintroduction of wolves might be expected to shift those populations back towards their historic levels. Studies conducted in Yellowstone National Park since the reintroduction of wolves there - which took place after Schmidt posed this intriguing question -- appear to support this notion, demonstrating multiple and widespread examples of the wolf’s key role in restoring natural ecosystem dynamics.

Today, there is another reason for interest in the wolf’s former range. Wolves dispersing from Idaho have been confirmed in Oregon, from an original lone female identified in 1999 to the more recent confirmations of adult pairs and packs with pups in 2008-2009. Wolves have also been confirmed in Washington state in recent years and, in both Washington and Oregon, reports exist of wolves in the Cascade range. This mountain backbone could provide a natural dispersal route that could extend into California, Nevada and neighboring states. At this time, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has no plans to recover wolves in California but this highly migratory species could reach the state on its own in the near future.

The California Wolf Center is currently supporting additional research on historical evidence of wolves in California.

Works Cited:

Brown, D.E. The Wolf in the Southwest: The Making of an Endangered Species, Tucson, University of Arizona Press. 1983.

Geddes-Osborne, A. and M. Margolin. Man and Wolf. Defenders Magazine 76(2): 36-41. 2001.

Schmidt, R.H. Historical records of wolves in California. WOLF! 5(2): 31-35. 1987.

Schmidt, R.H. Gray wolves in California: their presence and absence. Calif. Fish and Game 77(2):79-85. 1991.

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