California is Wolf Territory Once Again
August 8, 2015 - Siskiyou County, CA – The image of five gray wolf pups in Northern California was released by California Department of Fish & Wildlife on August 20, 2015.
This news has been long awaited since the lone gray wolf, Journey first crossed into California from Oregon in 2011. Before Journey, wolves had been absent from California since 1924, when the last wild wolf was shot and killed in Lassen County.
Ever since Journey’s landmark step, the Julian, California-based California Wolf Center has been working hard to lay a foundation for wolves to peacefully return to the Golden State after begin eradicated by people decades ago. This effort has involved education and outreach in Northern California, participation in an advisory group of stakeholders to the California Department of Fish & Wildlife for the draft California Wolf Plan and the establishment of the California wolf fund with the sole purpose of providing education on the use and implementation of nonlethal, proactive solutions to wolf-livestock conflicts. This groundwork has proved critical to creating a culture of coexistence in California.
82% of Californians want wolves to return the wild of their state. However, the California Wolf Center finds it important to consider those who have concerns about wolf-livestock conflicts, even though these conflicts are rare. Successful coexistence is the ultimate goal of our mission. Without tolerance from those sharing the landscape with wolves, there will be no wild wolf recovery.
Concerning the Shasta pack, Director of California Wolf Recovery Karin Vardaman said. “This is great news for California. We are very optimistic that California can serve as a model for successful and peaceful coexistence between wolves and human activities.”
As California Department of Fish and Wildlife prepares to release the draft California Wolf Plan and begin the public comment period, we have no doubt the Shasta pack will be in everyone’s thoughts. The California Wolf Center will continue to strive to make California a safe haven for wolves, as it would have been centuries ago.
About California Wolf Center
The California Wolf Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the return of wild wolves to their natural habitat and to the people who share the landscape with them. We foster communities coming together to ensure wolves, livestock, and people thrive in today’s world. Learn more at californiawolfcenter.org
###
Media Contact
Michelle Carroll, Director of Education and Volunteers