Wednesday, Dec 25 2013
White wolves once lived in the Tehachapi Mountains
They are known as Gray Wolves but can range in color from black to white. Photos courtesy of Jon Hammond.
A size comparison a showing a fresh wolf print next to a man's hand. Photo courtesy of Jon Hammond.
White wolves like these once lived in the Tehachapi Mountains. Photo courtesy of Jon Hammond.
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California officials say gray wolves could return in packs
REDDING, Calif. -- Based on recent forays into California by a gray wolf known to researchers as OR-7, state wildlife officials believe it is "reasonably forseeable" that wolf packs will one day return to the state.
But since there are no wolves in California, wildlife officials are unsure if there is adequate prey and habitat that would enable wolves to survive, according to a report issued by the state.
''However, the primary threats that will face the gray wolf in California will likely be managing cohabitation with humans where there is fear for personal safety, a threat to personal livelihood, or both; and the availability of suitable habitat and prey," according to "A Status Review of the Gray Wolf in California."
The preliminary report was written by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and had been distributed for scientific peer review only, said Adrianna Shea, the California Fish and Game Commission's deputy executive director.
But the Center for Biological Diversity recently published the documents and peer review comments after receiving copies of them through a California Public Records Act Request, said Amaroq Weiss, the center's wolf coordinator.
The center had asked the commission to declare gray wolves an endangered species last year, after gray wolf OR-7 migrated hundreds of miles from northeast Oregon into California at the end of 2011.
The wolf made history by becoming the first documented wild wolf in California since the 1920s. He spent time traveling throughout the northern part of the state, including Shasta, Tehama and Siskiyou counties, before heading back north into Southern Oregon.
The report does not make a recommendation about whether wolves should be listed as an endangered species in California. An updated version of the report, due out in late January or early February, will likely have a recommendation, Shea said.
The commission will receive the report in February, but won't vote on whether the wolf should be considered endangered until April, she said. Gray wolves are on the federal endangered species list. Weiss said she thought the report was skewed toward not listing the wolf. ''I felt that the report was not as robust as it could have been," Weiss said.
Several of those asked to review the report also pointed out numerous issues with the document.
Douglas Johnson, a professor emeritus at Oregon State University, disagreed with the report's claim that people's attitudes toward wolves "are largely based on a perceived threat to personal safety or livelihood."
''People that have experience living with wolves and have lost livestock, horses, dogs, etc. have a good understanding of wolves and what they can do," Johnson wrote in his review. ''These attitudes aren't derived from fairy tales. I would remove the word 'perceived,' " he said.
Carlos Carroll, a biologist with the Klamath Center for Conservation Research, said the agency's report had good suggestions for wolf management. ''However, other portions of the document need considerable more work if they are to provide an adequate information base for the commission," Carroll said.
While OR-7's movements have been monitored through a collar he wears, other Oregon wolves do not wear the devices and they may already be in California, Carroll said. OR-7 made a couple cross-border runs into northern Siskiyou County earlier this month, but last week he was back in Klamath County in Oregon, said Michelle Dennehy, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman.
Wherever he has gone, the wolf has created controversy. Some ranchers and farmers fear wolves will destroy livestock, while wildlife groups support protecting the wolf. The report predicts more wolves will eventually follow OR-7 into California and officials should be ready for them. ''Given the current expansion of wolves, and the growth of wolf packs in Oregon, it is reasonably foreseeable that wolves will disperse into California and eventually establish reproducing packs," the report says.
Because of the likelihood wolves will return to the state, officials are working on drawing up a plan on how to manage wolves. The document is expected to be complete in 2015. Curt Babcock, an environmental program manager for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said generally speaking that when animals are placed on the state's endangered species list they are protected from being hunted or killed.
Also, if a property owner is building a large project, such as a housing development, or planning to harvest timber, the owner would have to consider whether the project affects an animal's or plant's habitat.
If a project or timber harvest destroys habitat, state officials would have to work with the property owner to find ways to avoid affecting habitat or doing some mitigation, which could mean creating new habitat, Babcock said.
(Damon Arthur is a reporter for the Redding Record Searchlight in California)
But since there are no wolves in California, wildlife officials are unsure if there is adequate prey and habitat that would enable wolves to survive, according to a report issued by the state.
''However, the primary threats that will face the gray wolf in California will likely be managing cohabitation with humans where there is fear for personal safety, a threat to personal livelihood, or both; and the availability of suitable habitat and prey," according to "A Status Review of the Gray Wolf in California."
The preliminary report was written by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife and had been distributed for scientific peer review only, said Adrianna Shea, the California Fish and Game Commission's deputy executive director.
But the Center for Biological Diversity recently published the documents and peer review comments after receiving copies of them through a California Public Records Act Request, said Amaroq Weiss, the center's wolf coordinator.
The center had asked the commission to declare gray wolves an endangered species last year, after gray wolf OR-7 migrated hundreds of miles from northeast Oregon into California at the end of 2011.
The wolf made history by becoming the first documented wild wolf in California since the 1920s. He spent time traveling throughout the northern part of the state, including Shasta, Tehama and Siskiyou counties, before heading back north into Southern Oregon.
The report does not make a recommendation about whether wolves should be listed as an endangered species in California. An updated version of the report, due out in late January or early February, will likely have a recommendation, Shea said.
The commission will receive the report in February, but won't vote on whether the wolf should be considered endangered until April, she said. Gray wolves are on the federal endangered species list. Weiss said she thought the report was skewed toward not listing the wolf. ''I felt that the report was not as robust as it could have been," Weiss said.
Several of those asked to review the report also pointed out numerous issues with the document.
Douglas Johnson, a professor emeritus at Oregon State University, disagreed with the report's claim that people's attitudes toward wolves "are largely based on a perceived threat to personal safety or livelihood."
''People that have experience living with wolves and have lost livestock, horses, dogs, etc. have a good understanding of wolves and what they can do," Johnson wrote in his review. ''These attitudes aren't derived from fairy tales. I would remove the word 'perceived,' " he said.
Carlos Carroll, a biologist with the Klamath Center for Conservation Research, said the agency's report had good suggestions for wolf management. ''However, other portions of the document need considerable more work if they are to provide an adequate information base for the commission," Carroll said.
While OR-7's movements have been monitored through a collar he wears, other Oregon wolves do not wear the devices and they may already be in California, Carroll said. OR-7 made a couple cross-border runs into northern Siskiyou County earlier this month, but last week he was back in Klamath County in Oregon, said Michelle Dennehy, an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman.
Wherever he has gone, the wolf has created controversy. Some ranchers and farmers fear wolves will destroy livestock, while wildlife groups support protecting the wolf. The report predicts more wolves will eventually follow OR-7 into California and officials should be ready for them. ''Given the current expansion of wolves, and the growth of wolf packs in Oregon, it is reasonably foreseeable that wolves will disperse into California and eventually establish reproducing packs," the report says.
Because of the likelihood wolves will return to the state, officials are working on drawing up a plan on how to manage wolves. The document is expected to be complete in 2015. Curt Babcock, an environmental program manager for the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said generally speaking that when animals are placed on the state's endangered species list they are protected from being hunted or killed.
Also, if a property owner is building a large project, such as a housing development, or planning to harvest timber, the owner would have to consider whether the project affects an animal's or plant's habitat.
If a project or timber harvest destroys habitat, state officials would have to work with the property owner to find ways to avoid affecting habitat or doing some mitigation, which could mean creating new habitat, Babcock said.
(Damon Arthur is a reporter for the Redding Record Searchlight in California)
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