Updated:
03/07/2012
US Fish and Wildlife photo
(Courtesy photo
)
The Department of Fish and Game announced Friday that OR-7, the wolf who drew attention when he crossed into California in late December, has returned to Oregon.
Supervisors heard from state wildlife organizations last Tuesday to learn more about the wolf and the issue howling through the Northstate.
After a single, male gray wolf that is being tracked by satellite crossed into California from Oregon Dec. 28, state organizations have been monitoring the situation closely.
Then, last Monday, Feb. 27, the Center for Biological Diversity supported by several other groups delivered a petition to the California Fish and Game Commission to urge
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified the gray wolf, or timber wolf, as a protected species in the lower 48 states in 1973 under the Endangered Species Act.
Conservation efforts have helped restore populations of wolves through the years in the Great Lakes and Rockies regions, but the last known gray wolf in California was killed in 1924.
The recent introduction of the wolf, also known as OR-7 or Journey, into northern California, has sparked a movement to prepare for more wolves that could potentially move from packs in Oregon as the populations grow there.
OR-7, a 3-year-old male that left an Oregon pack in search of a mate, crossed into eastern Siskiyou County in December and has circled through Shasta County in the Burney area, into Lassen County and back north.
Most recently, he was tracked back to Siskiyou County, said Richard Callas, a senior environmental scientist for the fish and game commission.
His movements are posted online and have developed a following of fans as they can monitor him at www.dfg.ca.gov/wolf. So far, the wolf has not been a threat to wildlife and has remained alone, Callas said.
Supervisors heard from several representatives, including Northern Region Wildlife Program Manager Karen Kovacs of the California Department of Fish and Game, during the board meeting who offered oodles of information on the issue.
"There's heightened interest about wolves in the nation," Kovacs said.
Four major concerns people have are public safety, impacts on big game populations, the well-being of OR-7, and degradation, she said.
Although the fish and game commission has not started work on any state plan to protect or deal with the introduction of wolves, there are plenty of existing plans in other states to draw from should the need arise, Kovacs said.
The main goal is making sure all the federal and state agencies are well informed and on the same page, she said.
She wanted people to be aware of facts and the scientific-based findings.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service field supervisor, Susan Moore, spoke about the history of the gray wolf and legislation on the issue.
The federal agency is committed to a continuing status review of the wolves throughout the nation, she said.
The service is looking into whether each distinct population of wolves in each region is legitimately endangered or could be taken from the list.
"The service has no plans to reintroduce the gray wolf in the Pacific Northwest," Moore said.
She did reiterate, however, that it is a federal violation to kill any protected gray wolf, even if it is attacking livestock.
Supervisor Bob Williams questioned what ranchers should do if their livestock are killed.
"I am an old sheep man," he said.
"I never had to worry about droppin' a coyote in the middle of my pack."
He was concerned that a rancher whose livestock get threatened would be subject to large fines and jail time for protecting the animals or suffer the monetary loss of dead livestock.
Amaroq Weiss, the northern California representative for the California Wolf Center, and Pamela Flick of the group Defenders of Wildlife, offered some solutions.
The California Wolf Center, based in east San Diego County, is a nonprofit agency established in 1977, Weiss said.
Their mission is to educate the public about all wildlife using the wolf as an example species because of its importance in the ecosystem.
Through the Mexican Wolf Conservation Fund, strides have been made in protecting livestock in non-lethal ways, she said.
A range of tools has been developed, such as noisemaking monitoring systems that deter wolves from getting too close to livestock and track their approaches.
Defenders of Wildlife, which was established in 1947 and has about a million members nationwide, works for the protection of all wildlife, Flick said.
Wolves help restore nature's balance, she said.
Because California didn't have wolves, it was left off the list of states eligible for compensation funds in federal legislation in 2010, Flick said.
Now that OR-7 has come into the state, Defenders of Wildlife is working to get California included.
Williams encouraged the government agencies to work with the wildlife protection groups to establish a compensation element in California plans and to continue to carefully track the situation.
Some commented about their distrust of the government agencies and environmental groups.
The local, state and federal governments care more about animals than humans, said Tehama County resident Gene Shea.
Supervisor George Russell responded to comments.
"It's confusing for a person who's not a scientist, I guess, to understand the balance of nature," Russell said.
As an example, he spoke about a local fish and game representative who said the deer populations are declining because the forest canopies have grown too thick in areas and prevent them from getting to their food sources.
"I wish it was clear, but it really isn't," he said.
No actions were taken on the issue.
The speakers were planning a meeting the same day with the Tehama County Farm Bureau as well.
After traveling 900 miles in California, OR-7 crossed the state line from Siskiyou County and back into Oregon on March 1, the Department of Fish and Game reported.
Biologists for the department have described his behavior as dispersal, where a young wolf seeks to find a mate or another wolf pack.
"That search has not been resolved for OR-7 in California and his next movements cannot be predicted with any certainty," the department reported.
"It remains possible he will return to California in the future."
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