More funding has been secured to reimburse ranchers who lose livestock to Northern California’s growing Gray Wolf population. There are at least 63 Wolves in eight known packs in Shasta, Siskiyou, Modoc, Lassen, Tehama and Plumas Counties that have been expanding since 2011, when the first known Wild Wolf in 80 years was spotted in California. Shasta County Supervisor and rancher Mary Rickert said last week that another unnamed pack is now roaming Eastern Shasta County. There have been 39 confirmed livestock kills this year from Wolf attacks. In 2021 the state budget allocated $3 Million for a program that provided funding on three levels: fair market compensation for livestock loss due to Wolf attacks, the cost of deploying non-lethal Wolf deterrents near livestock, and for indirect economic impacts due to Wolf-induced stress that can lead to reduced calf weights and lower pregnancy rates. Another $600,000 has been recently added to the reimbursement fund. The animals were almost hunted to extinction in the 1920s, but they are now fully protected under both the State and Federal Endangered Species Acts.
-Steve Gibson