Photo: California Department of Fish and Wildlife
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed that three new wolf packs have settled in California this year. Conservationists are applauding the news, while California cattle ranchers are alarmed.
The three packs that migrated south from Oregon bring the state’s total population up to 10 packs and likely more than 50 individuals. To put that in perspective, there were just seven packs recorded at the end of 2024 and only one pack five years ago. (A “pack” is confirmed when at least two wolves are documented in an area at least four times over six months.)
California’s native gray wolves were driven to extinction (in the state) by humans in the 1920s. After increased conservation efforts, the first wolf returned in 2011, and the first pack ventured south into California in 2015.
As per the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s latest report, wolves can currently be found in seven California counties: Lassen, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Tulare. You can follow their movements on their wolf tracking map.
“How wonderful to witness another year of continued growth in California’s recovering wolf population,” said Amaroq Weiss, a senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “It’s inspiring to watch this renaissance and we should do everything we can to ensure California’s wolves have every chance to thrive.”
However, northern California cattle ranchers are not as ecstatic about the news. Shasta County recently announced a state of emergency, joining similar declarations from Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, and Sierra counties, amid the increasing gray wolf activity.
“There’s been a real emotional impact, a real fear impact, in the north state,” Kirk Wilbur, vice president of government affairs for the California Cattlemen’s Association, told the Los Angeles Times. “Folks who perhaps have never had a wolf depredation on their herd are nevertheless fearful of the possibility, and the folks who have suffered repeat depredations from wolves, this gets really stressful and taxing and depressing for those producers.”
In the first quarter of 2025, there were 26 investigations into potential wolf depredations on livestock in California. Sixteen of those cases were confirmed to be from wolves, while three others were determined to have “likely” been from wolves.
California offers reimbursement to ranchers who lose livestock to wolf attacks, and will conduct a status review regarding the regulations of using harsher, nonlethal methods to deter wolves. Currently, wolves are protected under both federal and state endangered species laws.
Weiss attributed the growing tension between ranchers and conservationists to a “misunderstanding.”
“It’s been a bumpy road lately for California wolves as some northern counties have enacted emergency resolutions based on misunderstanding and misinformation,” said Weiss. “Decades of research show that conflicts between livestock, wolves, and people are rare and preventable. These magnificent animals have immense value because they help keep nature wild and healthy, and that ultimately benefits humans as well.”
Despite the wolves’ resurgence, experts still stress that their numbers are fragile.
“With wolves, if allowed the protections that they have, they do really well, and they recover quickly,” said Axel Hunnicutt, a gray wolf coordinator for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. “On the flip side, it would not take very much to completely topple these 10 packs.”
Hunnicutt estimates that protections can be rolled back when the population reaches 150 individuals, about three times its current size.
The state’s gray wolf conservation plan identified 23,000 square miles of adequate wolf habitat north of Interstate 80, which passes north of Lake Tahoe. They estimate this region, most of which is still uninhabited by wolves, could handle 370 to 500 wolves. In theory, there is still plenty of room for the species to grow.
