The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) confirmed that officials killed several wolves from the Beyem Seyo pack in Sierra Valley, north of Truckee. The “lethal removal” followed months of unsuccessful attempts to stop livestock killings in the region.
CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham said, “This decision was not made lightly nor easily. Despite extensive non-lethal efforts, these wolves continued to prey on livestock.” Bonham explained that the pack’s behavior made long-term wolf recovery across California and the western U.S. increasingly difficult.
Officials removed a breeding pair, two adults, and one juvenile mistakenly identified as an adult. The agency linked the Beyem Seyo pack to 70 livestock deaths between March 28 and September 10 — roughly 63% of all wolf-related livestock losses in California during that time.
State Tried Non-Lethal Measures Before Acting
Wildlife managers used numerous non-lethal methods before resorting to lethal removal. These included hazing, drones, beanbags, diversionary feeding, deterrent fencing, and round-the-clock monitoring. Despite these efforts, the wolves continued to attack cattle in the area.
CDFW announced plans to capture the remaining juveniles and relocate them to wildlife facilities. Officials aim to prevent the young wolves from spreading learned livestock-hunting behaviors to other packs.
Gray wolves disappeared from California a century ago but began returning from Oregon in 2011. Their population has since grown from about seven in 2019 to between 50 and 70 today, mostly in the state’s northeastern region.
Debate Over Wolf Protections Intensifies
Earlier this year, state wildlife officials relaxed some wolf protection rules, citing population growth. The new regulations allow ranchers and landowners to use stronger deterrents, including chasing wolves with vehicles and firing rubber bullets to drive them away.
The decision reignited debates about wolf management across the West. Critics argue that easing protections undermines recovery efforts, while ranchers insist stronger measures are necessary to protect livestock.
Similar tensions have emerged in Colorado. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently ordered Colorado to stop importing gray wolves from Canada for its voter-approved reintroduction program. The federal agency instructed the state to source wolves only from the Northern Rockies — but most states in that region have refused to participate.
The growing conflict between conservation and rural livelihoods continues to test the balance between protecting predators and safeguarding agricultural interests throughout the western United States.
