California confirms gray wolf sighting in Mendocino national forest

Trump order directs Interior to weigh gray wolf de-listing

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has confirmed a gray wolf sighting in the Mendocino national forest — the first verified report in the region since wolves returned to the state in 2011 after a century of absence. Alicia de la Garza, the CDFW deputy director of public affairs, said the agency received two separate reports in late August from an area where Mendocino, Glenn and Lake counties meet. The agency received photographs from each report and dispatched staff the following day to confirm the animal’s presence, de la Garza said.

“The sighting was verified by a CDFW wolf biologist who confirmed the validity of the photos, conducted surveys in the area and confirmed wolf tracks where one of the sightings was reported,” de la Garza said. Lake County Supervisor Brad Rasmussen announced on social media that the agency had verified a wolf’s presence in the far northern end of the county. Officials in Lake County, about two hours north of San Francisco, said last week that CDFW had received the late-August reports.

The Mendocino-area sighting is the only confirmed report west of the Sacramento Valley, Axel Hunnicutt, the state’s gray wolf coordinator for CDFW, told the Sacramento Bee. “Evidence of wolves in that part of the state is a good thing,” Hunnicutt said, calling the report a sign the species is expanding its range. The animals have largely populated the state’s rural and remote northeast since their return, with at least 50 wolves now documented in California.

The gray wolf is protected in California and under the federal Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has sought to de-list the species, but the matter is still unfolding in court; a 2022 federal court order currently protects wolves across the majority of the lower 48 states.

President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order titled “Supporting America’s Ranchers” that directs the Interior Department to examine removing gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act and to loosen restrictions for “lethal removal.” Ranchers have expressed frustration at how little they can do under existing rules when wolves kill their livestock.

WildEarth Guardians criticized Trump’s order. “Once again, we see this administration attempting to override the checks and balances provided by bedrock environmental laws like the Endangered Species Act in order to create industry carveouts and distract from other bad policies that are proving unpopular,” said Leia Barnett, New Mexico conservation lead for the group.