Gray Wolves in California Secure Protection Under the Endangered Species Act

A California judge on Monday upheld protection for gray wolves under the state’s Endangered Species Act, rejecting a legal challenge from ranchers and farmers who fear the predators will threaten their livestock. The judge in San Diego ruled that California was right to list the wolves as endangered in 2014. A lawsuit on behalf of the California Farm Bureau Federation and the California Cattlemen’s Association argued the listing was arbitrary because there are so few wolves in the state. The California Fish and Game Commission granted the gray wolf protections under the state’s endangered species act, despite opposition from hunting and livestock groups who worry an unchecked population will kill deer and valuable cattle. Under California’s protections, gray wolves can’t be killed or hunted. The lawsuit suit brought by the Pacific Legal Foundation alleged it wasn’t known whether the wolves that entered the state are the same subspecies originally native to California and that the commission failed to perform a population analysis of the species’ natural range. The foundation also didn’t respond to a request for comment...MORE