Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Gray Wolf Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tri‑County moves to expedite multi‑county letter urging federal delisting and management options for wolves
Summary
After a lengthy discussion on habituated wolves, depredations near homes and schools, and perceived limits of current mitigation, Tri‑County members directed staff to draft and rapidly circulate a letter urging federal delisting and management options; one member moved and the group authorized a representative to sign pending ratification at subsequent board meetings.
Tri‑County supervisors spent an extended portion of the meeting discussing gray wolf activity, livestock depredations and public‑safety concerns, and they directed staff to quickly prepare coordinated advocacy materials for federal offices.
Supervisor Jess Harris opened the item saying wolves in the region are increasingly habituated and that some depredations and close human encounters have occurred "within half a mile to school" and near homes. Harris and other speakers said customary deterrents have become less effective and that delisting would restore additional management options. "Public safety is actually, probably the only tool that we have because of the ESA," one speaker said, describing how public‑safety provisions previously enabled agency removals in Sierra Valley.
Board members urged a rapid letter to congressional offices and U.S. Fish and Wildlife to support delisting and to memorialize recent local incidents, including school proximity and recent federal removals. Joanne Johnson (Siskiyou County project coordinator) said U.S. Fish and Wildlife has proposed reversing some ESA rule changes implemented under the Biden administration so that economic impacts are again considered in ESA determinations; she noted a public comment period that ends December 22 and confirmed staff could refresh a prior Tri‑County letter and circulate it via DocuSign for prompt sign‑off.
An unidentified board member moved to empower themselves to sign the letter on behalf of the Tri‑County group, the motion was seconded and the room recorded ayes. The body directed that the letter, when prepared, be routed through Tri‑County DocuSign and then brought back to the member boards for ratification at the next regular meetings. No numeric roll‑call was recorded in the transcript; the outcome recorded in the meeting was that the motion passed and staff were empowered to proceed with the expedited circulation and later ratification.
Public commenters endorsed federal delisting and urged better CDFW information sharing: Tim Nielsen, identifying himself as president of the Siskiyou County Cattlemen's Association, called for wider use of GPS collars and quicker data sharing so ranchers receive proactive alerts; Gary Wright (Modoc County) urged reintroducing hunting seasons as a management tool. The meeting concluded with standard adjournment motions.
