California Ranching Groups Seek $30 Million to Manage Growing Wolf Population

From ActiveNorcal.com:

The debate over wolves and livestock in Northern California is once again heating up as ranching groups push for expanded funding to manage the state’s growing gray wolf population.

This week, California Farm Bureau announced it has joined other agricultural and rural advocacy groups in requesting $30 million in the state’s 2026–27 budget for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Wolf Program. The program is designed to reduce conflicts between wolves and livestock as the species continues to recover across California.

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Wolves, wildfire, and behavioral health dominate LAC’s first [Colorado] meeting of 2026

From WorldJournalNewspaper.com:

LAS ANIMAS – The Las Animas County Board of Commissioners opened its first regular meeting of 2026 on Jan. 6 weighing the possibility of federal control over Colorado’s wolf reintroduction program, reviewing progress on a countywide wildfire protection plan, and raising concerns about how a newly regionalized behavioral health system will serve rural residents.

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Is it a wolf or a coyote? What to do if you come across a wild gray wolf

From TheSacramentoBee.com:

As California’s wolf population continues to make its comeback, so does the state’s struggle to balance the needs of the endangered predator and the safety of residents. Gray wolves have been increasingly present throughout rural Northern California, injuring and killing livestock and family pets in recent months. One wolf pack alone was responsible for killing nearly 100 cows and calves in a six-month period in 2025.

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[Montana] State judge allows 2025-2026 wolf hunting and trapping regulations to stand

From MontanaFreePress.org:

A Helena judge has allowed the wolf hunting and trapping regulations the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted earlier this year to stand, despite flagging “serious concerns” about the state’s ability to accurately estimate Montana’s wolf population.

In a 43-page opinion, district court Judge Christopher Abbott wrote that leaving the 2025-2026 hunting and trapping regulations in place while he considers an underlying lawsuit will not “push wolf populations to an unsustainable level.”

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Grayson, Ely’s beloved 9-year-old ‘ambassador’ wolf, has died

From KFGO.com:

(KFGO/Learfield) – One of Ely, Minnesota’s most beloved ambassador wolves has died at the age of nine.

A longtime resident of the International Wolf Center, Grayson was found dead in his enclosure on Friday.

Wolf Center staff say Grayson was the dominant male in the pack and captured hearts worldwide, whether visitors saw him in person or watched him and his five packmates on the center’s live video feed.

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[California] Wildlife crews stop actively searching for young wolves after livestock attacks

From ABCNews.go:

SAN FRANCISCO — Wildlife crews are no longer actively searching for two juvenile gray wolves who were part of a pack that killed dozens of cows and calves last summer in Northern California’s Sierra Valley, an official said Tuesday.

The two wolves were members of the Beyem Seyo pack that in 2025 killed or injured at least 92 calves and cows in a seven-month period, according to a report released last week by two researchers with the University of California, Davis.

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Unprecedented livestock attacks by one California wolf pack cost $2.6 million

From TheSacramentoBee:

The unprecedented reliance of a single Sierra Valley wolf pack on livestock for food cost local ranchers and the state of California at least $2.6 million over a roughly six-month period last year, according to researchers at UC Davis .

The Beyem Seyo pack hunted at least 92 calves and cows from late March through early October, costing ranchers $235,000 in livestock losses and the state more than $2 million in intervention costs, economist Tina Saitone and researcher Tracy Schohr said in the university’s quarterly agricultural economics update on Friday. If another two dozen cattle are confirmed to have been killed by wolves also, the livestock losses would rise to about $300,000, they said.

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Wolves are once again invading a country full of dikes and tulips, forcing the Netherlands to rethink coexistence with large predators in an overpopulated territory.

From ClickPetroleoeGas.com:

The return of wolves to Holland after more than a century of absence transformed a country known for dykes e tulips In a real-world experiment testing the coexistence of large predators and human activities within a confined territory, stable herds began to occupy natural areas surrounded by cities, roads, and farms within a few years. This created tension with livestock farmers and pressured authorities to revise regulations for wildlife protection and management.

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Colorado’s wolf restoration faces new headwinds entering third year

from KUNC.org:

A year ago this week, Colorado biologists boarded a nimble Hughes-500 helicopter in British Columbia and helped capture 15 healthy wolves.

The animals were put on a plane and brought to the West Slope, where they were released in a secret location in the darkness.

Today, the wolf reintroduction program is entering a new year in a state of limbo as the effort to reach a self-sustaining wolf population in Colorado faces new headwinds.

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Restrictions On High Tech For Hunting Sent To Idaho Legislature For Consideration

From NWSportsmanMag.com:

THE FOLLOWING IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

In response to concerns about advancements in hunting technology, Idaho Fish and Game in summer 2024  formed the “Hunting and Advanced Technology” (HAT) working group from 750 volunteers who applied to represent various interests regarding hunting and technology.

The 23-member group included a cross section of sportsmen and women, including traditional archers, competitive long-range shooters, houndsmen, trappers, deer and elk hunters, bear baiters, wolf hunters, and more, who all shared their perspectives on what is and is not fair chase in big game hunting.

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