An attempt to bring wolverines back to California fails

Those who want wolverines reintroduced to California suffered a setback this week.

Proposed legislation to explore what it would take to reintroduce the robust and elusive predator to the state's high mountains died Thursday at the state Capitol.

However, a similar effort is underway in Colorado.

Wolverines disappeared from California more than a century ago, victims of trapping, hunting and poisoning. Rare sightings of one in Yosemite National Park and other areas last year sparked a groundswell of excitement and played a role in the timing of the legislation.

While the step of Assembly Bill 2722 would not have triggered immediate importation of the animals, it would have required state wildlife officials to conduct a feasibility study on a reintroduction or supplementation program with the goal of restoring a viable population.

But the bill also came at a time when the state faces a staggering budget deficit running into tens of billions of dollars. It came to an end in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, which reviews bills affecting the budget. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife estimated the feasibility study would cost $235,000, the amount needed to hire a scientist to do the work.

Assemblywoman Laura Friedman (D-Glendale), who introduced the bill, said in a statement that a difficult budget year meant some proposed laws would fail to allow more vital ones to move forward.

“My hope is that in a better budget year, a bill like this will advance,” said Friedman, who will likely address the United States House of Representatives. “California must support recovery efforts to bring this iconic animal back to the California wild.”

Brendan Cummings, conservation director at the Center for Biological Diversity, which sponsored the bill, said he was not surprised by the bill's fate, given the budget problems, but that he was not going to give up on the underlying goal.

“These animals shared this landscape, they are part of California,” he said. “As a Californian, I feel it is my obligation to do everything I can to functionally recover extirpated and missing species that are no longer here due to human activity.”

AB 2722 was carried out without discussion or debate during a biannual selection process known as a fail file.

No one has attempted to bring the animal back to the areas from which it disappeared, but Colorado could become the first state to try. This month, lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor of a wolverine reintroduction plan, which is now on the governor's desk for final approval.

Wolverines look like tiny bears, but they are actually the largest members of the weasel family, weighing up to 40 pounds. They have powerful jaws capable of taking down predators much larger than them. Their snowshoe-like feet allow them to navigate deep powder and they have been known to traverse great distances. They are famously solitary and males occupy territories of up to 500 square miles.

“They are like the patron animal of mountaineers, skiers and introverts,” he said. Rebecca Wattersexecutive director of the Wolverine Foundationat the beginning of this year.

Wolverines are extremely rare in the lower 48 states, and the population of the contiguous United States (approximately only 25 to 300) received federal aid. protection under the federal Endangered Species Act last year. California's conservation efforts date back to the early 1970s, when wolverines were designated as a fully protected species under the state's Fish and Game Code and listed as threatened under the state's Endangered Species Act.

Advocates for reintroducing the species have said there is plenty of habitat to accommodate the animals, which naturally live at low density in snowy, high-elevation areas. But some researchers, including Watters, would prefer the species spread naturally, expressing concern that wolverines will die during the reintroduction process while there is no guarantee of success.

David Garcelonpresident of the Institute of Wildlife Studies, believes the risk is worth it. For about 20 years, Garcelon has sought to recover the animals, which he calls “an icon of nature.”

“I really want to give wolverines a chance,” Garcelon previously told the Times, adding that, given the uncertainties posed by climate change and other factors, “I'm not really in favor of waiting another 50 years to see if they can do it.” . on his own.”