It’s a sunny day, around noon, at Roberti Ranch. Usually, the ranch’s nearly 6,000 acres could be described as a peaceful parcel of land in Plumas County.
But right now, the Roberti’s are dealing with an issue that’s becoming a little too familiar: There’s a wolf on the ranch.
The family, gathered by the porch of their home, watches through binoculars as the wolf comes closer and closer to a two-day-old calf. After a few minutes of monitoring it, Weston Roberti — a cattle rancher — races out on an ATV. He scoops up the calf, places it on his lap and drives it to safety.
That’s one way to keep cattle away from visiting wolves. But it’s not a solution.
“There's not always an audience per se, where everybody's looking around,” says Weston Roberti. “I think all of us are in this spot where the reality is kicking in that the wolves are here to stay and something needs to change management-wise.”
He suspects the problem will only get worse in the summer, when the season for birthing calves at his family’s ranch reaches its peak.
“Honestly, I’m dreading summer and calving a little bit,” Weston Roberti says. “We’re going to be the next source of prey or, you know, food for the wolves.”
The conversation surrounding the fate of these wolves has been tricky since the beginning. Up until gray wolves began reappearing in the state, the species had been absent from California for nearly a century due to hunting and habitat loss.
But that changed in the 2010s, when gray wolves from nearby states began to travel into California. By 2016, the state’s first pack in decades was beginning to form. That same year, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife launched its conservation plan for the endangered animal.
State experts now say there are ten confirmed wolf packs in California, located mostly in the north.
The CDFW’s plan, guided by endangered species regulations, currently only allows ranchers to ward off wolves using non-lethal tactics, like making loud noises, shining bright lights or electric fencing. But Weston Roberti and other ranchers say this isn’t working.
Looking for solutions
According to the CDFW, wolves killed 58 livestock last year. The state compensates ranchers for proven losses. But Axel Hunnicut, the state’s gray wolf coordinator, says this uncertainty still carries weight for ranchers.
“You could imagine someone wondering, like, ‘Shoot, what is my future?’” Hunnicut says. “Especially when that compensation pot is not well funded.”
And it’s not the only cost. Hunnicut says wolf attacks can stress out cattle. That can lead to weight loss, and fewer calves, which also hurts ranchers’ bottom line.
Chad Smith, the manager of Bar One Cattle Company in Sierra County, says one of his cattle was recently attacked by a wolf who “ripped her whole hind out.” Even though she survived, he says her future won’t be the same.
“I don't think we'll be able to breed her now,” he says. “We're losing 10 years of calves because she was chewed up as a young heifer.”
Although ranchers aren’t currently able to harm wolves when scaring them off, that could change. Earlier this year, the state’s conservation plan for gray wolves entered into its second phase. As part of that shift, the state now has the option to allow more aggressive tactics, called “injurious harassment.”
“Injurious harassment means the animal can actually be harmed,” Hunnicut says. “Not harmed to the point that it could be lethal, but harmed in that it would get a negative stimulus.”
He says that could include the use of rubber bullets and bear spray.
Amaroq Weiss, the Center for Biological Diversity’s senior wolf advocate, says she understands the need to move to more aggressive tactics – but only if ranchers have already tried the non-harmful ones.
“For me, what's most important is to first of all, not have that be your first reaction,” she says.
She says she also supports compensating ranchers for livestock killed by wolves, as long as they are using non-lethal tools to reduce conflicts.
“So you don't just keep having losses and losses and payments and payments,” Weiss says. “There has to be some element of changing your business model.”
A changing California
During the near-century when gray wolves were absent from California, the state transformed. The last time a gray wolf had been spotted was in the 1920s, when just a few million people lived in the state.
Now, the state is home to nearly 40 million people. Kaggie Orrick, a researcher with UC Berkeley’s California Wolf Project, says this makes California a unique case when dealing with wolf conflicts.
“There’s a lot more people here. There’s a different prey base. There’s a lot less open area,” Orrick says. “While we are able to draw support and understanding from other states that do have wolves … California might be a little bit different.”
Since April, four counties in Northern California have declared a state of emergency due to the increasing presence of wolves: Modoc, Sierra, Plumas and Shasta.
Paul Roenn, a supervisor with Sierra County, says some community members have reported seeing wolves walking around outside their homes.
“The interactions have escalated to the point where you can see that it's going to become a public safety issue,” Roen says. “We have to get some expanded deterrence because what we're doing isn't working.”
And it seems some change, at least, is on the way. On June 9, the CDFW launched a summer strike team as part of a new pilot effort to curb gray wolf attacks on livestock. The agency says the team will provide round-the-clock aid for ranchers experiencing frequent conflicts with wolves. They’ll also be providing training and help livestock producers create management plans to mitigate future conflicts.
The pilot also allows CDFW staff to use more aggressive tools when handling wolves, like the rubber bullets and bear spray, although these options are still currently unavailable to ranchers.
Right now, the effort is focused on Siskiyou, Plumas and Sierra counties, which are all areas that have seen high levels of wolf depredation in comparison to others.
Roen says the team has already successfully helped in pushing wolves away from his brother’s ranch, Sierra Valley Ranch. He says the pilot is a big step forward in addressing the concerns of ranchers, and could also help ensure both ranchers and CDFW officials are on the same page.
“Hopefully, it will educate all of us in how we're going to move forward,” he says.