THE CHALLENGE OF NAVIGATING CALIFORNIA GRAY WOLF CONFLICTS (REAL AND PERCEIVED)

Karen E. Kovacs; California Department of Fish and Wildlife; karen.kovacs@wildlife.ca.gov;

Similar concerns have followed gray wolf (Canis lupus) state-by-state expansion in the west both prior to and after reintroduction efforts in the Rocky Mountains in the mid-1990s. Some of these concerns revolve around public perception of the natural world and the influences (both real and perceived) that gray wolves may bring.  Combining these concerns with legal mechanisms that provide protections to the species, the consequences of potential and realized wolf-caused damages, along with the evolving presence of wolves in California, results in complex conservation challenges for this species in the state.

Challenges and Conflict in Vertebrate Predator Management