The launch of the California Wolf Project (CAWP) within UC Berkeley’s Rausser College of Natural Resources establishes a long-term partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to advance the science and management of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in California.

With additional support from the National Geographic Society, CAWP brings together scientists, wildlife managers, and conservation communicators working with diverse stakeholders to better understand the social and ecological factors that shape wolf populations and inform management decisions. The new project integrates UC Berkeley’s expertise in ecology, sociology, economics and environmental policy, while leveraging the university’s extensive network of agency, non-profit, landowner and Tribal relationships. The CAWP team uses innovative and interdisciplinary methods to gather data on wolf spatial ecology, diet, predator-prey dynamics, and recolonization within California, while contributing to conflict reduction strategies for rural communities and livestock producers.

“It is exciting to see wolves back in California, but there are a lot of questions about where they fit amongst a rapidly changing landscape with new challenges for agencies and livestock producers,” said Arthur Middleton, CAWP co-lead and Goertz Professor of Wildlife Management at UC Berkeley. “We hope our growing team can provide new support to those interested in and impacted by the state’s growing wolf population.”

The gray wolf has returned to California after nearly a century of absence following their extirpation in the 1920s. Wolves are classified as endangered both under the California Endangered Species Act and the federal Endangered Species Act. Their natural recolonization into the state began in 2011 with individuals dispersing from Oregon. As of 2024, CDFW has reported at least seven wolf packs across California, with CAWP initially focusing on the Beyem Seyo (Plumas County), Harvey (Lassen and Shasta counties), Lassen (Lassen and Plumas counties), and Whaleback (Siskiyou County) packs. CAWP has also started to expand its work with the Yowlumni Pack (Tulare County), with the help of CDFW’s Central Region staff. CDFW continues to survey for the presence of uncollared and collared wolves, based on sighting reports and other signs of wolf activity.

California’s wolf packs utilize large expanses of habitat compared to other areas in the western United States, presenting challenges for monitoring the population and questions regarding the availability of prey. The state and many landowners are mounting a variety of livestock protection and conflict reduction efforts while learning new lessons about their efficacy. CAWP is a timely initiative complementing the state’s efforts with rigorous research and an outreach strategy for collaborating with local communities affected by wolf activity.

“Given the wolf population increases we’ve recorded in the last few years and the management challenges that have resulted, there’s no better time for this partnership between CDFW and UC Berkeley,” said Axel Hunnicutt, the State Gray Wolf Coordinator at CDFW. “There are so many important management questions relating to the ecological, economic and social effects of wolf recolonization in the state that already impact California’s ecosystems and its people. The formation of CAWP is expanding our capacity to address these questions in earnest.”

The path of wolf recovery in California – the most populous and diverse U.S. state – has the potential to shape national, and even global, perspectives on wildlife restoration and large-scale conservation. CAWP seeks to develop a model for how to bring universities, government agencies and local communities together around the science and practice of improving human-wildlife interactions on a shared landscape.

“The Wildlife Program at UC Berkeley is committed to fulfilling our university’s mandate to support the people, economies and nature of California with science, education and outreach. CAWP embodies those priorities and embraces the diversity of perspectives that accompany the recovery of large carnivores,” said Justin Brashares, CAWP co-lead and Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at UC Berkeley.

To read more about the return of gray wolves in California or to report a sighting, visit wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Gray-Wolf.

To learn more about the California Wolf Project (CAWP), visit wildlife.berkeley.edu/cawolfproject.

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