The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has released the draft Conservation Plan for Gray Wolves in California and is soliciting input about the draft.

The plan is the product of collaboration between CDFW scientific and wildlife experts, and a diverse stakeholder group that has spent many hours since 2012 to develop it. The group includes Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council, California Farm Bureau Federation, Defenders of Wildlife, California Woolgrowers Association, California Deer Association, California Cattlemen’s Association and the Center for Biological Diversity, among others.

Interested parties are encouraged to review CDFW’s website with information about gray wolves in California, including the legal status of wolves under federal and state law, the migration of the first documented wolf in the state in nearly 100 years and CDFW’s announcement about the Shasta pack this summer. The website also features procedures for contacting CDFW for those who may experience wolves in the wild.

Informational workshops will be held to provide information and hear views about the plan in early 2016. All meetings will be held from 5-8 p.m. Dates and locations are as follows:

Yreka: Jan. 21, 2016
Miner’s Inn Convention Center/Best Western
122 E. Miner St., Yreka 96097

Long Beach: Jan. 26, 2016
Pointe Conference Center at CSU Long Beach
Walter Pyramid (entrance on Merriam Way)
1250 N. Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, 90840
Sacramento: Feb. 1, 2016
Double Tree Hotel
2001 Point West Way, Sacramento, 95815

Comments will also be accepted via e-mail at wolfplan@wildlife.ca.gov, and regular mail at:

Wolf Plan Comments
P.O. Box 26750
San Francisco, CA 94126

Please postmark the comments no later than Feb. 15, 2016.