• Malibuites Can Donate to Defenders of Wildlife Wolf Program
BY ANNE SOBLE
In response to tremendous public interest in the Oregon gray wolf now traversing Shasta County in Northern California, the state Department of Fish and Game has set up a special gray wolf Web page at www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/wolf/
A DFG spokesperson said the page will address gray wolf facts and fiction, as well as deal with wolf-related issues ranging from environmental protection to ranching concerns.
The three-year-old male wolf seeking to establish his own territory and find a mate is known to Oregon biologists as OR-7, but a recent children’s competition has come up with the nickname “Journey.”
Journey’s pioneering journey has taken him hundreds of miles to a state that hasn’t seen wolves in nearly 90 years. His dramatic story demonstrates the struggle of wolves as they seek to reclaim a place in their historic range across the American West.
The organization Defenders of Wildlife says it has been working with public agencies “to ensure wolves continue to remain safe in their historic range. Our pioneering work with ranchers and livestock producers has saved lives—of wolves and livestock alike—in the Northern Rockies and Northwest.”
DOW helped draft Oregon’s landmark wolf compensation and coexistence law and expects to work with California public agencies on these same issues.
If Journey or any other wolves defy the odds and are able to establish a pack in California, this will be seen as a milestone in wolf and environmental recovery. But Defenders of Wildlife emphasizes that “it will only be the beginning of a struggle for a safe and lasting future.”
Malibuites interested in making a tax-deductible contribution to the DOW gray wolf support program can go to www.defenders.org or call 1-800-385-9712 .