{"id":256783,"date":"2026-04-08T02:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T02:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/256783\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T02:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T02:06:12","slug":"ca-bill-advances-to-examine-bringing-back-the-grizzly-bears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/256783\/","title":{"rendered":"CA bill advances to examine bringing back the grizzly bears"},"content":{"rendered":"

California lawmakers on Tuesday moved forward on a bill that could lead to the re-introduction of grizzly bears<\/a> to the state, more than a century after the quarter-ton predators were hunted into local extinction.<\/p>\n

The measure, which is backed by two Native American tribes, calls for a comprehensive study on the feasibility of bringing back the golden bears that festoon the state\u2019s flag.<\/p>\n

Language that would have declared it the policy of the state of California to reintroduce them was removed and it was amended to focus on studying the possibility of bringing back grizzlies. The bill faced opposition from ranchers and law enforcement officials who say the state is already unable to handle resurgent populations of wolves, mountain lions and other predators.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis bill will lead us on a journey to re-establishing a relationship with grizzly for all Californians,\u201d said Tiana Williams-Claussen, director of the wildlife department of the Yurok Tribe, which is co-sponsoring the bill with the Tejon Tribe.<\/p>\n

The measure passed the state Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee with an initial vote of 4-1, and will next be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee.<\/p>\n

\"Tiana Tiana Williams-Claussen, director of the Yurok Tribe\u2019s Wildlife Department, listens alongside Sen. Laura Richardson and Octavio Escobedo III, chair of the Tejon Tribe, as Sen. Catherine Blakespear speaks during a Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water hearing for SB 1305 at the State Capitol on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Sacramento. The committee is considering a proposal to study the potential reintroduction of grizzly bears to California. Paul Kitagaki Jr. pkitagaki@sacbee.com Predator ranks growing<\/p>\n

California is struggling to manage the behavior of other predators whose ranks are growing thanks to the state\u2019s conservation programs and endangered species protections.<\/p>\n

Conservationists celebrated when wolves \u2014 which were rendered locally extinct in 1924, the same year that the last grizzly was killed \u2014 migrated into the state from Oregon 15 years ago. Under state and local endangered species act protections, their numbers grew to about 70 animals in 10 packs.<\/p>\n

But last year a single pack was responsible for killing about 100 calves<\/a> in less than seven months in the high ranchland of Sierra County north of Truckee, costing ranchers and the state millions and terrifying residents. In 2024, a mountain lion killed a man in El Dorado County, and in 2023 a black bear killed a woman in her own home in Downieville.<\/p>\n

At a legislative hearing called to address escalating concerns about wild predators, including coyotes, Wade Crowfoot, the state\u2019s top environmental officer, called the situation a crisis.<\/a> The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, which would be responsible for managing any population of grizzlies, is facing budget cuts in both its biodiversity conservation program and its law enforcement division, which employs game wardens and wildlife officers.<\/p>\n

Already, the department is overburdened, leaving the responsibility for handling many attacks by wolves and other predators to local law enforcement, said David Bess, a retired chief of CDFW\u2019s enforcement division.<\/p>\n

\"David David Bess, retired deputy director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, speaks in opposition to SB 1305 during a Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water hearing at the State Capitol on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Sacramento. The committee is considering a proposal to study the potential reintroduction of grizzly bears to California. Paul Kitagaki Jr. pkitagaki@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

\u201cAdvancing this proposal at this time will place unrealistic demands on the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and risk compounding existing carnivore management challenges,\u201d Bess told the committee.<\/p>\n

Sierra County Sheriff Mike Fisher, whose department was tasked with responding to last year\u2019s rash of wolf attacks, told the committee he opposed the measure \u201cuntil CDFW can manage the current apex predators we have in California.\u201d<\/p>\n

Work with opponents<\/p>\n

But Sen. Laura Richardson, who represents parts of Los Angeles County including Torrance and Inglewood, promised to work with opponents of the bill to make sure that their concerns were addressed in the study if it is eventually approved.<\/p>\n

She pointed to her decision to remove the language declaring the state\u2019s intention to restore grizzlies to the landscape and said she would add the potential impact on ranchers and other human settlements of bringing back the golden hump-backed bears.<\/p>\n

It was a promise that Rick Roberti, president of the California Cattleman\u2019s Association, welcomed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just the beginning,\u201d said Roberti, who said he opposed the bill, \u201cat this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it happens, I want to make sure it is going to be done in such a way that our members are protected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Rick Rick Roberti, president of the California Cattlemen\u2019s Association, stands with Northern California law enforcement officers in opposition to SB 1305 during a Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water hearing at the State Capitol on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Sacramento. The committee is considering a proposal to study the potential reintroduction of grizzly bears to California. Paul Kitagaki Jr. pkitagaki@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Richardson said that the loss of grizzlies disrupted the state\u2019s ecosystems and eliminated an animal that was so synonymous with California that its image remains on the state flag, on water bottles and in the names of its university teams. Grizzlies were viewed as relatives by many tribes and played an important spiritual role.<\/p>\n

\"A A Grizzly bear mother and her cub walk near Pelican Creek Oct. 8, 2012 in the Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. KAREN BLEIER AFP via Getty Images <\/p>\n

\u201cTheir rapid demise was not due to habitat loss or lack of food, but the direct result of deliberate extermination efforts by a small number of settlers, miners, ranchers and government agents who hunted, trapped and poisoned them relentlessly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Now, she said, the state could begin to rectify that \u2014 or at least conduct a study to see if reintroduction makes sense.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow is the moment for California to explore the possibility of reconnecting us truly to the grizzly bear,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd not just (on) a water bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tiana Tiana Williams-Claussen, director of the Yurok Tribe\u2019s Wildlife Department, listens alongside Sen. Laura Richardson and Octavio Escobedo III, chair of the Tejon Tribe, as Sen. Catherine Blakespear speaks during a Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water hearing for SB 1305 at the State Capitol on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Sacramento. The committee is considering a proposal to study the potential reintroduction of grizzly bears to California. Paul Kitagaki Jr. pkitagaki@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

This story was originally published April 7, 2026 at 6:20 PM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Sharon Bernstein<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Sharon Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Sacramento Bee. She has reported and edited for news organizations across California, including the Los Angeles Times, Reuters and Cityside Journalism Initiative. She grew up in Dallas and earned her master\u2019s degree in journalism from UC Berkeley.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"California lawmakers on Tuesday moved forward on a bill that could lead to the re-introduction of grizzly bears…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256784,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-256783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/256784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}