The return of gray wolves to California has presented both conservation success and new challenges for local ranchers and authorities. After being absent from the state for nearly a century, gray wolves were first documented in Sierra Valley in 2011, with the first confirmed pack appearing in 2015. By late 2024, at least 50 wolves had been confirmed across California.
While some viewed this as a positive step for wildlife conservation, ranchers in Sierra Valley experienced increasing losses when the Beyem Seyo wolf pack began attacking livestock in March 2025. Over seven months, economic losses from injured or killed cattle due to wolf attacks reached approximately $2.6 million.
State and federal laws protect gray wolves, leading authorities to use non-lethal methods to prevent attacks on livestock. However, these efforts proved insufficient. In October 2025, authorities euthanized several wolves after continued livestock losses.
Tina Saitone, Cooperative Extension professor at UC Davis, and Tracy Schohr, Cooperative Extension advisor at UC Davis specializing in livestock and natural resources, analyzed the direct costs associated with these attacks. They found that between March 7 and October 10, 2025, verified livestock deaths caused by wolves amounted to $234,735 in losses for Sierra Valley ranchers. Only deaths confirmed or deemed probable by agencies such as the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) or the U.S. Department of Agriculture were eligible for compensation under the State Wolf Compensation Program.
Saitone noted that “beyond direct predation, wolves imposed additional costs.” She explained: “Livestock exposed to wolves exhibit increased vigilance and avoidance behaviors that reduce weight gain and conception rates while increasing vulnerability to disease. Ranchers face higher expenses from non-lethal monitoring and deterrence measures, fence repairs and depredation investigations.”
Including unconfirmed or missing cattle raised estimated losses from $533,688 up to $1.7 million depending on methodology. When adding agency intervention costs—such as those from the CDFW’s Summer Attack Team—total expenditures attributed to this single wolf pack exceeded $2.6 million in 2025 alone.
To address the escalating situation during summer 2025, CDFW assembled a team of biologists and staff dedicated to deterring wolf attacks using non-lethal means over a period of 114 days—contributing more than 18,000 personnel hours—but despite these efforts, attacks increased.
The research underscores the need for robust wildlife agency resources and comprehensive compensation programs for affected ranchers.
More details are available in Tina L. Saitone and Tracy K. Schohr’s article: “The Beyem Seyo Wolf Pack: Economic Toll of Unprecedented Livestock Conflict in California,” published by the Giannini Foundation of Agricultural Economics at https://giannini.ucop.edu/filer/file/1767890615/21559/.
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), which contributed expertise to this study through its Cooperative Extension network affiliated with the University of California (https://ucanr.edu/), supports communities statewide by sharing science-based practices (https://ucanr.edu/). UC ANR operates offices in all 58 counties along with nine Research and Extension Centers across diverse ecosystems (https://ucanr.edu/), applying university expertise through research initiatives aimed at enhancing well-being and economic opportunities throughout California (https://ucanr.edu/).
ARE Update is a bimonthly publication by the Giannini Foundation intended to inform policymakers and industry professionals about current research related to agriculture and resource economics.
For more information about UC ANR’s mission or its ongoing work supporting California communities—including research facilities operating as living laboratories—visit https://ucanr.edu/.