Doesn’t it seem preposterous that the State of California is considering spending money it does not have to manage and protect a species that is not native to our State, and holds the specter of financial ruin to the economy of agriculture communities.

Siskiyou County’s main industry is agriculture. Allowing the wolf to become an endangered species will severely affect farmers and ranchers already struggling to maintain their way of life. If the wolf is listed as an endangered species, rural people will be required by law to stand mute while they witness the slaughter of their livestock and their pets, their hands tied by bureaucrats so they may not protect their property.

In the Klamath Siskiyou Wildlands Center correspondence to United States Fish and Wildlife Service dated July 2, 2011, it was said that even though the wolf is known for feeding on large animals such as moose, elk and deer, he will adapt to feed on smaller prey which will satisfy his hunger and is easy to kill. Siskiyou County already has diminished deer herds. Elk herds which are on the rise will be quickly reduced by this greedy predator. The wolf not only kills when it is hungry, it kills for sport as well.

OR 7 came from the Imnaha Pack whose members of have tested positive for Hydatid Cyst Disease which is caused by a tapeworm carried by wolves that can be passed onto coyotes, dogs then to secondary hosts which will pass it on to cattle and eventually humans. This disease has not been recorded in Siskiyou County prior to OR7’s arrival. Since he came from an infested pack, it is only logical to assume the disease will be detected in the near future in our County. Will Fish and Game or Siskiyou County assume financial responisbility for diseases brought in by the Gray wolf that will be transmitted to wildlife, lifestock, domestic animals and the human population who will pay for the destruction of private property by the wolf.

We have a chance to close the barn door before the horse escapes. We have a chance to prevent further financial loses to our State, to our County and to our communities. Millions of dollars are spent annually across the United States and in Canada to pay for damages caused by the Gray Wolf, not counting the vast sum of money it takes to hire a legion of individuals to handle the reams of paperwork and the miles of leg work to protect this flourishing species. We cannot control the number of coyotes in Siskiyou County even though they have been hunted and trapped for decades - what makes the powers that be so arrogant to believe they will be more successful in managing the wolf who will have no natural enemies other than disease and old age.

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