Gray wolf conflict and less-lethal hazing
Summary
The Board renewed the $93,312 USDA trapper contract but questioned why only $500 is budgeted for travel given the trapper's heavy out-of-county workload, and discussed a wild dog pack attacking cattle near Ravendale.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 7
- Last 30 days
- 0
Last discussed Jul 7, 2026.
Impact analysis
$93,312.31 county share in FY 2026-2027, about $8,000 less than last year.
Ranchers countywide who rely on trapper George Afonso for predator control and wolf-kill verification.
Ranchers near Ravendale currently suffering wild dog attacks on cattle.
Mentions & discussions (7)
Board of Supervisors (Special) — July 7, 2026
Sheriff McGarva signed onto a less-lethal hazing agreement but hasn't implemented policies yet while awaiting a CDFW exemption; the county is also working on a data-sharing agreement and investigating reported cattle depredation, some of which may have occurred in Idaho.
Board of Supervisors — May 12, 2026
Sheriff McGarva built the county's first gray wolf management plan after months of meetings with CDFW, ranchers, and stakeholders. It documents depredation costs and lays out how the county will respond to wolf conflicts — a starting point for protecting ranchers.
Board of Supervisors — April 14, 2026
The Board renewed the $93,312 USDA trapper contract but questioned why only $500 is budgeted for travel given the trapper's heavy out-of-county workload, and discussed a wild dog pack attacking cattle near Ravendale.
Board of Supervisors — February 24, 2026
Wolves keep coming up — the Sheriff is arranging a March 5 visit with US Fish and Wildlife's Paul Souza for community meetings, one supervisor reported a wolf near his home, and forest rangeland coordination gaps were aired.
Board of Supervisors — February 10, 2026
Supervisors toured Siskiyou County ranches hit hard by wolves — one ranch had 41 confirmed cattle kills — and met with a U.S. Fish and Wildlife official, hoping to bring similar relief to Lassen County ranchers.
Board of Supervisors — January 20, 2026
Supervisor Albaugh criticized the Department of Fish and Wildlife for ruling that a wolf attack on a horse near a Hanson Ranch residence was not a public safety issue, and raised it with RCRC representatives.
Board of Supervisors — January 13, 2026
Wolves killed a horse and a calf near the Hanson Ranch home on New Year's Day, and 42 depredations have been confirmed countywide. Ranchers say the state's non-lethal tools don't work and want lethal management options; the sheriff is pushing CDFW and has lined up a meeting with a federal wildlife director.
We'll email you when it's on an upcoming agenda and when it's voted on, at most once a day.
The weekly brief for Lassen County
What the council decided, in plain English — one email a week.
Free. Unsubscribe with one click any time. We never sell your email.