Latest news with #ShastaCounty
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Three more wolf packs confirmed in California as ranchers call for relief
It was bright and early and Axel Hunnicutt was howling. He was looking for wolves. Sometimes they howl back, providing a sense of their location. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife this week reported there were three new wolf packs in the state's far north. Hunnicutt, gray wolf coordinator for the agency, was trying to track down one of them — the freshly minted Ashpan pack that consists of at least two wolves roaming eastern Shasta County. There's also the Ishi pack in eastern Tehama County and the Tunnison pack in central Lassen County. Some experts say there could now be more than 70 wolves living in California. 'I don't want to boast, but I think my howl is pretty good,' Hunnicutt said by phone while heading to the town of Burney, north of Lassen Volcanic National Park. He was taking a break from a day of searching that began at 5 a.m. in an effort to add to the limited information state wildlife officials know about the packs. The goal is to capture and outfit one of the wolves with a GPS collar. That would allow them to share information about the animal's whereabouts with owners of livestock that could become a meal for the apex predators. And it would make it easier to track them down again and collar more wolves if necessary. The trio of new packs brings the state total to 10, marking a continued resurgence for the canids protected under state and federal endangered species laws. There were seven packs by the end of last year and just one at this time five years ago. All of the latest packs were confirmed by what Hunnicutt described as "persistence" — documenting at least two wolves together at least four times in an area over six months. At least three wolves comprise the Ishi pack; it's not clear if one is the offspring of the other two. It's welcome news for conservationists, who want to see the state's native animals thrive. Many ranchers, however, see the rise of wolves as a threat to their livelihood. Read more: A dozen wolves collared in California as officials seek to track the growing population California's wolves were killed off by humans about a century ago, and they only began to recolonize the state about 14 years ago. In recent years, the population has started to take off. There were about 50 by the end of last year, wildlife officials said. The population fluctuates throughout the year as pups are born and die off, and it's likely higher at the moment. As the number of wolves increases, so does the number of cattle they attack. Between January and March of this year, 26 instances of livestock depredation were being investigated with wolves confirmed as the culprit in 16 of them, according to state data. Kirk Wilbur, vice president of government affairs for the California Cattlemen's Assn., a trade association representing ranchers and beef producers, said wolves in at least two of the new packs are known to have preyed on livestock. "There's been a real emotional impact, a real fear impact, in the north state," Wilbur said. "Folks who perhaps have never had a wolf depredation on their herd are nevertheless fearful of the possibility, and the folks who have suffered repeat depredations from wolves, this gets really stressful and taxing and depressing for those producers." This month, Shasta County joined four other Northern California counties in declaring states of emergency due to wolves. The county's Board of Supervisors also penned a letter to the state wildlife department calling for "immediate assistance and regulatory changes to better equip counties to address this growing concern," according to a news release. The state has taken steps to address ranchers' concerns. About two weeks ago, the state wildlife department announced the release of an online map that shows the approximate location of GPS-collard wolves. Anyone can check it out, but it's geared toward cluing in ranchers in an effort to prevent wolf-livestock conflict. California wildlife officials plan to complete a status review of the wolf population and are exploring the possibility of allowing harsher methods to haze the animals, including firing nonlethal ammunition at them. The state agency also offers reimbursement to ranchers for livestock killed by wolves. At one point, the state also provided money to cover nonlethal tools and indirect losses, but Hunnicutt said the program no longer has enough funding to do so. Wilbur said the new packs underscore a long-held belief by his group that gray wolves don't need to be on California's endangered species list, where they were added in 2014. Some ranchers want to be able to shoot the broad-muzzled canids, something their protected status precludes. Read more: Two new wolf packs confirmed in California amid population boom Hunnicutt said it's not so cut and dried. 'With wolves, if allowed the protections that they have, they do really well, and they recover quickly,' he said. 'On the flip side, it would not take very much to completely topple these 10 packs.' He pointed out that the hundreds of thousands — and potentially millions — of wolves were eradicated from the Western U.S. within decades. Roughly 50 animals is generally not considered a "viable population," according to Hunnicutt. If the population reaches about 150, he said protections could probably be relaxed. Amaroq Weiss, senior wolf advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group, sees the wolves' growth rate as typical. She said the state's 2016 wolf conservation plan identified about 23,000 square miles of suitable wolf habitat just in the region north of Interstate 80. The same plan estimated that that area could support roughly 370 to 500 wolves. Weiss said misunderstanding and misinformation is fueling backlash against the animals. 'Decades of research shows that conflicts between livestock, wolves and people are rare and preventable,' she said in a statement. 'These magnificent animals have immense value because they help keep nature wild and healthy, and that ultimately benefits humans as well.' Back in Shasta County, Hunnicutt was hot on the trail of the Ashpan pack. He picked up tracks, which led him to a fresh poop. He scooped it up. 'It's like, ah! I'm gonna figure out who it is,' he said. He believes the two wolves in the pack might be denning; it's currently the season. That means they bred and the female gave birth in a den, which could be a hollowed-out log or other safe haven. When wolves are denning, they're anchored to one spot — the den — upping the chances of finding them. It essentially entails trying to locate one square mile of activity in a 1,000-square-mile search area, Hunnicutt said. 'It's hard, but I love it,' he said. After lunch in Burney, he'd go back to scouting. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
CBS News
19-05-2025
- CBS News
California county declares state of emergency over gray wolf activity
SHASTA COUNTY – A Northern California county has declared a local state of emergency as residents report more gray wolf incidents. Shasta County supervisors adopted the state of emergency declaration last week. The emergency declaration comes as rural Shasta County residents report more encounters with gray wolves – including attacks on livestock. "These wolves are showing no fear of people and are attacking livestock near family homes. We need better tools and immediate action to keep our rural communities safe," said Corkey Harmon, the Shasta County supervisor who sponsored the resolution, in a statement. Officials say, since late 2024, multiple cattle and other livestock deaths linked to wolves have been confirmed in eastern Shasta County. Supervisors also sent a letter to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife asking for help in protecting the public from wolves. Shasta County residents are being urged to report possible wolf sightings to Fish and Wildlife. Both Modoc and Lassen counties have also adopted similar emergency declarations against wolves in recent days. Wolves are an endangered species in California that, at one point, had disappeared from the state before returning in recent years. Fish and Wildlife has been closely monitoring the state's wolf population, with seven wolf packs having been confirmed.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Shasta County's new election official under scrutiny for election denial ties
Shasta County's new elections chief is less than a week into the job and already facing scrutiny for his past job experience, beliefs about election interference and evolving political affiliation. Clint Curtis was selected as the county's interim clerk and registrar of voters on April 30 and formally appointed by the Board of Supervisors May 13 when a background check cleared. He'll oversee the rural North State county's elections office, which in recent years has weathered turbulent claims of election interference and efforts to hand-count elections. The retired attorney ran a law firm with offices in New York, Florida and the Dominican Republic. He has no experience overseeing elections, but according to his cover letter has worked on cases challenging election results, including a '2016 challenge to President Trump's election results in Florida.' 'As such, I have in depth knowledge of every aspect of Election Administrators (sic) duties including absentee mail voting, early voting, election day voting, voter registration rolls(,) accuracy and campaign finance,' he wrote in his application for the Shasta County job. The self-described 'election integrity advocate' said his work spans the political spectrum: he has spoken at events hosted by MyPillow founder and election denier Mike Lindell, and he claimed to have worked on a recount team for Kamala Harris during her first election for California attorney general in 2010 — however, there was no recount for that election. Curtis, who has a background in computer programming, claimed in a documentary that a Florida congressman asked him to create vote-rigging software. According to local media reports, Curtis' appointment faced pushback from two supervisors and several residents. The new elections head is registered as a Democrat in Florida and recently registered as a Republican in California. As he explained to Redding's Action News Now, Curtis ran for Congress in Florida as a Democrat, but said today he 'could be a Trump Republican.' Shasta supervisors appointed Curtis to fill the post until early 2027. The previous registrar, Tom Toller resigned after less than a year due to health concerns. Toller had replaced the previous elections head, Cathy Darling Allen, who also cited her health when she resigned after two decades. The supervisors selected Curtis from a pool of five finalists that included Shasta County's current deputy registrar of voters and top elections workers from around the country.
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
In California's deep-red north, voters startled by pace of cuts – but they're still backing Trump
Donald Trump's administration has sought to remake the federal government at a breakneck pace. In far northern California – where he has strong support – people have backed those efforts. But even here, the speed and scale of the president's agenda has been cause for concern. Officials in Shasta county, a region of 180,000 perhaps best known in recent years for its turbulent far-right politics, recently voted unanimously to send a letter to the federal government expressing concern about how layoffs could affect the nearby Whiskeytown national recreation area, which brings as much as $80m to the local economy each year. 'The board urges the administration to reconsider layoffs impacting the National Park Service,' the letter states. 'National parks, recreation areas, lakes, and mountainous regions throughout this great nation may be adversely impacted if not adequately protected and maintained for all to enjoy, both in the immediate future, and for years to come.' In March, about 150 people took to the streets in Redding, the Shasta county seat, to protest proposed cuts to the Department of Veterans Affairs. A month later more than 1,000 people in the area gathered to demonstrate against the administration's policies. Amid reports about possible reductions to Medicaid, the head of the area's largest healthcare provider warned such action could have 'crippling' impacts in a county where the local medicaid provider serves nearly a third of the population. A bipartisan group of state lawmakers, including the region's Republican representatives, signed a letter in late April urging Congress to protect Head Start, the federally funded education program. While California remains a Democratic stronghold, its less densely populated interior swings decidedly more conservative, with deep red enclaves in the state's far north that have been particularly supportive of Trump. In Shasta county, where the president visited during his 2016 campaign, 67% of voters voted for Trump in November. Nearby counties, including Tehama, Lassen and Modoc, backed Trump at even greater levels. Support for Trump's agenda has remained strong among Republicans in California. While 68% of California voters reported they disapprove of Trump's performance and just 30% approve, 75% of Republicans say they approve, according to a new Berkeley IGS poll. The poll also found that 69% of California Republicans think the country is now headed in the right direction, a major shift from last year when 93% believed it was headed in the wrong direction. That's the case, too, in rural California, where many voters said they backed the Trump administration's policies, including tariffs against other countries, a smaller federal government, and, they hoped, reduced prices and a stronger economy. But the unease in an area where the president is still deeply popular highlights the potential effects the cuts pose to the region – particularly its rural communities – that is more reliant on federal support on everything from infrastructure to emergency preparedness to healthcare and childcare. 'These cuts may, in fact, hurt rural communities harder because they just don't have their tax bases,' said Lisa Pruitt, a rural law expert at the University of California, Davis. 'Their bandwidth for providing all sorts of services are just much weaker to begin with, and that makes them more reliant on federal monies.' For some in this part of California the outcomes, and rapid pace at which the administration has moved, have been startling. It was what Morgan Akin, a Shasta county resident and US marine veteran who joined the March protest against the VA cuts, expected would happen when Trump took office. 'They're predicting 80,000 cuts on the VA. That's going to have an effect on the veterans throughout the country,' said Akin. 'All these federal employees have just been dumped.' He added: 'It's been a shock, and I think that's what's disrupting for most people.' Bruce Ross, a Shasta county Republican, acknowledged the difficulties of seeing layoffs, but said he has been pleased with the direction of the administration. 'Everybody who lives up in north-eastern California knows folks who work for the Forest Service, or for federal agencies, and it's tough for them. I think on a human level, that's real,' Ross said. But, he added, he has seen a willingness on the part of the administration to listen when local officials have pushed back against proposed cuts, and the practical changes have ultimately, so far, been less severe than they initially seemed. 'There's been a lot of drama about it. But I think the actual results have shown that the administration is listening to people and saying, OK, this is important. We're gonna take it back.' Congressman Doug LaMalfa, a Republican and staunch Trump supporter who represents a large swath of northern California's interior, has acknowledged that some of his constituents, and Republicans broadly, are concerned, but echoed Ross's sentiments. 'But they're listening to us. I got in a room with Elon [Musk] and his right-hand man. They're understanding us now, and they're going to look at it more through that lens, and they'll certainly listen to us,' he told the Chico Enterprise-Record in March. In that interview, he pushed back against talk of broad layoffs and cuts to key programs. 'There is no social security cuts. There is no cuts to the VA system; the employee stuff, we've still got more work to do with that.' Ross, who is also the secretary for the Shasta county Republican central committee, admitted there will likely be pain as Trump enacts his agenda, but argued that was necessary to tackle the federal deficit. 'There's a $2tn annual deficit with the federal government in Washington in a time of peace and a fairly strong economy,' he said. 'How do you ever go about trying to balance that without being somewhat aggressive about actually cutting spending? It's never going to be easy to do.' Steve Barkley, a 74-year-old who lives in northern California's Sierra foothills, said he felt confident in the president's agenda, and wasn't worried about any cuts to Medicare or social security. 'He's the first candidate that was really saying the things that I wanted to hear, and promised to do the things that I want it done, and he's keeping his promises,' Barkley said, adding that he believed Trump's recent actions ensure the longevity of those programs and boost the economy. 'I'm happy. I don't expect anything to get done right away. It's going to take time.' Ross is hopeful that even with some short-term pain, Trump's policies will ultimately improve the region. He pointed to the area's recent history of massive destructive and deadly wildfires and the lack of land management in federal forests that has contributed to such blazes. He would like to see the return of the timber industry, which was historically a major employer in the area, and believes that could be possible under the new administration. 'I think that's going to be good for northern California. It's not just about money – it's about what is their direction, and what are their goals? And just bluntly, they're on our side,' he said. 'And again, look at the federal deficits and explain how that's sustainable, and explain how that's going to change in a way that doesn't cause some dissension. It's hard on any level. But I think long-term, it's what the country needs.'
Associated Press
16-05-2025
- Associated Press
California man who used underwater scooter in lake to try to evade arrest pleads guilty to fraud
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California man who tried to evade arrest by jumping into a lake with an underwater scooter pleaded guilty Thursday to fraud, money laundering and witness tampering in connection with a $35 million investment fraud scheme, federal prosecutors announced. Prosecutors say that between 2015 and 2020, Matthew Piercey, 48, of Shasta County solicited investor funds and used the money for various personal and business expenses, including the purchase of two residential properties. He paid back to investors about $8.8. million of the $35 million invested, according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California. When agents tried to arrest him in November 2020, Piercey led them on a car chase before dumping his vehicle and fleeing into frigid Lake Shasta with what was later identified as a Yamaha 350LI underwater submersible device. 'Piercey spent some time out of sight underwater where law enforcement could only see bubbles,' federal prosecutors wrote in court documents calling him a flight risk. He emerged from the lake after about 20 minutes and was arrested. The underwater device was a sea scooter, or a motorized device that pulls users underwater at speeds of about 4 mph (6.4 kph). Piercey tried to dissuade investors and witnesses from responding to grand jury subpoenas and after his arrest used coded communications from jail to direct two individuals to dispose of a U-Haul storage locker he had rented, according to the Justice Department statement. An FBI search of the locker turned up a wig and 31,000 Swiss francs, or roughly $37,000. Piercey faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud, mail fraud, witness tampering and money laundering count. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 4.
