California Senate Bill Seeks Study on Grizzly Bear Reintroduction

California lawmakers have introduced Senate Bill 1305, which would require the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to create a roadmap assessing whether reintroducing the extinct California grizzly bear is feasible and advisable. The bill, authored by Democratic Senator Laura Richardson, provides no funding for the study and would rely on future legislative appropriations or external sources. Support comes from more than 40 Native American tribes, environmental and animal‑welfare groups, who argue that reinstating the apex predator could restore ecological balance, control ungulate populations, and right a historic loss.

Opposition is voiced by rural communities, ranchers, hunting organizations, and Republican legislators, who contend that California’s degraded, drought‑prone landscapes and existing predator conflicts make a reintroduction “preposterous.” Assemblymember Heather Hadwick warned, “I just don’t think that our California today is ready for a grizzly bear.” The bill has cleared the state Senate and now faces debate in the Assembly, with further federal involvement likely needed before any bears could be returned to the state.

The California grizzly vanished from the wild in the early 1920s after systematic hunting and habitat loss during the Gold Rush era, when as many as 10,000 bears once roamed the region. The proposed study would examine ecological, economic, and social impacts before any potential reintroduction plan is considered.