Plumas & Sierra Counties’ Wildlife Needs You!

Urge the Plumas and Sierra Counties Boards of Supervisors to
end their contract with Wildlife Services and implement
a non-lethal coexistence program

Project Coyote and our allies at Feather River Action have been working to help usher Plumas and Sierra Counties into the era of modern wildlife conservation and stewardship by terminating their long-standing relationship with the rogue U.S. Department of Agriculture program misnamed “Wildlife Services.” In fact, Wildlife Services doesn’t serve wildlife—it serves ranching and agricultural interests. Between 2015 and 2019, under an approximately $70,000/year annual contract with Plumas County, Wildlife Services killed 890 wild animals including bears, beavers, mountain lions, coyotes, and badgers. We are targeting Plumas County but, because Plumas and Sierra Counties share an agriculture commission and Sierra sub-contracts their Wildlife Services contract with Plumas, if we end Plumas County’s contract, we also end Sierra County’s contract.

Please speak out against this cruel program and ask elected officials to drop the Wildlife Services contract from both Plumas and Sierra Counties’ Fiscal Year 2021/22 budgets and replace it with a non-lethal local program.

We’re asking everyone in California to speak up because Wildlife Services is a federal program using your tax dollars to kill your wildlife!

Here’s how you can help:

PLUMAS/SIERRA COUNTIES RESIDENTS: You have two ways to speak up—and we urge you to do both. Use the talking points below and personalize for greater impact.

1. Testify at upcoming public hearings (and remember to stay within the three-minute limit):

Plumas County Board of Supervisors: Meets at 10am PT on June 8 and June 15. You can speak during open public comment at the beginning of the meeting at either or both of these meetings. Phone access is recommended.

Link to listen and speak or call: 1-669-900-9128
Meeting ID: 948 7586 7850
Passcode: 261352
Raise your hand: dial *9 Mute/ unmute your line: dial *6

Sierra County Board of Supervisors: Meets June 15. You can speak during open public comment at the beginning of the meeting. The public may observe and provide public comments by using the WebEx options below:

By Phone: 1-408-418-9388
Access Code: 187 771 2061

By PC: https://tinyurl.com/060121BOS
Access Code: 187 771 2061

2. Email the Counties’ Boards of Supervisors directly:

Plumas County Board of Supervisors: ceresolasuper1@yahoo.com, kevingoss@countyofplumas.com, sharonthrall@countyofplumas.com, jeffengel@countyofplumas.com, greghagwood@countyofplumas.com

cc:  public@countyofplumas.com

Sierra County Board of Supervisors: supervisor1@sierracounty.ca.gov, tleblanc@sierracounty.ca.gov, sdryden@sierracounty.ca.gov, phuebner@sierracounty.ca.gov, supervisor3@sierracounty.ca.gov

cc: hfoster@sierracounty.ca.gov

3. Write a Letter to the Editor (learn how here):Send your letter to to Debra Moore at PlumasNews.com (dmoore@plumasnews.com) or Jan Buck at the Sierra Booster (jbuck@psln.com).

ALL CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS:  Email both counties’ Boards of Supervisors and:

1. Ask that they terminate Plumas/Sierra Counties’ contract with the USDA Wildlife Services and its lethal Integrated Wildlife Damage Management (IWDM) Program;

2. Ask that they replace the Wildlife Services contract with a new non-lethal program to be administered locally; and

3. Let them know that you visit Plumas and Sierra Counties to enjoy and coexist with wildlife.

4. Share the infographic above on social media ~ and encourage friends and family to take action on this issue by sharing this link to this action alert!

Ask your friends and family in California—especially those in Plumas and Sierra Counties—to submit written comments by sharing this alert through social media. You can use this link or click on the Share buttons in the alert.

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Talking Points:

• • Every year for nearly nine decades, Wildlife Services has killed thousands of wild animals with traps, guns, and other cruel methods, largely at the behest of private ranchers and other agricultural interests. This flies in the face of the Public Trust Doctrine which maintains that wildlife is held in the public trust and that we all have a say in how our wildlife is treated.
  • Non-target species—including imperiled wildlife and domestic dogs and cats—fall victim to Wildlife Services’ lethal approach. One Mendocino federal trapper admitted to killing more than 400 dogs. Many non-target kills are not reported.
  • Protected wolves have been killed “incidentally” by Wildlife Services programs, impeding wolf recovery.
  • Plumas/Sierra Counties have not conducted any environmental review for the IWDM program, as required by the CA Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
  • California residents do not want their taxpayer dollars spent on an expensive and ineffective program that cruelly and needlessly kills wild animals, as evidenced by past public comment periods that overwhelmingly oppose Wildlife Services operations across the state.
  • Mountain lions, bears, coyotes, bobcats, and other species targeted by Wildlife Services are ecologically vital species. The site-specific and cumulative impacts of their removal on ecosystem health can be profound.
  • The best available scientific research shows that killing wildlife to reduce predation on livestock or damage to crops is rarely necessary and sometimes counterproductive. More info here.
  • Ethics tell us that this needless killing of ecologically important wildlife is wrong.
  • Many cost-effective non-lethal methods of addressing human-wildlife conflicts exist. More information 

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Thank you for helping protect California’s wildlife!

Michelle Lute, PhD
National Carnivore Conservation Manager

PLEASE SHARE THIS ALERT WITH OTHER CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS!