Siskiyou County finds itself at ground zero of national predator policy debate while elementary students shelter inside
MONTAGUE – While Congress debated the fate of gray wolves in Washington D.C. last week, the Whaleback Pack was making its own aggressive moves on the ground here in Siskiyou County—forcing Little Shasta Elementary to keep students indoors and prompting county officials to declare a local emergency.
The U.S. House voted along party lines Tuesday to begin formal debate on legislation that would strip Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves nationwide, a move that would return management authority to states and tribes. The vote, largely symbolic as the measure faces steep odds in the Senate, nonetheless signals growing political will to address what rural Western counties have been screaming about for years: recovered wolf populations are no longer theoretical—they’re stalking schoolyards.
