A California Senate bill that could eventually lead to the return of grizzly bears to the state faces a hearing in the Appropriations Committee on Thursday, May 14th.
Senate Bill 1305, introduced by Senator Richardson and titled the California Grizzly Restoration Recovery Assessment Act, would require the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop a public roadmap evaluating whether reintroduction of the grizzly bear is feasible and advisable. The department would have until June 30th, 2030 to submit that roadmap to relevant legislative committees, the Legislative Analyst’s Office, and the Fish and Game Commission.
Grizzly bears were completely wiped out in California by 1924 following widespread killing by settlers, miners, ranchers, and government agents after the Gold Rush. The species remains the official state animal and appears on the California state flag.
The bill notes that recent genomic research has established that California’s historical grizzly bears were not a distinct subspecies, but part of the broader North American grizzly bear population currently found across Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Washington, and much of western Canada. That finding provides a potential source population for any future reintroduction effort.
The roadmap required under the bill would need to include habitat assessments, population modeling, consultation with California Native American tribes, independent peer review, conflict prevention protocols, and cost estimates. The bill places particular emphasis on tribal engagement, recognizing the grizzly bear’s cultural and spiritual significance to many indigenous communities throughout the state.
Actual reintroduction would be prohibited until a long list of conditions are met, including a scientific determination that a self-sustaining population is biologically viable, adoption of human-wildlife coexistence standards, livestock loss compensation measures, and formal regulations governing when the taking of grizzly bears could be authorized.
The bill does not mandate reintroduction. It mandates a study and a roadmap that would inform any future decision by the Legislature. SB 1305 is authored by Senator Richardson and co-authored by Senators Blakespear, Stern, and Pierson.
