By Dean Maddox, Public Safety & Crime Reporter

California Senate Democrats voted 29-9 on May 29 to advance Senate Bill 1305, advancing plans that could eventually lead to the reintroduction of grizzly bears across the state. Authored by Sen. Laura Richardson (D-San Pedro) and backed by Democratic colleagues, the bill directs the Department of Fish and Wildlife to develop a roadmap by 2030 for restoring the California grizzly. The animals have been extinct in the state since 1924.

Before the Gold Rush, an estimated 10,000 grizzlies roamed California, from the Sierra Nevada to coastal areas and even the Los Angeles region. Environmental groups like the California Grizzly Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity have long pushed for their return. Feasibility studies suggest the state could eventually support around 1,200 or more under ideal conditions. Supporters, including some Native American tribes, call it ecological restoration and cultural reconnection.

But critics say unleashing these massive, aggressive predators on modern California is reckless.

Grizzlies can top 1,000 pounds, roam dozens of miles, and are far more aggressive and predatory than the black bears already causing headaches statewide. They have been linked to serious human encounters, livestock kills, and defensive attacks in places like Yellowstone. In a state of 39 million people, with busy highways, fragmented habitats, and growing rural communities, the risks to hikers, families, campers, and ranchers are obvious.

Northern California ranchers already fight losses from black bears and wolves. Adding grizzlies would hammer family operations on thin margins. Rural lawmakers like Assemblymember Heather Hadwick warn the state cannot handle current predators, let alone reintroduce a more dangerous one. The irony is not lost on folks: a senator from the LA area championing bears that will not be roaming her district.

The Senate vote fell mostly along party lines, with Democrats driving the effort despite strong opposition from the areas that would actually deal with the consequences. Previous Sacramento Daily Press reporting highlighted how coastal liberals romanticize the idea while working Californians would bear the safety risks and economic pain.

The bill now moves to the Assembly. If it keeps going, it could set the stage for actual grizzly releases. Ten thousand-style dreams or not, this push is happening in a California that looks nothing like the empty wilds of the 1800s.