Photo credit: CDFWCALIFORNIA — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced December 29 that it will use helicopters to capture and GPS-collar deer, elk, and wolves in Northern California.
These efforts are part of ongoing conservation programs. They focus on protecting species and reducing conflicts with humans and livestock.
Deer and elk will be captured by helicopter across select areas of Alameda, Colusa, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Santa Clara, Sierra, Siskiyou, and Tehama counties during January 2026.
Collaring mule deer, tule and Rocky Mountain elk provides CDFW with data on distribution, habitat use, abundance, migration, recruitment, and survival.
Wolf collars will send daily data for three years
Teams will target wolves in Siskiyou, Lassen, and Tehama counties, and other uncollared packs in Modoc, Shasta, and Plumas counties. Wolves will be returned to nearby suitable public land after processing.
Collars will send daily data on movements, habitat use, and locations for up to three years, visible on CDFW’s Wolf Tracker.
While the data is updated daily, it is not real-time. CDFW will also share locations with livestock producers to help reduce conflicts.
Wildlife capture operations will occur on CDFW, USDA Forest Service, and BLM lands, as well as on private property with landowner permission.
The department previously captured and fitted 12 gray wolves with GPS collars in Siskiyou, Plumas and Lassen counties in January 2025.
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 announced December 29 that it will use helicopters to capture and GPS-collar deer, elk, and wolves in Northern California.){kind=link}