WHEREAS, The year 2024 marks the centennial of the 1924 extirpation of the grizzly bear in California; and

WHEREAS, California grizzly bears coexisted with the ancestors of contemporary California Native American Tribes for thousands of years, as evidenced by hundreds of archaeologically documented, grizzly-related artifacts, including the Chipped Stone Bear from San Diego County, which was crafted over 7,000 years ago, was recognized as the California State Prehistoric Artifact in 1991, and is a testament to the long-held connections between California Native American Tribes and the California grizzly; and

WHEREAS, The grizzly bear is an honored, vital, and revered relative for many California Native American Tribes and cultures across the state; and

WHEREAS, The grizzly has complex and unique social, cultural, religious, and spiritual significance to many California Native American Tribes, communities, lineages, and individuals; and

WHEREAS, An estimated 10,000 grizzly bears inhabited California at the time of European settlement, which was approximately one-fifth of the grizzlies in the lower 48 states; and

WHEREAS, Grizzly bears roamed throughout the state of California, from its coastlines to its valleys, forests, foothills, and high mountains; and

WHEREAS, Grizzly bears in California were a keystone species, playing important ecological roles, including seed dispersal, soil aeration and creation, nutrient cycling, scavenging, prey regulation, and influencing the behavior of other animals in ways that shaped and maintained ecosystem health and biodiversity; and

WHEREAS, The loss of these crucial ecological functions has reduced the richness, integrity, resiliency, and overall health of California’s ecosystems; and

WHEREAS, Over 100 landforms across California bear the name “grizzly,” while hundreds of additional English, Spanish, and Native Californian place names reference the species, attesting to the immense significance and range the bear once had in the state; and

WHEREAS, The grizzly bear has been an important symbol of California since the state’s inception. The species adorned the flag of the California Republic in 1846, was featured prominently on the Great Seal of the State of California in 1849, was officially adopted onto the state’s flag in 1911, and was declared by the Legislature to be the official California State Animal in 1953; and

WHEREAS, The grizzly is celebrated as the name and mascot for California’s leading public universities, including the University of California, Berkeley (the California Golden Bears), the University of California, Los Angeles (the UCLA Bruins), and the University of California, Riverside (Scotty the Bear); and

WHEREAS, Persecution by humans following the Gold Rush resulted in a rapid decline of the grizzly bear in California, ultimately leading to their complete elimination; and

WHEREAS, The last reliable observation of a wild grizzly bear in the state was of a single bear spotted by a road crew in Sequoia National Park in the spring of 1924; and

WHEREAS, The elimination of grizzly bears from California has had profound negative effects on the state, its people, and its ecosystems, and represents a momentous species extirpation in the state’s history; and

WHEREAS, The story of the loss of the California grizzly is not unique, as other species native to California, such as the gray wolf, Mexican wolf, wolverine, and jaguar, were also extirpated in the state in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; and

WHEREAS, While gray wolves returned to California in 2011 on their own volition and have since established several packs, and individual wolverines have appeared in the state in 2008 and in 2023, grizzly bears and jaguars are unlikely to return to California absent human intervention; and

WHEREAS, Numerous other iconic species such as the California condor, tule elk, humpback whale, southern sea otter, northern elephant seal, and the North American beaver were driven close to extirpation in the state, but are recovering through the concerted efforts of federal, state, tribal, local, and community partners; and

WHEREAS, California is a global leader in biodiversity science and conservation, with its Constitution and existing laws mandating the preservation and restoration of public trust wildlife species; and

WHEREAS, The disappearance of grizzly bears has robbed Californians of opportunities to learn from and be inspired by wild nature, and to receive the economic benefits of healthy ecosystems shaped by its largest terrestrial mammal; and

WHEREAS, It is the policy of the state to maintain and restore healthy natural ecosystems that sustain our communities, support our economy, provide for our recreation, and anchor our history, culture, and traditions, and to also repair the historic wrongs done to wildlife, nature, and Indigenous peoples by past generations; and

WHEREAS, One hundred years after its disappearance from the state, the California grizzly remains an enduring and iconic symbol of California’s natural and cultural heritage, celebrated as a reflection of strength, courage, wisdom, health, and resilience, and serving not just as a symbol of what we have lost in our past, but also of what we have learned and can accomplish in the future; now, therefore, be it