By Tom Knudson | Sacramento Bee

Last year, a team of scientists reported that the wolverine — a chocolate-brown weasel the size of a border collie but as vicious as a grizzly bear — had apparently vanished from the Sierra long ago, squeezed out by human activity.

Now one has been found in the Tahoe National Forest north of Truckee. The sighting, captured by a graduate student's remote control camera at a rustic field station, could have widespread implications for future land-use decisions ranging from logging to ski-resort expansion in the fast-growing Truckee region.

Coincidentally, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently reviewing whether to place the wolverine on the endangered species list — a decision that could lead to a new round of spotted owl-style development conflicts.

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