A win for producers in northern California, impacted by the increasing conflict with wolves. The CDFW has announced expanding the Wolf-Livestock compensation plan to include indirect costs. When the director of CDFW, Chuck Bonham, attended the LAssen County Board of Supervisors meeting last month, he made the promise that producers would see more in the way of paying for cattle loss due to wolf kills as last years state budget allocated 3 million in funding for the pilot program.
Adding a third prong to the compensation plan, ranchers with livestock operations in known wolf pack territories in northern California who suffered indirect losses from September 23rd of 2021 can apply for compensation. This includes Livestock production losses associated with wolf-induced stress, which may include reduced calf weight gains and lower pregnancy rates.
Ranchers have since been able to apply for two prongs of the program: fair market value compensation for confirmed and probable livestock loss due to wolf attacks and funding for deploying non-lethal deterrents to reduce wolf presence near livestock.
To date, CDFW has processed 41 applications seeking over $750,000 in compensation under both prongs of the program. CDFW has approved all 41 applications and is in the process of paying out those funds.
CDFW Director Bonham says, “Through our own growing management experience and learning from other states, we recognize that wolves may have both direct and indirect economic impacts on ranchers in areas where resident wolf packs are present in California,” Bonham added the department would continue to work with producers to understand wolf-livestock interactions better.
Ranchers seeking assistance applying for these state funds can email the CDFW at [email protected].
To learn more about wolves in the state and the CDFW compensation plan, you can visit the CDFW Gray Wolf Page.
