SAN FRANCISCO— A new California Department of Fish and Wildlife report found that of the $3 million set aside in 2021 as part of a pilot program to compensate livestock owners for wolf-related expenses, nearly two-thirds of the funding went towards nonlethal measures.

“I’m pleased that most funds went to reimburse livestock owners for using non-lethal conflict-prevention measures that are good for both ranchers and wolves,” said Amaroq Weiss, a senior wolf advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Other states should take note. California’s use of these modern methods before conflicts arise is far more effective than Oregon’s or Idaho’s archaic and pointless practice of killing precious wolves.”

The report was issued late on Thursday.

The three-year pilot program, funded in 2021 with a $3 million allocation by the state legislature, had three prongs. It compensated livestock owners for direct wolf-caused livestock losses, reimbursed them for proactive nonlethal conflict-prevention measures used to deter conflicts with wolves, and paid a formula-derived amount to those livestock owners grazing in known wolf territory.

The summary report indicates that 109 grants were issued to 36 livestock operators across four counties inhabited by six different wolf packs.

Of the total $3 million allocated for the program, nearly $1.92 million (64%) was paid as reimbursement for nonlethal measures, $135,044 (4.5%) was paid for direct wolf-caused losses including deaths or injury to livestock and $945,131 (31.5%) was paid for livestock owners grazing their livestock in known wolf territory.

The department reported earlier this year that the fund was highly popular with livestock owners. Thursday’s report was accompanied by confirmation that the funds had been entirely used up by March 8, 2024.

“I urge the department to prepare a follow-up report that identifies lessons learned and how the program can be improved,” said Weiss. “It could make sure, for instance, that the reimbursed nonlethal measures were appropriate for the particular ranching operation and that anyone compensated for direct losses didn’t get money for subsequent losses unless they started using nonlethal conflict prevention measures. This would tell us whether the program operated as effectively as it could and, if not, what changes are needed.”

Background

The first wolf in nearly a century to make California part of his range was OR-7, a radio-collared wolf from Oregon that entered California in late 2011. OR-7 traveled across seven northeastern counties in California before returning to southwestern Oregon, where he found a mate and settled down, forming the Rogue pack.

Several of OR-7’s offspring have since come to California and established packs. Those include the original breeding male of the Lassen pack and the breeding female of the Yowlumni pack residing in Tulare County. The Shasta pack, California’s first confirmed wolf pack in nearly 100 years, was discovered in 2015 but disappeared a few months later. As of late 2023, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife had confirmed the current presence of seven different wolf packs in the state and a handful of lone wolves or groups of wolves.

The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is native to California but was driven to extinction in the state by the mid-1920s. After OR-7 left Oregon for California, the Center and allies successfully petitioned the state to fully protect wolves under California’s endangered species act. Wolves are also federally protected in California under the federal Endangered Species Act. It is illegal to intentionally kill any wolves in the state.