OLYMPIA — A Republican senator said wolves are whipping ranchers, pushing back against a wildlife advocate who told legislators Monday the main causes of livestock losses include climate change but not wolves.

Washington Wildlife First science and advocacy director Francisco Santiago-Avila said wolves are responsible for relatively few livestock losses compared to climate-change events, such as extreme weather and droughts.

He urged the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee to block a bill to increase compensation to ranchers for wolf-related losses, arguing it could redirect state funds from other wolf programs.

Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, said ranchers have had to relocate cattle and have suffered loses the Department of Fish and Wildlife hasn’t recognized.

“For those of us who know which end of the cow to put the hay in, this is not new and it’s easily documented,” he said.

“We’re getting our butts kicked by wolves, and these producers need protection — real protection, not excuses of climate change,” Schoelser said.

Payment changes

Senate Bill 5171, introduced by Sen. Shelly Short, R-Addy, would make two changes to the Fish and Wildlife’s compensation program.

Ranchers could file claim for cattle that die for unexplained reasons in wolf pack territories. Fish and Wildlife currently pays for cattle obviously killed by wolves. In some cases, scavengers eat signs of wolf attacks.

Ranchers can also file claims for missing cattle, underweight calves and low pregnancy rates among cows. To document losses, ranchers must submit records from the previous three years.

SB 5171 would base losses by calf weights, pregnancy rates and the number of missing cattle before wolves moved into the area. “I want something more reflective of the challenges our ranchers face, especially in northeast Washington,” Short said.

Santiago-Avila said the approach may exaggerate the impact of wolves. “We think this has a very high risk of mistakenly attributing any increases in losses to wolves,” he said.

Cost concerns

Fish and Wildlife wildlife program director Mick Cope said the department is concerned documenting losses before wolves were in an area would be difficult. Wolves have been in some places for more than 15 years.

“Our experience is sometimes documentation is hard to come by, even for the most recent three years,” Cope said.

He also said the department was concerned the bill would increase compensation due ranchers beyond the $50,000 a year the Legislature has appropriated.

In 2023, the most recent year for which figures are available, Fish and Wildlife spent $1.6 million on wolf management, including $28,596 it paid to ranchers for wolf-related losses.

Fish and Wildlife said just implementing Short’s bill would cost $1.2 million over two years — before paying out any additional compensation.

Fish and Wildlife said it would hire two more wildlife biologists to investigate reports of dead cattle. Each biologist would be paid $82,512 a year. A manager to handle claims would be paid $88,800 a year.

Other expenses include an administrative assistant, equipment, travel and department overhead, according to a fiscal analysis by Fish and Wildlife.

Conservation Northwest conservation director Paula Swedeen testified for the bill. A good compensation program is important for wolves and livestock to coexist, she said.

“We don’t think a rancher should take it in the shorts to have a healthy wolf population,” she said.