A bill that would provide state money to compensate ranchers for direct and indirect losses of livestock to Mexican wolves received unanimous support from the Senate Conservation Committee on Tuesday and an identical one passed the House Agriculture, Acequias and Water Resources Committee.
SB 26 and HB 164 would appropriate $9 million to an existing fund to compensate ranchers for livestock killed by Mexican wolves. It specifies that the available federal funding must be used prior to dipping into the state funds. It also requires that the New Mexico Department of Agriculture determine or confirm that wolves killed the livestock and that the amount ranchers receive be based on fair market values, which are determined quarterly by New Mexico State University.
The legislation would lead to a contract with the County Livestock Loss Authority that was formed by Sierra, Socorro and Catron counties. That authority receives, reviews, and administers compensation claims from individual ranchers.
SB 26 is sponsored by Sen. Crystal Diamond Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, along with Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview, and Sen. Siah Correa Hemphill, D-Silver City.
HB 164 is sponsored by Reps. Gail Armstrong, R-Magdalena, Luis Terrazas, R-Santa Clara, Jenifer Jones, R-Deming, and Tara Jaramillo, D-Socorro.
“This bill is about fairness,” Armstrong said. “This bill is about conflict avoidance. And this bill is about knowing that the Mexican gray wolf is not going away, and trying to find a way where we can live with them instead of fighting it all the time. We know they’re here to stay.”
Brantley said when the wolf was first introduced, the Defenders of Wildlife had a similar payment process, but she said it has never been properly funded.
“After all federal resources have been exhausted, this will provide some sort of relief to producers that are impacted the most,” Brantley said.
While Defenders of Wildlife, which oversaw the compensation program from 1998 until 2012, opposed the bill, Bryan Bird, the organization’s southwest program director, said that the advocacy group believes the state should pay into the compensation fund.
“It’s really important, as was referenced by Senator Brantley, that the state step up and put some so-called skin in this game,” he said.
He said Defenders of Wildlife believes that a compensation program is part of a successful Mexican wolf recovery effort and he said that the organization is happy to see legislation introduced that would put state resources toward that task, but he said the bill needs amendments that add in accountability.
One such amendment he suggested would be to add in a formula that requires ranchers to show that they are using good livestock husbandry practices that reduce the likelihood of losses to wolves or other predators.
He said Defenders of Wildlife specializes in such initiatives and spends a significant amount of its resources to help ranchers implement livestock loss reduction measures.
Additionally, he said the funding should help ranchers pay for livestock loss reduction measures such as livestock guardian dogs or range riders.
Bird also noted that losses to wolves represent a small fraction of cattle losses.
Correa Hemphill said the federal delegation is also working on improving compensation to ranchers who have lost livestock to Mexican wolves.
“But in the meantime, we in New Mexico can take the lead on this and serve as a model for a program that really works for coexistence,” she said.
According to the fiscal impact report, there were 103 confirmed and probable livestock killed by Mexican wolves in New Mexico in 2023.
Some of the questions with the bill include how the indirect losses—such as reduced reproductive successes—would be determined and why it is focused on three counties instead of statewide.
“It’s not just paying because a rancher is missing a cow,” Armstrong said in response to questions about the indirect losses. She said that would need to be proved.
Armstrong said the focus on three counties is because that is where the majority of wolves are found, though she said it could be expanded.
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