Union County will receive $101,832 to compensate ranchers for wolf losses, protect livestock
LA GRANDE — The Oregon Department of Agriculture has notified Union County that it will receive a 2024 Wolf Depredation Grant of $101,832, one which the Union County Board of Commissioners voted to accept on Wednesday, May 1.
A portion of the money will compensate Union County livestock producers for animals that were killed or injured by wolves and help ranchers get the funding they need for non-lethal means of protecting their livestock from the predator. The Oregon Department of Agriculture has been providing Union County funding to Union County ranchers for these purposes for at least eight years.
This year, however, the state is also providing compensation for missing livestock believed to have been killed by wolves. The funding for missing livestock has been provided before by the Oregon Department of Agriculture but Union County has not received it until now.
“We have applied for this funding before but this is the first time we received it for missing livestock," said Union County Administrative Officer Shelley Burgess.
Union County ranchers will receive $26,982 in compensation for livestock that are missing because there is evidence indicating that the animals were killed by wolves, Burgess said. This funding will go to Bar V Cattle Co. and ranchers Darren Hansen, of Union, and Brent Thompson, of Union County. The Bar V Cattle Co., Hansen and Thompson reported that a total of 30 of their calves and cows went missing in 2023 because they were believed to be killed by wolves, Burgess said.
To qualify for compensation for livestock that went missing because of suspected wolf attacks, one must be raising their animals in an area with a high number of wolves and be able to show that their losses over the past year were higher than average. There also must have been at least one confirmed livestock death due to a wolf attack in the past year, said Union County Commissioner Donna Beverage.
The Wolf Depredation Grant will also provide $14,850 to five Union County livestock producers who had a total of 10 cows and calves killed or injured by wolves plus a dog that was injured by a wolf attack. The five producers are Terry Anderson, D and E Cattle LLC, Bar V Cattle Co., Ryan Fite and Coleman Lay.
The recipients of the grant funding for livestock missing because of likely wolf attacks was determined based upon input from the Union County Wolf Advisory Committee, which made recommendations to the Union County Board of Commissioners. The advisory committee made its recommendations after evaluating applications submitted by livestock producers.
Non-lethal protection
A total of $60,000 of the Oregon Department of Agriculture grant Union County will receive will help livestock producers get the funding they need to use non-lethal strategies. Ranchers in the past have used this funding to hire extra range riders and purchase noise makers, additional fencing and lighting. The recipients of the $60,000 for non-lethal strategies will be determined later.
The $101,832 in total funding Union County is set to receive, Burgess said, will be the most it has ever received from the Oregon Department of Agriculture Wolf Depredation Grant program. Union County Commissioner Donna Beverage said she is happy for the funding, noting that it is needed because Union County has about one third of Oregon’s wolves.
“This is a problem I wish we did not have, but we do and we need to address it," she said. “We received more money than we were expecting and I am thankful for that."
