Posted June 20, 2014
California
Farm Bureau Federation (CFBF) and California Cattlemen’s Associations (CCA)
leaders have decided to remain involved with the wolf management plan, despite
their beliefs the wolf’s listing takes away options for protecting livestock,
according to a Capital Press article by Tim Hearden available here.
The Dallas Chronicle also published an article available here
and KCET here.
Noelle Cremers, the CFBF’s natural resources and commodities
director, said that she has known that there was a chance the wolf could be
given protections under the California Endangered Species Act.
“I have always believed that what is best for livestock
producers is also better for wolves, so if livestock producers have a broad set
of tools at their disposal to protect their livestock, that will help train
wolves to stay away from livestock,” Cremers said. “They are better off in
wilderness areas where they’ll have no interaction with human activities.”
Maupin rancher Keith Nantz, president of the North Central
Livestock Association, and Dufur Gap Road rancher Mike Filbin, one of the
largest cattlemen in Wasco County, are seated on the committee, according to
the Dallas
Chronicle.
“This
state needs to allow more flexible management of wolves,” said Nantz. “We are
not against wolves but right now there’s no middle ground and no balance.
Wolves are propagating and doing whatever they want and we need to make sure
that our ranchers are compensated fairly for losses.”
In February, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife recommended
against a vote to list the wolf, according to KCET.
The 3-1 vote took place shortly after two biologists with
the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed the presence of two wolf
pups in an area that previously had not been bred in decades.
For more information on environmental law, please visit the
National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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