Grant to Study Livestock Predators

Grant to Study Livestock Predators

Maura Bennett
Maura Bennett

A large coalition of landowners and conservationists has landed a nearly $900,000 grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service to study ways to reduce the financial and social burden of predator populations on livestock.

The coalition is made up of 20 organizations and tribal nations across seven states led by the Western Landowners Alliance. They’ll consider new ideas as well as ongoing practices that reduce agricultural conflict with predators like bears and wolves.

On the heels of the passage of Colorado’s Proposition 114, the 3-year study could bring innovations for the state’s voter-mandated wolf reintroduction plan.

Alex Few, Western Landowners Alliance's Working Wild Challenge program coordinator says beginning in 2021, the coalition will work to increase adoption of the most effective practices, possibly; electric fencing, range riding, carcass removal, and others.

And the program will develop resources to share information with other states.

Few: “In places where people are experimenting with these practices, we’d love to talk with them and see if there are ways to incorporate what they are learning into this study. Beyond that, this is just really important work because similar to what you just experienced with the ballot initiative in Colorado, wildlife is a public resource and this is a way to ultimately generate public support for the wildlife habitat that’s being provided by ranchers and farmers.”

The coalition’s work will also help determine which practices are eligible for dedicated conservation cost-share funding from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

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