California Awards $2 Million to Help Ranchers Facing Wolf Losses
Gray wolves continue to reshape ranching in parts of California, and the state is putting another $2 million toward helping producers deal with the growing challenge.
According to an Ag Alert report from the California Farm Bureau, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has awarded $1.1 million to the California Farm Bureau's California Bountiful Foundation to reimburse ranchers for confirmed or probable wolf attacks on livestock. The remaining funding will support outreach and education through three organizations working in affected regions.
State officials first launched a wolf-livestock compensation program in 2021, and since then, more than $3.6 million has been paid to impacted producers. But California Farm Bureau's Steven Fenaroli says the current funding is really just enough to "keep the lights on," adding that, because wolves are protected, producers have few options when livestock are lost.
California now has 12 confirmed wolf packs. After 196 confirmed livestock kills in 2025, there were already 26 confirmed livestock deaths from January through March of this year.
Many ranchers say compensation helps, but they're also asking for additional tools to protect their livestock and more long-term support as wolf populations continue to expand.
