Ranchers repeatedly stress they are not advocating extermination of the wolves, but workable management solutions.
“We’re trying to be conservationists,” says Luke Morgan, Lightning Bolt Cattle Co. general manager. “Wolves are here to stay. We’ve got to have some tools to make it more holistic for people, wolves and the rest of the animals.”
Morgan manages 2,500 mother cows on multiple locations in Oregon and Washington utilizing both public and private lands. He says the split listing of wolves in Oregon is frustrating: “A line down the middle … federally listed on one side and not on the other … makes zero sense.”
Read more about the challenges rancher are facing with wolves:
Nightly Battles and Big Losses: Ranchers Demand Reform as Wolves Continue to Wreak Havoc
Rick Roberti, California Cattlemen’s Association president and a cattle rancher in Sierra Valley, adds: “We don’t want to get rid of all the wolves. We just want them managed in a way we don’t suffer so many losses — for them to return to their natural habitat.”
Cattle producer Amy Anderson Fitzpatrick says her family has been dealing with wolves since 2011. Her family raises cattle in southern Oregon during the grazing season (May to December), then move the herd to winter in Northern California. The base ranch, called Rancheria Ranch, is in the mountains of Oregon and is a mix of owned land and permitted grazing.
Fitzpatrick explains state and federal laws severely limit ranchers’ ability to defend their livestock; only nonlethal hazing is allowed, and requests to remove or euthanize problematic wolves have been denied.
Here are two requests from the producers dealing with wolves:
1. Coexistence management tools.
This would allow flexible, rapid deployment of nonlethal and, when needed, targeted lethal tools to address habituated wolves near people and livestock.
“They have zero fear of humans,” Morgan says. “If we could instill a little fear, push them back into wilderness areas and keep them more of a wild animal.”
He suggests seasonal, expedited permits and field-response teams during calving; prioritize high-risk allotments and pastures.
Fitzpatrick adds: “Our wolves are not scared of us, because why should they be?”
2. Notification and data transparency for risk management.
Roberti requests for more notification and data sharing regarding wolves. He says with collared wolves, agencies can tell ranchers when wolves enter their property, but he says: “We’ve been getting the reports after the kill.”
He would also like to know how many wolves there are and would like to see a deer survey done.
“If there’s not enough prey, you’re pretty much saying they’re going to eat cattle,” Roberti says.
Fitzpatrick expresses frustration with public perception and how the pro-wolf sentiment on social media downplays or ignores ranchers’ struggles with the predators.
Despite the ongoing hardships, Fitzpatrick says her family remains committed to ranching while calling for a level playing field that would allow effective protection of their livelihood.
Paul Roen, a Sierra County rancher, adds unified, more flexible regulations and continued collaboration between local, state and federal agencies is needed. He advocates for policy reform, increased documentation and knowledge-sharing to better equip rural communities to manage the realities of coexisting with wolves.
Roberti summarizes that sensible management policies will allow both wolves and ranchers to coexist, but he stresses that unless balance is restored and ranchers’ voices are heard, both the rural way of life and broader ecosystem could face severe consequences.
Your Next Read: Nightly Battles and Big Losses: Ranchers Demand Reform as Wolves Continue to Wreak Havoc
