After a lone gray wolf from Idaho’s experimental population entered Oregon back in 1999, gray wolves have continued to disperse into Oregon from Idaho and have established breeding populations. Livestock producers have been affected financially due to direct losses of livestock from wolf depredations.
House Bill (HB) 3560 went into effect in 2011, which directed the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) to establish and implement a wolf depredation compensation and financial assistance grant program. Funds from this grant program are awarded to counties to help create and implement county wolf depredation compensation programs under which:
- Compensation is paid to persons who suffer loss or injury to livestock or working dogs due to wolf depredation.
- Financial assistance is provided to persons who implement livestock management techniques or nonlethal wolf deterrence techniques designed to discourage wolf depredation of livestock.
- Awards are paid to counties with a wolf depredation compensation program to help with implementation and administrative costs.
ODA's Wolf Depredation Compensation and Financial Assistance Grant Program complements and supports Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife's Wolf Conservation and Management Plan in the area of developing and maintaining a cooperative livestock producer assistance program that proactively minimizes wolf-livestock conflict and assists livestock producers experiencing wolf-related livestock losses.
2024 county grant application materials
Resources
2019-2023 Report
ODA report covering biennia 2019-2021 and 2021-2023. This report provides an overview of the efforts and outcomes of the program aimed at mitigating the impact of wolf depredation on livestock owners. Report