Defenders Pays $17,219 in Grizzly Bear Compensation During 2003

(02/05/2004) - MISSOULA, Mont. - Defenders of Wildlife today announced that it paid $17,219 in 2003 to ranchers for livestock losses caused by grizzly bears in the Northern Rockies.  Defenders also has paid more than $130,046 to date for cost-share projects with ranchers and private landowners that will reduce conflicts with grizzly bears in the region, under The Bailey Wildlife Foundation Proactive Carnivore Conservation program.

Payments for 2003 from The Bailey Wildlife Foundation Grizzly Compensation Trust were somewhat higher than the yearly average of $15,164, but Defenders' Northern Rockies Field Representative Minette Johnson said she did not consider it an unusual year.

"The good news is that grizzly bears are expanding their ranges and numbers outside of protected areas like national parks and national forests. As they do so, it is likely that they will come into conflict with livestock. Cultivating landowner tolerance by promptly compensating producers for verified livestock losses is crucial to bear recovery." said Johnson.

See Grizzly Compensation Trust for maps and other details on grizzly compensation from July 1997 through December 2003.

Livestock losses to grizzly bears over the seven year period average just 17 cattle and 18 sheep a year. Compensation payments for grizzly bear damage increased from a record low of $10,679 in 2002.  Defenders has now paid a total of $98,173 for 134 grizzly depredation incidents since 1997.

Defenders also works to reduce the number of conflicts overall in grizzly habitat, through The Bailey Wildlife Foundation Proactive Carnivore Conservation program. This innovative approach uses cost-share agreements with private landowners to do projects to prevent problems with large carnivores. Projects include electric fencing to create secure calving grounds, sheep bedding grounds and beeyards; bear-resistant dumpsters; aversive conditioning techniques like use of Karelian bear dogs; and retirement of grazing allotments in key grizzly bear habitat. Since its creation, Defenders has provided more than $130,046 for pro-active projects that directly benefit bears.

See Proactive Carnivore Conservation Fund  for more information on The Bailey Wildlife Foundation Proactive Carnivore Conservation program.

"These compensation and proactive conservation programs are among the most important things we can do for grizzlies and wolves in the West. While overall livestock losses may be small, individual ranchers feel the sting when it's their sheep or cattle. These initiatives help prevent problems in the first place, and compensate people when they do occur," said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife.

Since 1987 Defenders has offered compensation for livestock losses caused by wolves in the northern Rockies, and has paid more than 337,000 to 282 ranchers during that time. In 1997, Defenders assumed responsibility for the grizzly compensation program that had been administered by the Great Bear Foundation. Defenders expanded the program to cover the entire Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, including Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness area, surrounding national forests, and the Blackfeet and Flathead Indian Reservations. In 1999 the program was further enlarged to include the Yellowstone Ecosystem in Montana and Idaho. The state of Wyoming has its own compensation program.

Here's how Defenders' grizzly bear program works.  If a rancher believes a grizzly bear has killed livestock, he or she notifies the appropriate state, tribal or federal agency. A trained specialist, usually on the scene within 24 hours, investigates to determine if wolves or grizzly bears were responsible for the death of the livestock.  They rely on necropsy techniques and the presence of tracks, hair or scat to determine what predator species, if any, is responsible. If the investigator verifies that grizzly bears killed livestock, he or she sends a report to Defenders of Wildlife.

A Defenders staff member from the region then calls the rancher to discuss the incident, explain our compensation program and agree on a payment amount.  In nine cases out of ten, Defenders of Wildlife pays what the livestock producer suggests. In case of a difference of opinion, the program relies on county extension agents to determine fair market value, but that rarely happens. Defenders tries to send a check to the rancher within two weeks of receiving verification of a livestock loss.

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Defenders of Wildlife is one of the nation's most progressive advocates for wildlife and habitat, and was named as one of America's Top 100 Charities by Worth magazine. With more than 450,000 members and supporters, Defenders is an effective voice for wildlife and habitat. To learn more about Defenders of Wildlife, please visit www.defenders.org.

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Contact(s):

Brad DeVries, (202) 772-0237
Minette Johnson, (406) 549-4103