Defenders' Experts
Background on Defenders of Wildlife Wolf Compensation Trust
In 1987, Defenders of Wildlife created a $100,000 fund to compensate ranchers in the U.S. northern Rockies for all verified livestock losses to wolves. Anticipating the reintroduction of the Mexican gray wolf, the fund was expanded in 1995 to cover potential losses in the southwestern United States and the states bordering the northern Rockies in 1999.
In 1997, the compensation fund officially became the Defenders of Wildlife Wolf Compensation Trust, and it expanded to $200,000 in 1999. In the fall of 2000, The Bailey Wildlife Foundation made a generous contribution to Defenders wolf and grizzly bear compensation trusts.
Reintroduction of Wolves to Yellowstone
Experts credit Defenders of Wildlife Wolf Compensation Trust as the most important factor contributing to the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho.
The importance of Defenders of Wildlife Foundation Wolf Compensation Trust in answering ranchers’ concerns about the economic burdens placed by wolf recovery was specifically emphasized in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho.
In 1994 Interior Secretary Babbitt's approval of the reintroduction EIS lead to litigation by ranching and farming interests seeking to prevent reintroduction. Despite their objections the request to halt the reintroduction was denied. In his opinion, when finally clearing the reintroduction, Judge William Downes of the U.S. District Court in Cheyenne, Wyoming praised Defenders’ compensation program for "putting its money where its mouth is."
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