California is set to bring back a program aimed at reducing conflict between wild animals and people, as the state\u2019s rebounding wolf population continues to cause concern among ranchers.<\/p>\n
Newsom signed a bill restoring the program Tuesday ahead of a \u201cfireside chat\u201d<\/a> focused on biodiversity and natural resources, during which he described growing up with a father who was dedicated to protecting mountain lions, condors and other wildlife.<\/p>\n Protecting nature is \u201ca moral issue,\u201d Newsom said, describing a \u201crelationship we have to what\u2019s above us, and \u2026 how that connects us to our Creator.\u201d<\/p>\n The California Department of Fish and Wildlife once employed 13 specialists dedicated to resolving human-wildlife conflicts, but it let all but one of them go after funding ran dry in 2024. The loss came as such clashes are increasing, with climate change and urban sprawl bringing people closer to bears, mountain lions and other animals.<\/p>\n State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, author of Senate Bill 1135<\/a>, said she\u2019s seen it play out with sea lions around La Jolla Cove. This year, someone kicked one of the marine mammals, she said, and in general there have been no government staffers \u201cto provide the guardrails.\u201d <\/p>\n When the program ended, \u201cwe weren\u2019t doing the education, and we didn\u2019t have staff at the state that could help intervene or provide guidance,\u201d Blakespear (D-Encinitas) told The Times. \u201cIt was a clear lack.\u201d <\/p>\n The legislation also codifies a program to compensate ranchers when they lose livestock to wolves or suffer indirect harm. The program also provides money for nonlethal equipment to deter wolves, such as electric fences with bright flags<\/a>.<\/p>\n Part of the law is rebranding, adding \u201ccoexistence\u201d to both programs\u2019 names. <\/p>\n The California Cattlemen\u2019s Assn. and the California Farm Bureau shifted from opposing the bill to an \u201centhusiastic neutral,\u201d said Kirk Wilbur, vice president of government affairs for the former trade group, noting his colleague coined the term.<\/p>\n Wilbur\u2019s group was initially concerned about parts of the bill focused on livestock compensation, but he said they were amended in a way to avoid impeding how the program operates. However, the changes \u201cdidn\u2019t quite get us to a support position because we didn\u2019t necessarily view it as a significant improvement over the status quo.\u201d<\/p>\n His group is in favor of the bill\u2019s requirement to relaunch the Wildlife Coexistence Program, as it\u2019s now called, saying it \u201cdoes provide resources, for instance, for my members that are contending with mountain lion depredations of their livestock.\u201d <\/p>\n The bill signing comes as California\u2019s gray wolves had at least 42 pups this year \u2014 a record. The apex predators were extirpated in the state in the 1920s, beginning to naturally recolonize their native digs only 15 years ago.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a great sign for the conservation of the species that the population continues to reproduce, and that the number of individuals continues to reproduce,\u201d said Axel Hunnicutt, gray wolf coordinator for the Department of Fish and Wildlife.<\/p>\n The animals\u2019 success has delighted conservationists but frustrated some cattle ranchers, whose livelihood can become dinner for the endangered canids.<\/p>\n