Ranchers get 1st Mexican wolf/livestock payments

The Mexican Wolf/Livestock Coexistence Council has issued its first Payments for Wolf Presence to 26 Arizona and New Mexico livestock operators who qualified for the plan's first year. The Coexistence Council developed the Mexican Wolf/Livestock Coexistence Plan that presents a new way of addressing wolf-livestock conflicts. Payments for presence of Mexican wolves address the negative financial impacts on livestock producers that accompany Mexican wolf recovery. The innovative Coexistence Plan was announced in March 2014. It is comprised of three core strategies: payments for wolf presence, funding for conflict avoidance measures and continued funding for depredation compensation. The Game and Fish Department appointed an 11-member volunteer council representing livestock producers, tribes, environmental groups and counties in Arizona and New Mexico.  AP

The official press release is here and has this additional information:

Seed funding for the Coexistence Plan comes from the Federal Livestock Demonstration Program, which in 2013 provided $20,000 for depredation compensation and $40,000 for preventative measures to Arizona Game and Fish Department, and $20,000 for depredation compensation and $50,000 for preventative measures to the New Mexico Department of Agriculture. These grant funds are matched by in - kind contributions through the Mexican Wolf Fund and Defenders of Wildlife providing financial assistance to live stock producers to implement proactive measures to reduce conflicts between Mexican wolves and livestock. Both States have been awarded a combined $190,000 in demonstration program funds for 2014 .