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Lawmakers consider pilot program to prevent and compensate wildlife damage to farms and ranches
Summary
House Bill 3657 would create a Department of Agriculture pilot program to fund prevention and, in some cases, compensate farmers and ranchers for wildlife damage; legislators and agencies told a March 17 hearing the approach should be data-driven and limited to pilot areas.
A coalition of legislators, ranchers and state resource agencies told the House Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water Committee on March 17 that Oregon needs a pilot program to prevent and compensate wildlife damage to agricultural operations.
House Bill 3657, introduced by Representative Bobby Levy, would establish a Wildlife Damage Prevention and Compensation pilot program administered through the Oregon Department of Agriculture with a dedicated fund to support preventative measures (fencing, deterrents) and direct compensation where damage occurs. The bill’s dash-1 amendment (noted in testimony) ensures interest earned on the fund stays with the program; a further dash-2 amendment was foreshadowed to address definitions and program details.
Senator Todd Nash and Representative Darcy Edwards described long-term, statewide damage by elk and other wildlife and called for a structured approach that supports landowners who already use best-management practices. Brian Wolfer, deputy administrator of ODFW’s wildlife division, summarized existing agency tools: harassment/kill permits, emergency hunts, landowner preference programs, and targeted expansions of antlerless elk seasons in chronic depredation areas. He noted that, aside from wolf depredation programs, Oregon currently lacks a general statewide program that provides direct payment to landowners for wildlife damage.
Agency context and data: ODFW told the committee that the department receives between about 3,150 and 4,332 wildlife-damage complaints annually; agricultural complaints account for roughly 20% of those. ODA Deputy Director Jonathan Sandow said federal crop-insurance programs generally treat wildlife loss as a management issue outside the scope of disaster or indemnity programs, creating a gap the pilot seeks to fill.
Public testimony included multiple ranchers and livestock producers describing local losses (fencing damage, hay loss, forage reduction) and urging a combination of prevention funding and compensation. The Oregon Hunters Association supported the bill but flagged a potential mismatch between scope (moving from elk-specific to all wildlife) and the appropriation level: testimony referenced an existing appropriation figure of $600,000 tied to the bill’s prior iteration and recommended rightsizing funding if the program’s scope expands or limiting pilot area count to match available dollars.
Actions and next steps: The committee took testimony and closed the public hearing; no vote occurred that day. Agencies and the sponsor said the pilot would be data-driven, the Department of Fish and Wildlife would help select up to 10 pilot areas in consultation with ODA, and the departments would report on program outcomes and recommended changes.
