House committee advances bill to expand wolf depredation compensation, sets per-animal cap

The House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources and Water advanced Senate Bill 777A during a work session, sending the measure to the full House with a “do pass” recommendation. The bill modifies the depredation compensation program to provide compensation to individuals who suffer probable or confirmed losses or injury of livestock or working dogs, caps compensation at $25,000 per animal and specifies maximum multipliers applied to fair market value.

The change matters because committee members described the bill as an attempt to balance wildlife recovery and rural livelihoods as wolf packs expand across the state. Committee members and several legislators praised months of negotiations among conservation groups, rural representatives and the department and said the bill aims to prioritize ranchers who have used nonlethal methods to protect animals.

Committee staff member Miss Guder summarized the measure for the committee, saying the bill “modifies the depredation compensation program by specifying that compensation is provided to individuals who suffer probable or confirmed losses or injury of livestock or working dogs.” She also told members the measure “caps compensation at $25,000 per animal” and “allows counties to determine the multipliers subject to the following maximum multipliers applied to fair market value.” The transcript lists the multipliers as “5 times for cows, cow calves and yearlings, sheep and goats, 3 times for cows and 1 time fair market value for horses, other livestock and working dogs.”

Members emphasized the bill’s negotiated elements and the long-running policy discussion. Representative Levy thanked negotiators and said, “I would really like to thank Senator Golden for the work he did with the conservation network and the other conservation groups to get us to a point that we could all be happy with.” Representative Rob Hartman, who said he entered the issue as a newcomer to the topic, described changing his initial assumptions after research and testimony: “As soon as I started my own, you know, research and understanding the problem, it wasn't about that.” Hartman also said the record shows producers are using nonlethal measures and cited committee testimony that “we see that consistently 60% to 80% of funds is used for nonlethal.”

A committee member noted the bill removes a previously problematic category related to “missing” livestock claims; that change, the member said, should reduce uncertainty in validating losses. Several members flagged funding as a remaining open issue: committee discussions referenced the Oregon Department of Agriculture budget and the need for additional resources to make the Wolf Plan and the compensation program operate together. The transcript records a committee member saying without extra funding, “the program fails.” The committee also noted fiscal staff had issued a fiscal impact statement and that the measure carried “no revenue impact and no sub referral.”

The committee approved a motion to move SB 777A to the House floor with a do-pass recommendation; the transcript reports the bill “passes” the committee but does not record a roll-call vote or a member-by-member tally. Members said continued work will be needed on funding mechanisms, including potential support for wolf biologists and anti-poaching efforts, before the program can be implemented at scale.

The committee closed its work session after advancing the bill. Members said they expect the fuller funding conversation to continue as SB 777A proceeds to the House floor and, if enacted, to the governor’s desk.