Senate committee hears hours of testimony on SB 777 compensation changes, SB 985 $2M funding request for wolf conflicts

The Senate Natural Resources and Wildfire Committee held a joint public hearing Feb. 27 on Senate Bill 777, which would change how Oregon compensates ranchers for wolf depredation by limiting payments to confirmed and probable losses or injuries, applying specified multipliers to fair market value and capping compensation at $25,000 per animal, and on Senate Bill 985, an accompanying $2,000,000 general-fund appropriation to the Wolf Management Compensation and Proactive Trust Fund. The committee took testimony but did not record a committee vote during the hearing.

Why it matters: the bills would alter who qualifies for payments, how much is paid for direct and indirect losses, and how much grant funding is available for nonlethal measures counties can use to work with producers. Supporters said current compensation does not cover the cascading costs ranchers face; opponents said the bill reduces local committee discretion and diverts money away from prevention and agency capacity.

Vice Chair Todd Nash, sponsor and senator for District 29, framed the bills as a pair: SB 777 defines the compensation structure and SB 985 requests funding for it. "We're not trying to capture those other dollars. If we…