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Rancher and former legislator says recent wildlife policies have cost him colts and income
Summary
Joel Kretz, a former legislator and rancher, described recent cougar attacks that killed multiple colts, cited financial losses (colt values and annual hay costs), and criticized initiative-driven wildlife management and state compensation as inadequate.
Joel Kretz, a former state legislator and rancher, described to an audience the impact of recent wildlife activity on his ranch and criticized how some wildlife decisions play out in state policy.
Kretz provided concrete figures to illustrate his point: he said several colts were killed or had to be put down after predation, that colt values were "about $8,000 a colt last year," and that his annual hay bill is about $30,000. He called state compensation programs inadequate and described the loss as both financial and genetic — years of breeding value lost in a matter of days.
"Just cold hard facts as far as finances," Kretz said when discussing the cost to his operation. He added that compensation from the Department of Fish and Wildlife would not make him whole: "I'll probably get a dime on a dollar if I get anything." The remarks were made as part of a broader panel on the rural–urban divide where Kretz and others described how certain statewide policies can have outsized effects on rural livelihoods.
Panelists did not announce any policy proposals or formal actions at the program. They used the anecdote to urge lawmakers to weigh local lived experience when crafting or reviewing conservation and wildlife policy and to foster more direct contact between urban legislators and rural communities.
The program was a discussion and did not include agency representatives or a formal hearing; no vote or directive followed Kretz’s remarks.
