By Ching Lee

Ag Alert California Farm Bureau

California farmers and ranchers declared victory after the California Fish and Game Commission decided last week to hold off on making any changes to how coyotes are managed in the state.

The decision came after a meeting that included several hours of discussion and hundreds of people turning out in person and virtually to provide comment. On the table was a proposal to consider restricting take of coyotes and establishing a regulated hunting season and bag limits for the predator. 

The commission said it would not pursue any changes for now, though it may consider other, more narrow proposals in the future.

The proposal to restrict take—developed after two years of discussions—came as concerns about livestock depredation have grown in recent years due to the state’s expanding gray wolf population. The wolf’s protected status under state and federal law means ranchers have no ability to manage problem animals. 

Unlike the wolf, coyotes are not protected, and state law permits the killing of the nongame animal any time of year without limits or licenses. The commission said its Wildlife Resources Committee initiated the proposal to change this regulation “based on years of public comment expressing concern with the unlimited take of coyotes and other nongame species.”

The proposal drew strong reactions from opponents and supporters. Prior to the meeting, the commission indicated it had logged hundreds of letters on the matter, with some 200 commenters opposing the proposed changes and about 135 in support. 

Opponents included the California Farm Bureau, 32 county Farm Bureaus, livestock groups, the Rural County Representatives of California and a coalition of county sheriffs, supervisors and other public officials from Northern California, most of whom represent rural communities with large areas of agriculture and ranching. 

They say coyotes are abundant, and any restrictions on take would exacerbate livestock kills and economic harm to ranchers. They also expressed concerns that the proposed changes would severely limit their ability to protect livestock, crops, investments and way of life while causing unnecessary hardship on rural communities. 

Steven Fenaroli, a policy advocacy director for the California Farm Bureau, noted some 1,300 of the organization’s members flooded the commission’s inbox with letters in opposition to changing the coyote policy. 

The overwhelming opposition to the proposal from Farm Bureau members and allies came as a result of the FarmTeam system, Fenaroli added. FarmTeam allows California Farm Bureau members to send letters directly to officials on laws and proposed regulations that will impact them. 

At the meeting, Fenaroli urged the commission to allow farmers and ranchers to take coyotes at their own discretion, as they know their land the best. 

Others made the point that farmers and ranchers need ways to proactively manage coyote populations prior to crop loss or depredation and to prevent harm to livestock or property. 

As a rancher, Modoc County Supervisor Ned Coe said the proposal appears to have been motivated by emotion and politics rather than by science, as “there is no empirical evidence coyote populations are threatened in any sense.” He noted the region’s livestock producers and wildlife services officer have reported that coyote predation of livestock has increased. 

Having ranched for six decades, Coe said he welcomes the natural rodent control that coyotes can provide, as voles, squirrels and gophers can wreak havoc in hay fields and pastures. But he said he has also been upset to find calves as young as a day old killed by the predators.

“That is my livelihood,” said Coe, who also works as a field representative for the California Farm Bureau. “To do anything that hampers my ability to deal with that individual coyote or group of coyotes at that time…greatly reduces my ability to raise wholesome beef to feed the nation.”

Coyotes represent the leading cause of cattle depredation in the state and across the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The canines were responsible for about 35% of all cattle lost to depredation in California, killing more cattle than any other predator in 2015, USDA reported. Nationwide, the carnivores accounted for nearly 41% of cattle deaths from depredation during the same year.  

In addition to death losses due to coyote depredation, ranchers point out that the predator’s presence causes stress to livestock, disrupting calving patterns and impacting long-term herd health. 

Other commenters emphasized the role livestock grazing can play in targeted fuel reduction and wildfire prevention, with depredation being a major obstacle. In his letter to the commission, Sean Curtis, president of Modoc County Farm Bureau, said predation, primarily by coyotes, remains the No. 1 reason ranchers hesitate to increase numbers of their browsing livestock. 

Putting limits on take and designating hunting seasons for coyotes “would create an unnecessary, additional challenge to this opportunity,” he wrote. Additionally, such restrictions would “result in massive numbers of requests for depredation permits as producers rush to protect their investments in livestock during the nonhunting season.”

Proponents of changing state regulation on coyote take, including wildlife conservation groups such as Project Coyote, call the current approach to coyote management ineffective and outdated. They cited studies that show unlimited, year-round killing of coyotes could potentially increase their populations, as it disrupts pack structure, encouraging more breeding and other coyotes to migrate from surrounding areas.

Ching Lee is editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at clee@cfbf.com.