What is the Mexican Wolf/Livestock Coexistence Council?
The Mexican Wolf/Livestock Coexistence Council (Coexistence Council) is an
11-member volunteer group of livestock producers, tribes, environmental
groups, and county coalitions that directs disbursement of the Mexican
Wolf/Livestock Interdiction Trust Fund (Trust Fund) to qualified applicants.
The Trust Fund is administered by the non-profit National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation.
The Coexistence Council was appointed by the Southwest Regional Director of
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in April 2011. The intent in forming the
Coexistence Council was to gather a broad cross-section of members with
divergent views on Mexican wolf reintroduction to develop a strategic plan to
address Mexican wolf-livestock conflicts that accompany Mexican wolf
reintroduction in Arizona and New Mexico.
The Coexistence Council has now completed the Mexican Wolf/Livestock
Strategic Plan (Coexistence Plan), which provides the basis for the
disbursement of these funds.
What is the Mexican Wolf/Livestock Coexistence Council Strategic Plan?
The Coexistence Plan is an innovative program to reduce wolf/livestock
conflicts and the need for management removals of depredating or nuisance
wolves. The Coexistence Council’s program creates incentives for ranching in
ways that promote self-sustaining Mexican wolf populations, viable ranching
operations, and healthy western landscapes.
The Coexistence Plan provides the basis for disbursement of funds from the
Trust Fund and is comprised of three core strategies: payments for wolf
presence, funding for conflict avoidance measures, and funding for
depredation compensation.
Payments for wolf presence are based on a formula that considers a variety of
factors to determine allocation of the annual funding for each applicant,
including whether the applicant’s land or grazing lease overlaps a wolf
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territory or core area (e.g., den or rendezvous area) and the number of wolf
pups annually surviving to December 31 in the territory, recognizing that
survival of wolf pups is not dependent upon the livestock producer. The
formula also considers the number of livestock exposed to wolves and the
applicant’s participation in proactive conflict avoidance measures.
Up to 50% of the yearly budgeted funds will be available to support the
voluntary implementation of wolf/livestock proactive conflict avoidance
measures by livestock producers. Adaptive management techniques are
available to reduce wolf/livestock conflicts, at the discretion of the livestock
producer.
Direct compensation will continue for confirmed livestock deaths or injuries
caused by Mexican wolves to livestock producers who are not otherwise
receiving payments for wolf presence funding under the Coexistence Plan,
unless they require immediate reimbursement. In such cases, the
reimbursement amount will be subtracted from the payment for wolf
presence allocation to that livestock producer.
The information for application of the formula to calculate a particular
livestock producer’s share of the Coexistence Council funding is obtained from
the Mexican Wolf Interagency Field Team, which manages the Mexican wolf
project in Arizona and New Mexico, and the landowner or appropriate land
management agency. The Coexistence Plan budget projection for year 1 was
$634,000.
The amount of money available each year through the Coexistence Council’s
program depends on private and public funding directed to support the Trust
Fund, with available Fund balances being divided among eligible livestock
producers who have applied to participate in the program. Applications to
participate are due by May 1 of each year.
Why did the Coexistence Council develop the Coexistence Plan?
The Coexistence Council was formed to help address the real economic
consequences to livestock producers whose operations are directly impacted
by Mexican wolf reintroduction efforts in Arizona and New Mexico. In
addition to losses incurred from wolf depredations upon livestock, livestock
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producers incur costs from undetected depredations, changes in livestock
behavior, and management operations in response to wolf presence. Changes
in livestock behavior result in reductions in livestock weight gain,
reproductive rates, and meat quality; and changes in management operations
can mean increased costs tied to managing wolf/livestock interactions.
The aim of the Coexistence Plan is to provide incentives for implementing
proactive measures to reduce conflicts between Mexican wolves and livestock
on a shared landscape and begin to help offset the economic effects of wolves
on participating livestock producers (Pay for Presence).
Are livestock producers in Arizona and New Mexico obligated to
participate in the Coexistence Council’s Plan?
No, livestock producers are not obligated to participate in the Coexistence
Plan. However, any livestock producers who graze livestock on private lands,
Tribal lands, or grazing allotments in the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area
(BRWRA); within the Fort Apache Indian Reservation and San Carlos Apache
Reservation; and on private lands adjacent to the BRWRA and who are
affected by Mexican wolves are eligible to participate in the Coexistence Plan.
Does the Coexistence Council Plan provide for direct compensation for
livestock losses incurred by wolf depredations?
The Coexistence Council has been providing depredation compensation for
confirmed or probable livestock depredations (death or injury) by Mexican
wolves since September 2010. The Council will continue to provide such
compensation for livestock deaths or injuries to livestock producers who are
not otherwise receiving Pay for Wolf Presence funding under the Coexistence
Plan, unless they require immediate reimbursement. In such cases, the
reimbursement amount will be subtracted from the Pay for Presence
allocation to that livestock producer.
How do livestock producers obtain reimbursement for the presence of
wolves on their grazing allotments or private land?
Livestock producers fill out an application form that is provided on the
Coexistence Council’s website (www.coexistencecouncil.org) and submit the
completed application form to the Coexistence Council for review and
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processing. The Coexistence Council reviews all applications received for the
year, apply the formula, and directs disbursement of funds from the Trust
Fund to the livestock producer. Livestock producers who graze livestock on
private lands, Tribal lands, or grazing allotments in the Blue Range Wolf
Recovery Area (BRWRA); within the Fort Apache Indian Reservation and San
Carlos Apache Reservation; and on private lands adjacent to the BRWRA, and
who are affected by Mexican wolves, are eligible to apply for funding.
Applications to the Coexistence Council are due by May 1 of each year. The
Pay for Presence funds will be disbursed based on information from the
previous calendar year. Funding for proactive conflict avoidance measures
and depredation compensation is for the current calendar year.
How much funding is available in the Trust Fund to implement the
Coexistence Plan?
The Trust Fund was initiated in 2010 with $45,000 from Defenders of
Wildlife; an additional $40,000 was provided by the Fish and Wildlife Service
in 2012. This initial funding has been used since September 2010 to
compensate livestock producers for Mexican wolf depredations. (Prior to
2010, depredation compensation payments were made directly to livestock
producers by Defenders of Wildlife). In 2011, $60,000 in Federal funding was
granted through the Livestock Demonstration Program to Arizona Game and
Fish Department. In 2013, additional Federal funding from
the Fish and
Wildlife Service’s Livestock Demonstration Program was granted to the States of
New Mexico and Arizona - $50,000 to New Mexico Department of Agriculture
and $40,000 to the Arizona Game and Fish Department. In addition, these two
agencies each received $20,000 in 2013 from the Livestock Demonstration
Program for depredation compensation. Both States applied for 2014
demonstration program funds and have been awarded a combined $190,000
for depredation and preventive measures. The funding granted through the
Livestock Demonstration Program requires a 50:50 non-Federal match, which
will be provided by the Mexican Wolf Fund and Defenders of Wildlife working
directly with livestock producers to implement proactive conflict avoidance
measures to reduce conflicts between Mexican wolves and livestock.
With the recent roll out of its Strategic Plan, the Coexistence Council is actively
seeking funding support from public and private sources.
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When will the Coexistence Council start implementing the Coexistence
Plan?
The Coexistence Council started implementing the Coexistence Plan in 2014.
Eligible applicants can obtain an application form on the Coexistence Council
website: www.coexistencecouncil.org. Applications must be received by May
1. Pay for presence funds are retroactive and will be based on information
from the previous calendar year. Funding for proactive conflict avoidance
measures and depredation compensation is for the current calendar year.
In November 2014, the Coexistence Council issued its first payments to 26
Arizona and New Mexico livestock operators who participated in the
Coexistence Plan's pilot year. The payments, totaling $85,500, were based on
Mexican wolf data and livestock information from calendar year 2013.
What is the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation?
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3)
organization dedicated to creating public/private partnerships to conserve
the Nation’s fish, wildlife, and plant resources. NFWF supports conservation
efforts in all 50 states, U.S. territories and abroad. NFWF neither advocates
nor litigates. You can learn more about NFWF by visiting their website
at: www.nfwf.org
Anyone interested in supporting the Coexistence Council’s efforts can direct
their tax-deductible contributions to the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation Trust Fund.
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
1133 15th Street N.W.
Suite 1100
Washington, D.C. 20005
Attention: Mexican Wolf Fund
Or to donate online, visit the Coexistence Council website:
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For more information on the Coexistence Council’s Plan:
Visit the Coexistence Council website at www.coexistencecouncil.org
Or contact:
Sisto Hernandez: Chairman, Coexistence Council, 928.338.1404
