Lawmakers, ranchers and conservation groups press for larger wildlife coexistence funding than May Revision proposes

Committee members and stakeholders described rising human-wildlife conflict across California and urged more funding than the administration proposed in the May Revision.

The administration said the $1 million request is a creative internal shift of existing funds to add limited-term staff and tools to improve incident response and outreach. Dan Reagan (CDFW fiscal staff) explained the technical fund shift: environmental license plate funds would move into biodiversity conservation to support human-wildlife conflict management and be backfilled from the Fish and Game Preservation Fund.

Members and stakeholders, including the California Cattlemen's Association and advocacy groups, said private insurance is limited in many wolf-affected areas and that insurance alone does not cover indirect losses or nonlethal deterrence measures. Kirk Wilbur (California Cattlemen's Association) said private insurance markets are limited and emphasized the need for funding for proactive nonlethal deterrents and compensation mechanisms.

Witnesses noted prior one-time funding created temporary capacity that was later reduced, stressing that short-term hires and limited-term funding can hurt program consistency. Cattlemen's representatives provided figures: $600,000 in 2024-25 and an additional $2,000,000 allocated in the current fiscal year were cited as prior funding sources for direct-loss compensation and program encumbrances.

Several environmental and wildlife organizations appearing during public comment argued for more sustained funding to prevent conflict, protect motorists and reduce downstream costs.

Committee members asked the administration to prioritize the program in negotiations and consider more sustained funding sources rather than one-time shifts that could be short-lived.