Paying for the presence of predators: An evolving approach to compensating ranchers

On the Ground • Conversion of rangeland habitats in North America (to more intensive agriculture or to urban/exurban uses) concentrates livestock and predators on a shrinking landscape, making conflict inevitable. • Rural communities often feel disenfranchised by efforts to protect or restore native predators. • Ranching businesses typically bear the direct costs (from livestock depredation) and indirect impacts associated with coexisting with predators. • Many researchers indicate that direct compensation for depredation of livestock does not increase tolerance for predators within ranching communities. • The emerging use of “payments for ecosystem services” (or PES) programs offers an alternative to direct depredation compensation programs. • With the recent re-establishment of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in California, a Pay for Presence program for conserving large carnivores offers an alternative for supporting habitat conservation while acknowledging (and at least partially compensating) the direct and indirect costs to ranchers.