Farmers and ranchers are working to feed the world’s growing population, but the Endangered Species Act presents more hurdles for them to overcome — often with large carnivores taking a bite out of their profits to the tune of $750,000 for one Wyoming rancher.

Meanwhile, the ESA has not been as effective or efficient as it should be, according to the Western Governors’ Association.

The ESA has a success rate of about 1 percent and costs American taxpayers millions of dollars in court costs — funding that could be better utilized to preserve wildlife.

The association hosted a series of panels with experts on how the ESA impacts various fields during their first forum on the ESA in Cody on Nov. 12-13.

The information gathered at the forum will be used by the association to create an action plan with the longterm objective of improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the ESA.

The first panel covered the ESA’s impact on oil, gas and mining and the second panel covered impacts on outdoor recreation, such as hunting (see previous Tribune coverage).

The third panel focused on how farmers, ranchers and the timber industry are impacted by the ESA. Panelists included Wyoming state representative and owner of Sommers Ranch, Albert Sommers; Family Farm Alliance president Pat O’Toole; governance committee member for the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program, Don Ament; and Neiman Enterprises president/CEO, Jim Neiman. 

Sommers is also president of Upper Green River Cattlemen’s Association. Ranchers in that part of Wyoming witnessed their first bear-killed calf in their lifetime in 1993 and their first wolf-killed calf in 2000. By 2009, the region had 15 confirmed calves killed by grizzly bears. Just on their allotment, that number grew to:

• 2010: 20

• 2011: 33

• 2012: 45

• 2013: 41

• 2014: 66

• 2015: 80

Prior to 1994, the death loss rate was 2 percent and for the last four years it was in excess of 9 percent.

“Then this year was the worst we ever had, my ranch lost 13 percent of my calves,” Sommers said.

Campbell County Commissioner Matt Avery pointed out that agriculture is losing production from areas outside of just large carnivores.

“Sommers, those types of losses are devastating,” Avery said, estimating Sommers lost about $750,000 by losing 9 percent of his herd. He also pointed out that thousands of acres of farmland go out of production each day.

According to the American Farmland Trust, 50 acres of farmland goes out of production every hour — about 1,200 acres per day.

It is currently estimated that the Upper Green River area has 60 grizzly bears, Sommers said. In 2009, they had two bears relocated. That number increased to eight relocations and two removals in 2014 and then nine relocations and six bear removals in 2015.

“This seems like a disaster, but it is also a success story,” Sommers said, noting that bears and wolves recovered beyond the Upper Green River and into other ranges, and that grazing permit holders have created better lines of communication for depredation issues.

Those deaths must be confirmed to be caused by a grizzly bear to qualify for reimbursement from the state.

“It is a win there in that ranchers have managed to stay on the landscape at the expense of the state and not to the federal government,” Sommers said.

During the question and answer segment, Park County Commissioner Loren Grosskopf asked when it would be appropriate to discuss the costs of the ESA and who would make that decision.

Arnett pointed to the federal level and Sommers said an economic analysis for listing should be done.

“The federal government needs to be a driver in it and not force the state and counties to bear the burden,” Sommers said.

When grizzlies were originally listed under the ESA, the goal was to have 24 females with a cub of the year by their side in certain areas, Sommers said. That goal increased to 500 grizzly bears, and current population estimates exceed 700.

“That first plan was a contract to recover a species under these conditions, and the contract has been broken,” Sommers said.

The Greater Yellowstone Coalition contacted Sommers about how they could help with the problem and he said they need relationships with ranchers in order to make a plan.

“The GYC is interested in planning and ranchers didn’t know who they are,” Sommers said. “We have to be mindful of the past and look forward to see where opportunities are in the future, because they may not be the same as in the past.”

The Family Farm Alliance made modernizing the ESA a priority about a year ago, O’Toole said. Farmers and ranchers are facing the challenge of feeding 9.2 billion people in 35 years, and that can’t be done with regulations that hinder food production, O’Toole said.

“The fastest growing category in farming and ranching is (age) 70 and above. We do not have enough people in agriculture to double the food supply,” O’Toole said.

Sommers cited the rapidly increasing value of ranch land as another issue. Starting in the 1990s, he said their land values doubled three times.

 “It was not doubling because people want it for agriculture, they want to develop or want a piece of the West,” Sommers said. “If we do not preserve the working landscapes of the West, we do not preserve the wildlife of the West. We need to find a way to trust each other and that is probably the hardest thing.”

As for the timber industry, listing the northern spotted owl under the ESA helped cause the loss of over 200 saw mills.

Now the timber industry is struggling with four species in particular: grizzly bear, lynx, long-eared bats and a type of woodpecker.

Much like the panelists for oil, gas and mining and from the outdoor recreation panel, Neiman called for a greater state role in planning and monitoring and to allow the state to put in measures for a listing decision and delisting decisions based on recovery plan and goals.