The State of Wyoming is committing more funding to projects aimed at reducing conflicts between predators and ag producers.

Following a legislative directive, the Game and Fish Department is doubling its annual contributions to the Wyoming Animal Damage Management Board from $100,000 to $200,000. Over the next five years, the Game and Fish will give the board $1 million.

The money will be distributed by the ADMB in the form of grants to fund wildlife research projects.

“Priority is given to projects that directly involve predator control that will have the greatest benefit to wildlife or will reduce the cost to the department for animal damage payments,” said Scott Edberg, deputy chief of wildlife for Game and Fish. The department currently pays more than $1 million a year to ranchers and other producers as compensation for damages caused by predators like grizzly bears and wolves.

The additional funds were announced during the Jan. 19 meeting of the ADMB, which met virtually by Zoom.

Researchers pitch their projects to the board every year in an effort to afford expensive, often multi-year projects. The new funds will be handy at a time funding is difficult, said Jerry Johnson, predator management coordinator for the Wyoming Department of Agriculture technical services division.

Like a college student stacking smaller scholarships to get a large portion of their college tuition paid, researchers use a “wide variety of sources of funding that people put into this,” Johnson said. “Research assistants — those doing the groundwork — are often unpaid.”

Last year, the Game and Fish “stepped up” and gave $150,000 to the program, Johnson said. The new $200,000 commitment followed this year.

The ADMB is funded by several sources, including: the Game and Fish Commission; general fund appropriations from the Wyoming Legislature; a voluntary fee when purchasing licenses; a voluntary brand inspection fee of 10 cents per head (in addition to the current fee set annually by local predator management district boards statutorily assessed and paid by the livestock producer); and a voluntary transfer of landowner coupons collected during hunting season and specifically used for research and projects in the county of origin.

Grant and research applications can be found at www.wyadmb.com.