Recent headlines declare that grizzly bears killed a “record” number of cattle in Wyoming’s Upper Green River region in 2024. While provocative, these claims are misleading. Opinion Due to concentrated cattle grazing in bear habitat, livestock and grizzlies frequently cross paths on t he Upper Green River allotment northwest of Pinedale. Yet, even here, livestock losses remain extremely low. The U.S. Forest Service authorized almost ten thousand individual cattle (separating cow/calf pairs) to graze the Upper Green River cattle allotment in 2024. The ranchers on this allotment reported 94 cattle killed by large carnivores, 91 of which were due to bears. Using these numbers, large carnivores, including grizzlies, killed less than 1% of the cattle authorized on the Upper Green River allotment in 2024.  While the reported figure may not account for undiscovered grizzly-killed cattle, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department addresses possible undiscovered depredations by multiplying confirmed calf losses by a factor of 3.5 (or by 2 for yearlings) for damage compensation. Based on the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report, bears (including grizzlies) are responsible for approximately 0.6% of total cattle losses throughout Wyoming, demonstrating further that grizzlies are an exceedingly small threat.  In a broader context, all predators, including wolves, coyotes, bears and others collectively account for only a small portion of total cattle and calf losses in Wyoming. Grizzly-related cattle losses in Wyoming remain statistically minor when compared to the tens of thousands of cattle deaths caused by illness, birthing complications and extreme weather, which do not receive the kinds of attention or taxpayer subsidies that predator-caused losses garner. Meanwhile, the 16 permittees on the Upper Green River allotment pay a total of just $34,376 ($1.35 per animal unit per month) to graze livestock on 170,000 acres, far below the $655,200 ($26 per animal unit per month) it would cost on private land. Given the scale of this public subsidy, it is reasonable to expect that grazing permittees would approach the arrangement with some understanding. Instead, the minimal losses attributed to grizzlies are often treated as intolerable, despite being part of the cost of doing business in predator-occupied landscapes.  Ironically, the extremely low cost of public lands grazing may amplify ranchers’ perceptions of livestock losses. When annual grazing permits are as minimal as $2,000 per operator, losing even a single cow (valued at roughly $1,960 to $2,940, based on recent market prices) can seem disproportionately severe. However, if grazing fees accurately reflected the land’s true market value, for example, approximately $40,000 annually per operator on the Upper Green River allotment, individual cattle losses to native carnivores would constitute a much smaller proportion of overall operational expenses. While some ranchers, particularly those with allotments deep in occupied grizzly habitat, may experience more frequent conflicts, multiple state programs already exist to compensate them. The Wyoming Game and Fish Department reimbursed ranchers $372,343 in 2022 for verified livestock losses to grizzlies, the highest compensation total for any species that year. The Wyoming Animal Damage Management Board also allocates funding toward carnivore conflict prevention and response. Science-based land management acknowledges that grizzlies perform ecological functions that benefit public lands and the native species dependent on these lands. In places like Wyoming’s Upper Green River, grizzlies enhance habitat complexity by aerating soils while digging for roots and rodents, distributing nutrients through scavenging and reducing ungulate browsing pressure in sensitive riparian habitats. Grizzly predation helps control localized impacts, promoting the regeneration of native vegetation, especially in areas already stressed by livestock grazing. Ranchers who graze grizzly habitat participate in a system made possible by public investment. Ideally, such investment would foster an ethic of gratitude and coexistence. The available data indicate that cattle losses to grizzly bears have significantly decreased in recent history. It is also notable that the USDA has ceased publishing detailed predator-specific cattle death reports for a decade, despite continuing these reports for sheep. This omission raises questions about whether the facts on the ground are consistent with the narratives commonly promoted by the livestock industry.  Exaggerating isolated spikes in livestock depredation distorts public perception and fuels misguided policy responses, threatening long-term grizzly conservation. To maintain perspective: even in “record” conflict years, the great bears remain a small factor in cattle mortality. The post Grizzlies pose minimal threat to Wyoming cattle appeared first on WyoFile . ...read more read less