CALIFORNIA CATTLEMAN WEEKLY

Dec. 8, 2025

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109th CCA/CCW Convention and Tradeshow Concludes
Last week, hundreds of cattlemen and women gathered in Reno for the 2025 CCA/CCW Convention and California Cattle Industry Tradeshow. The event offered valuable opportunities to reconnect with friends and colleagues, discuss policy priorities, and hear updates on the latest issues affecting California ranchers.

This year’s Convention also marked the conclusion of John Austel’s (San Diego County) two-year term as CCA Second Vice President. CCA staff and leadership extend sincere appreciation to John for his commitment and service to California’s cattle industry.

Looking ahead, Rick Roberti (Plumas County) will continue to serve as CCA President for one more year. Mike Williams (Los Angeles County) also remains in his role as CCA First Vice President, as do CCA Second Vice Presidents Steve Lambert (Butte County) and Anthony Stornetta (San Luis Obispo County). Bev Bigger (Ventura County) will continue serving as CCA Treasurer in 2026.

CCA is pleased to announce that James Henderson (Tulare County) has been elected to serve as a CCA Second Vice President.

CCA also recognizes and congratulates the 2025 Top Hand Award recipients:

• 1st Place: Travis Truelock (Calaveras County)

• 2nd Place: Ben Higgins (San Luis Obispo County)

• 3rd Place: Carolyn Roberti (Plumas-Sierra)

These awards honor CCA members who have gone above and beyond in recruiting new members to our association.

Thank you to everyone who attended this year’s Convention and Tradeshow. The participation of so many made this event a success. We also extend our gratitude to our sponsors for their support.

CDFW Director Chuck Bonham to Step Down
The Nature Conservancy announced today that it has selected Charlton “Chuck” Bonham as the Executive Director of the group’s California chapter effective January 26, 2026. Bonham currently acts as the Director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, a role he will vacate prior to talking the helm at TNC California.

Bonham was first appointed as Director of CDFW by then-governor Jerry Brown in 2011 and is the longest-serving director in the agency’s history. In his tenure at CDFW, Bonham has overseen California’s response to the emergence of gray wolves in the state, including the increasing incidence of wolf-livestock conflict. Bonham has also overseen Departmental efforts to restrict the permitted take of mountain lions and other predator species.

CCA will keep members informed regarding the leadership transition at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

CDFW Issues New Wolf Updates, Including New Livestock Depredation Reporting
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife released a Wolf Management Update late last month overviewing the agency’s wolf population monitoring efforts between July and October. The Department highlighted the lethal removal of the Beyem Seyo Pack from Sierra Valley in October and confirmed a new wolf pack, the Grizzly Pack in southern Plumas County, meaning the state’s overall number of packs remains steady at ten. In a separate update, CDFW revealed that wolves killed 175 livestock animals through just the first 10 months of 2025 – nearly three times the number of depredations suffered throughout all of 2024. For more details of the Department’s updates, see the November 24 edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

EPA and Army Corps Propose Re-Defining “Waters of the U.S.” – Again
The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers published a proposed rule last month to revise the definition of “Waters of the United States,” waters over which the federal government has jurisdiction for Clean Water Act permitting purposes. The proposed rule seeks in part to comply with the United States Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling in Sackett v. EPA, which limited federal jurisdiction of wetlands to those which have “a continuous surface connection” with a traditional navigable water, “making it difficult to determine where the ‘water’ ends and the ‘wetland’ begins.” Alongside its release of the proposed rule, the Trump Administration released a “Fact Sheet for the Agricultural Community” which clarifies the extent to which prior converted cropland, waste treatment systems and ditches are excluded from federal jurisdiction under the proposed rule. For more details from the Department’s updates, see the November 24 edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

Upcoming Industry Events

CCA in the News

Nightly Battles and Big Losses: Ranchers Demand Reform as Wolves Continue to Wreak Havoc Drovers “Rick Roberti, California Cattlemen’s Association president and a cattle rancher in Sierra Valley, adds: ‘For every confirmed kill you find, there’s probably four to six others. The wolves had gotten so used to eating cattle they didn’t hardly even look at a deer if they could find one.’” To continue reading, click here.

Then / Now / Next: Ecologist Lenya Quinn-Davidson is rethinking California’s relationship with fire UC Berkeley News “With SB332, the bill that changed the liability standard, the key partners were the Karuk tribe, which has been a real leader in policy work, but also the California Cattlemen’s Association and some environmental groups like Defenders of Wildlife and Save the Redwoods League.” To continue reading, click here.

Industry News

New World Screwworm again detected within 120 miles of U.S./Mexico border Tri-State Livestock News “On Dec. 3, 2025, the Texas Department of Agriculture reported in a press release that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had notified them of a new detection of the New World Screwworm (NWS) in Montemorelos, Nuevo León, Mexico, approximately 120 miles south of the Texas border. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed the case in a 22-month-old bovine transported from Veracruz to a feedlot in Nuevo León.” To continue reading, click here.

USDA Reorganization to be Completed in 2026, Vaden Says Farm Policy News “Agri-Pulse’s Lydia Johnson reported that “the Agriculture Department will complete a reorganization of more than half the current D.C.-based staff to five regional hubs across the U.S. by the end of 2026, Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden says on Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.’” To continue reading, click here.

Targeted Cattle Grazing for Conservation at Point Reyes National Seashore The Nature Conservancy “The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is inviting a Request for Proposals (RFP) for targeted cattle grazing in Point Reyes National Seashore in 2026. This is for a short-term contract to address specific natural resource concerns, specifically high levels of invasive grass competition impacting rare, native plant species in select areas.” To continue reading, click here.