CALIFORNIA CATTLEMAN WEEKLY

April 20, 2026

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Take Action: Tell the U.S. Senate to Pass the Pet and Livestock Protection Act
Last week, CCA partner the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association launched a call-to-action campaign in support of H.R. 845, the Pet and Livestock Protection Act, which would delist gray wolves from the federal Endangered Species Act throughout the lower 48 states and ensure that federal courts cannot upend the delisting. The legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives late last year with bipartisan support and is currently awaiting action from the Senate before it can advance to President Donald Trump’s desk.

NCBA has released a simple online tool to help ranchers communicate their support for the Pet and Livestock Protection Act to their senators. For more information and to lend your name to the effort, click here.

Permittees Encouraged to Attend PLC Grazing Roundtable May 20 in Susanville
The Public Lands Council invites grazing permittees to a roundtable on May 20 in Susanville to discuss federal lands grazing issues. Interested permittees can RSVP for the event here. The address of the meeting and additional details will be shared with respondents ahead of the roundtable. Southern California permittees are welcome to join the May 12 roundtable in Queen Creek, Arizona (RSVP here for that event). Permittees unable to attend either roundtable will have an opportunity to participate in a virtual roundtable at a later date, though in-person participation is heavily encouraged. For additional details, see last week’s edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

CDFW Announces Progress on Phase 2 Wolf Management Efforts, Including Enhanced Hazing
Earlier this month, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced progress toward the agency’s stated goal of issuing “permits allowing for more aggressive…hazing” of gray wolves. According to CDFW, the agency is “Working with county sheriffs on options to authorize their use of less-than-lethal hazing tools like pepper balls to help protect livestock and drive wolves to natural food options.” Additionally, CDFW says it is “Partnering with county representatives to improve access to collared wolf data” and is “Exploring options for county-based liaison positions to strengthen communications and support for ranchers,” among other efforts. For additional details, see the Department’s Facebook post or last week’s edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

U.S. Forest Service Announced Sweeping Restructuring
The United States Department of Agriculture announced late last month that the U.S. Forest Service is moving its headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah as part of a sweeping restructuring of the agency that will unfold over the next year. As part of the restructuring effort, the agency’s Pacific Southwest Regional office in Vallejo will be repurposed as a national training center and a California-Hawaii State Office will be established in Placerville. The Riverside research station, focused on fire research, will remain operational, and the Placerville office will also serve as a research and development facility (as well as an operations service center). For additional details, see the April 6 edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

BLM Releases Web Tool Identifying Vacant Grazing Allotments
The Bureau of Land Management announced late last month that it has released a mapping tool “designed to connect ranchers with information on vacant grazing allotments on public lands available for targeted prescribed grazing.” The mapping tool will include vacant allotments administered by BLM, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, though not all vacant allotments are currently included in the tool (particularly USFS and USFWS allotments). For additional details, see the April 6 edition of California Cattleman Weekly.

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CCA in the News

Senate Committee Advances Wildlife Coexistence Bill The Mountain Messenger “Opposition came from agricultural groups pending amendments. Kirk Wilbur of the California Cattlemen’s Association expressed support for the programs in principle but opposed the bill without changes. He proposed adjustments to nonlethal funding set-asides when compensation funds run low and to ensure practicability based on terrain and resources. [Steven Fenaroli] of the California Farm Bureau echoed those concerns while praising recent Department of Fish and Wildlife efforts on information sharing and attractant reduction.” To continue reading, click here.

Could more cattle cause record beef prices to drop? Ranchers say it’s not that simple The Associated Press “California rancher Mike Williams said he wouldn’t discourage someone from getting into ranching but would caution them, ‘don’t get too far upside down.’ ‘I would say that we’re finally maybe getting a fair price,’ Williams said. ‘I think people are starting to realize the value of beef, and they’re finding that they’re willing to pay maybe a little more than they have in the past for the quality of the product that they’re getting.’” To continue reading, click here.

Uproar over mama bear killing could help launch a state wildlife coexistence program LA Times “Senate Bill 1135, introduced by Blakespear, would direct the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to create the Wildlife Coexistence Program, which would provide public education, offer technical assistance and maintain a statewide incident reporting system. It would help communities deploy nonlethal devices to deter predators, like barriers or noise and light machines. Last month, Blakespear sent a letter to the chair of the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review requesting $48.8 million to implement the legislation, with $25 million earmarked for addressing wolf encounters. Half of the money for wolf conflicts would go towards deterrents; the reminder would compensate ranchers for their losses. Kirk Wilbur, vice president of government affairs cattlemen’s association, said the organization is concerned about that division of funding- especially if funding is reduced.” For the full article, click here.

Industry News

NASA images reveal rise in fire fuels Point Reyes Light “A NASA research scientist analyzing satellite images of the earth’s surface has detected a marked increase in wildfire fuel across former ranchlands at the Point Reyes National Seashore, offering the first quantitative evidence of how quickly the landscape is changing after cattle were removed from most of the peninsula. Christopher Potter, an earth scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, found that dense vegetation—the readiest combustible fuel for wildfires—was, on average, 62 percent greater in March 2026 compared to the same month in 2024, when cattle were still grazing the land. In some pastures, the increase reached 150 percent. ‘Without cattle, you’re going to have an encroachment of burnable fuels very rapidly,’ Dr. Potter told the Light. ‘When you take most of the ranches out, things are going to change quickly, and that’s what we’re seeing now.’” To continue reading, click here.

BLM announces seasonal fire restrictions for southern California Bureau of Land Management “The Bureau of Land Management California Desert District will go into seasonal fire restrictions on public lands in Imperial, southern Inyo, eastern Kern, Los Angeles, eastern Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties. The seasonal restrictions will remain in effect from April 15 to October 29, unless terminated sooner.” To continue reading, click here.