Can't the ranchers just buy insurance for these kinds of losses? I read in another newspaper that the number of animals killed by mountain lions is really small.

The Mountain Lions are the natives. They should be paid for the trouble of dealing with the Open Space District.

Agreeing to living with and not harass or harm the wildlife should be a precondition of using these lands.

Anyone who ranches should know that first and foremost this land is set aside for conservation and it’s use is contingent on the ranchers agreeing to respect this and report any rule breaking.

They are marvelous animals but known to attack humans. If land is granted to wildcats then humans can't roam there safely.

People got all worked up because the District decided to keep an open mind and listen to and discuss a request. That alone set people off. After some discussion it sounds like they came to an easy decision which most people are fine with.

Never say never and always have an open mind. Nothing should be barred from discussing, and that's all they did here: they listened with an open mind to a land partner's request and discussed it, then came to (IMO) the correct decision. They never once had a plan to do this, all they did was talk about it because a partner brought it up. They were also 100% transparent to the public about what they were doing.
You can stop running around, screaming and waving your arms now, the grownups took care of things.

You have to put risks in perspective. According to Google, no human in the Bay Area has been killed by a mountain in more than 100 years. That was around the same time that the last human was killed by a wild grizzly bear in the Bay Area. Compare that to the number of humans killed by motor vehicles. I don't hear anyone calling for the lethal removal of motor vehicles.