Wildlife Damage Management, Internet Center for
Date of this Version
December 1985
Abstract
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is responsible for controlling depredations by big game, trophy game, and game birds. Under certain guidelines landowners can submit a claim to the department for compensation from wildlife depredations. Measures used by department personnel to prevent wildlife damage are the use of scare devices, harassment techniques, repellents, fencing, trapping, issuing of kill permits, and modifying hunting seasons. In evaluating the damage to estimate monetary losses, sources of information used include AUM's, consumptive rates, fecal analysis, enclosures, production records, and necropsies. In terms of depredation compensation, the most costly species to the department over the last 5 years has been deer, both mule deer and white-tailed deer. Depredation costs to the department for all species is approximately 2 million dollars each year.