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Landowners may get hunting option
By JEFF GEARINO, Casper Star-Tribune Southwestern Wyoming bureau
GREEN RIVER -- A committee working on how best to compensate landowners for forage damaged by big game animals like elk is recommending the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission broaden its eligibility rules for landowner licenses.
The committee offered two compensation options for the commission to consider. The group also submitted a new definition of "extraordinary damage to grass" that is contained in state reimbursement statutes. The department's recommendations were outlined in a final report presented to the commission at its Jan. 22 meeting.
By statute, the commission has assumed responsibility for damage to a variety of types of private property, including livestock or bees damaged or killed by trophy game animals; and the damaged land, growing cultivated crops, stored crops including honey and hives, improvements and extraordinary damage to grass caused by big game or game birds.
Under the agency's Chap. 28 regulations, extraordinary damage to grass is defined to mean the consumption or use of non-cultivated grass plants in excess of the consumption or use that normally occurred during the two years immediately preceding the time period covered by the damage claim.
The agency, at the direction of the commission, appointed the six-member committee in February 2002 to study the issue and develop recommendations on adequate and fair compensation for forage eaten by elk. The committee, which met six times, included agriculture, sportsmen and department representatives.
The committee drafted a new definition for extraordinary damage to grass that said it means "the loss or harm, as proven by the landowner or lessee, that significantly exceed the usual, customary or average use of non-cultivated grass plants of the family Gramineae."
The committee also offered an alternative for broadening the eligibility for landowner licenses as an element of compensation.
The alternative would allow landowners in areas under split general/limited quota regulations to be issued one of two licenses for the limited quota area/season, with an overall cap of 60 percent of the total licenses which could be issued to landowners.
The committee recommended the commission consider two proposed programs for compensating landowners for grass consumed by elk. The group noted it might be expanded to include other species.
The first program would be to determine elk numbers, convert those numbers to AUMs (using 2 elk per AUM), compensate the landowner for the AUMs, depending on what level of hunting access is provided. An animal unit month (AUM) is the amount of forage required to feed a cow and her calf for one month.
Permitted hunting under the option would be managed by the landowner.
Participation in the hunt program precludes the landowner from claiming extraordinary damage to grass and from redeeming landowner coupons.
The second program would increase the payments for lands enrolled for big game hunting in the department's Private Lands/Public Wildlife (PLPW) initiative up to $1 per deeded or leased private acre.
Participation in the program would preclude the landowner from claiming extraordinary damage to grass and from redeeming landowner coupons. Participation would be voluntary.
Game and Fish Cody Regional Wildlife Supervisor Gary Brown said the main issue with forage-damage compensation for elk on private lands is determining the "numbers of elk that are normally there."
He said elk numbers have increased greatly in the Cody region and across western Wyoming, which has been placing an "undue burden" on ranchers in recent years.
In Fiscal Year 2002, the total annual costs of big and trophy game animal and game bird damage claims and the administration of the damage program in Wyoming were approximately $800,000, according to Game and Fish figures.
Actual claim payments vary annually, but typically total about $230,000 per year. The remaining portion of the money is expended investigating, mitigating and preventing damage, and administering the damage claim program.
The source of the money is generated from a nonresident application fee of $10 and a resident application fee of $3 for limited quota drawing for a big or trophy game license or wild bison license.
The statute provides for 25 percent of the fees collected from applications be set aside to establish and maintain a fund of $500,000 to compensate landowners or lessees of private property damaged by game animals and game birds.
By JEFF GEARINO, Casper Star-Tribune Southwestern Wyoming bureau
GREEN RIVER -- A committee working on how best to compensate landowners for forage damaged by big game animals like elk is recommending the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission broaden its eligibility rules for landowner licenses.
The committee offered two compensation options for the commission to consider. The group also submitted a new definition of "extraordinary damage to grass" that is contained in state reimbursement statutes. The department's recommendations were outlined in a final report presented to the commission at its Jan. 22 meeting.
By statute, the commission has assumed responsibility for damage to a variety of types of private property, including livestock or bees damaged or killed by trophy game animals; and the damaged land, growing cultivated crops, stored crops including honey and hives, improvements and extraordinary damage to grass caused by big game or game birds.
Under the agency's Chap. 28 regulations, extraordinary damage to grass is defined to mean the consumption or use of non-cultivated grass plants in excess of the consumption or use that normally occurred during the two years immediately preceding the time period covered by the damage claim.
The agency, at the direction of the commission, appointed the six-member committee in February 2002 to study the issue and develop recommendations on adequate and fair compensation for forage eaten by elk. The committee, which met six times, included agriculture, sportsmen and department representatives.
The committee drafted a new definition for extraordinary damage to grass that said it means "the loss or harm, as proven by the landowner or lessee, that significantly exceed the usual, customary or average use of non-cultivated grass plants of the family Gramineae."
The committee also offered an alternative for broadening the eligibility for landowner licenses as an element of compensation.
The alternative would allow landowners in areas under split general/limited quota regulations to be issued one of two licenses for the limited quota area/season, with an overall cap of 60 percent of the total licenses which could be issued to landowners.
The committee recommended the commission consider two proposed programs for compensating landowners for grass consumed by elk. The group noted it might be expanded to include other species.
The first program would be to determine elk numbers, convert those numbers to AUMs (using 2 elk per AUM), compensate the landowner for the AUMs, depending on what level of hunting access is provided. An animal unit month (AUM) is the amount of forage required to feed a cow and her calf for one month.
Permitted hunting under the option would be managed by the landowner.
Participation in the hunt program precludes the landowner from claiming extraordinary damage to grass and from redeeming landowner coupons.
The second program would increase the payments for lands enrolled for big game hunting in the department's Private Lands/Public Wildlife (PLPW) initiative up to $1 per deeded or leased private acre.
Participation in the program would preclude the landowner from claiming extraordinary damage to grass and from redeeming landowner coupons. Participation would be voluntary.
Game and Fish Cody Regional Wildlife Supervisor Gary Brown said the main issue with forage-damage compensation for elk on private lands is determining the "numbers of elk that are normally there."
He said elk numbers have increased greatly in the Cody region and across western Wyoming, which has been placing an "undue burden" on ranchers in recent years.
In Fiscal Year 2002, the total annual costs of big and trophy game animal and game bird damage claims and the administration of the damage program in Wyoming were approximately $800,000, according to Game and Fish figures.
Actual claim payments vary annually, but typically total about $230,000 per year. The remaining portion of the money is expended investigating, mitigating and preventing damage, and administering the damage claim program.
The source of the money is generated from a nonresident application fee of $10 and a resident application fee of $3 for limited quota drawing for a big or trophy game license or wild bison license.
The statute provides for 25 percent of the fees collected from applications be set aside to establish and maintain a fund of $500,000 to compensate landowners or lessees of private property damaged by game animals and game birds.
