his property to hunting in succeeding years 

 or when reasonable suggestions, actions, or 

 remedies offered by the Department are 

 refused. The decision to terminate 

 assistance will be made by the director's 

 office after reviewing the circumstances. 



The Department has received the following number of 

 game damage complaints over the last five years: 



FY 81 FY 8 2 FY 8 3 FY 84 FY 85 

 153 142 82 529 309 



in recent testimony, the Department has offered the 

 following comments on its wildlife damage activities: 



— Prevention is the most effective and efficient way 

 to deal with game damage, and annual game harvests 

 (hunting) are the foundation of any prevention 



program. 



-- For the last three hunting seasons, quotas and bag 

 limits were substantially liberalized in an 

 attempt to contain expanding big game populations 

 and keep them in balance with their habitat and 

 the tolerance level of private landowners. In 

 1984, a hunter could take up to six deer in many 

 areas, and more than 103,000 additional deer tags 

 were issued; that is five times the 1982 amount. 

 The number of antelope and deer permits issued in 

 1985 did decline, but the total is still more than 

 the number issued in 1983. 



— Another effective and frequently used prevention 

 technique is the special "early and late" hunting 

 season. During the past two years, approximately 



11 



