Chapter I - Introduction 



Introduction 



The Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks' Block Management 

 Program was developed to help manage wildlife resources and the 

 impacts to landowners from public hunting. The program provides 

 benefits to landowners to encourage public access to their land. The 

 Field Services Division, Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks 

 (FWP) administers the Block Management Program. 



Legislative Audit Committee members raised questions about the 

 Block Management Program after the 1996 hunting season, the first 

 season of the enhanced program. Based on comments received, a 

 performance audit of the program was scheduled. Initial contact 

 with program staff was made in early 1997. Staff informed us of 

 proposed changes in the program prior to the 1997 hunting season. 

 Based on the information gathered, we delayed the audit until 1999. 



Audit Objectives 



Audit Scope and 

 Methodologies 



Our general audit objectives were: 



1 . Identify the program's objectives. 



2. Determine criteria used by the department to measure success of 

 the program. 



3. Determine if criteria appear reasonable. 



4. Determine if program is operating effectively. 



5. Recommend any efficiencies for program operations. 



The audit concentrated primarily on program activities followed for 

 the 1997 and 1998 hunting seasons. Some information from the 

 1989 through 1996 hunting seasons is included as background. 



Since the majority of on-the-ground activities for the program occur 

 in the regions, we traveled to six of FWP's seven regional offices. 

 We interviewed all block management coordinators, six regional 

 supervisors, wildlife managers and warden captains, and a number of 

 biologists and wardens to determine their roles in the Block 

 Management Program and how the program's objectives changed, if 

 at all, as result of House Bill 195 (Chapter 459, Laws of 1995) 

 passed by the 1995 Legislature. We sent letters explaining the audit 

 to biologists and wardens we did not interview, plus members of the 



Page 1 



