Chapter IV - Block Management Effectiveness 



Program Accountability 



After the 1996 hunting season the department found there were many 

 permission slips submitted by landowners for 5 to 10 day periods, 

 and the resulting payments were much higher than the estimates on 

 the contracts. As a result, an internal committee developed policies 

 for the regions to follow in regards to compensation and number of 

 hunter days. Policies state that if actual hunter use deviates 

 20 percent or more from the contract amount, the next year's 

 contract will reflect a change by adjusting the negotiated fixed sum. 

 Permission slips now credit no more than three hunter days per 

 hunter, unless more actual use is documented through daily sign-in 

 rosters or some other method. Policies also stated immediate family 

 members of the cooperator will not count toward hunter use totals on 

 the family BMA. Immediate family members were defined in the 

 1998 policies. 



As a result of these policies, each region established a method to 

 review permission slips and rosters, and document use. Each region 

 created a form(s) to document the number of hunter days for each 

 area and if the number changed by 20 percent. As to what triggers 

 an "audit" is up to the region. For example, Region 2 has areas that 

 issue permission slips for the entire season so all those areas are 

 audited. The region will call 20 to 25 percent of the hunters and 

 extrapolate the data. Another region will look at the average 

 number of hunter days per hunter and if it is above a certain amount, 

 the area is audited. In a third region the trigger is if over 50 percent 

 of the permission slips are written for multiple days. All regions use 

 25 percent as the minimum number of hunters to call. All the 

 regions used the method for the 1997 hunting season and adjusted 

 payments on some areas, either up or down. 



Conclusion: Policies and 

 Procedures Provide 

 Program Accountability 



Due to concerns about landowners issuing permission slips to 

 hunters for multiple days when they only hunted one day, family 

 members counted as a hunter day on the family ranch, etc., the 

 department created policies to make the program more accountable. 

 Each region created the forms and process it would use to meet 

 policy requirements. As a result the process is fairly standard and 



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