Utah Admin. Code R657-44-3 - Damage to Cultivated Crops, Fences, or Irrigation Equipment by Big Game Animals
(1) If big game
animals are damaging cultivated crops on cleared and planted land, or fences or
irrigation equipment on private land, the landowner or lessee shall
immediately, upon discovery of big game damage, request that the division take
action by notifying a division representative in the appropriate regional
office pursuant to Section
23-16-3(1).
(2) Notification may be made:
(a) orally to expedite a field investigation;
or
(b) in writing to a division
representative in the appropriate division regional office.
(3)
(a) The regional supervisor or division
representative shall contact the landowner or lessee within 72 hours after
receiving notification to determine the nature of the damage and take
appropriate action for the extent of the damage experienced or expected during
the damage incident period.
(b) The
division shall consider the big game population management objectives as
established in the wildlife unit management plan approved by the Wildlife
Board.
(c) Division action shall
include:
(i) removing the big game animals
causing depredation; or
(ii)
implementing a depredation mitigation plan pursuant to Sections
23-16-3(2)(b)
through
23-16-3(2)(f)
and approved in writing by the landowner or
lessee.
(4)
(a) The division mitigation plan may
incorporate any of the following measures:
(i) sending a division representative onto
the premises to control or remove the big game animals, including:
(A) herding;
(B) capture and relocation;
(C) temporary or permanent fencing;
or
(D) removal, as authorized by
the division director or the division director's designee;
(ii) recommending to the Wildlife Board an
antlerless big game hunt in the next big game season framework;
(iii) scheduling a depredation hunter pool
hunt in accordance with Sections
R657-44-7,
R657-44-8,
or
R657-44-9;
(iv) issuing mitigation permits to the
landowner or lessee for the harvest of big game animals causing depredation
during a general or special season hunt authorized by the Wildlife Board, of
which:
(A) the hunting area for big game
animals may include a buffer zone established by the division that surrounds,
or is adjacent to, the lands where depredation is occurring;
(B) the landowner or lessee may designate an
immediate family member or employee to receive mitigation permits;
(C) a person may receive no more than five
antlerless deer permits, five doe pronghorn permits, and two antlerless elk
permits per mitigation plan;
(D)
each qualified recipient of a mitigation permit will receive from the division
a Mitigation Permit Hunting License that satisfies the hunting license
requirements in
R657-44-11(c)
to obtain the mitigation permit.
(E) the Mitigation Permit Hunting License
does not authorize the holder to hunt small game; nor does it qualify the
holder to apply for or obtain a cougar, bear, turkey, or other big game
permit.
(v) issuing big
game mitigation permit vouchers for use on the landowner's or lessee's private
land during a general or special hunt authorized by the Wildlife Board of
which:
(A) mitigation permit vouchers for
antlerless deer may authorize the take of one or two deer as determined by the
division;
(B) mitigation permit
vouchers for pronghorn may authorize the take of one or two doe pronghorn as
determined by the division;
(C) the
division may not issue mitigation permit vouchers for moose, bison, bighorn
sheep, or mountain goat; and
(D)
the hunting area for big game animals may include a buffer zone established by
the division that surrounds, or is adjacent to, the landowner's or lessee's
private lands where depredation is occurring.
(b) The mitigation plan may describe how the
division will assess and compensate for damage pursuant to Section
23-16-4.
(c) The landowner or lessee and the division
may agree upon a combination of mitigation measures to be used pursuant to
Subsections (4)(a)(i) through (4)(a)(v), including a damage payment or a
description of how the division will assess and compensate the landowner or
lessee under Section 23-16-4 for damage to cultivated crops, fences, or
irrigation equipment.
(d) The
agreement pursuant to Subsection (4)(c) must be made before a claim for damage
is filed and the mitigation measures are taken.
(5) Vouchers may be issued in accordance with
Subsection (4)(a)(v) to:
(a) the landowner or
lessee; or
(b) a landowner
association that:
(i) applies in writing to
the division;
(ii) provides a map
of the association lands;
(iii)
provides signatures of the landowners in the association; and
(iv) designates an association representative
to act as liaison with the division.
(6) In determining appropriate mitigation,
the division shall consider the landowner's or lessee's revenue pursuant to
Subsections
23-16-3(2)(f)
and
23-16-4(3)(b).
(7) Mitigation permits or vouchers may be
withheld from persons who have violated this rule, any other wildlife rule, the
Wildlife Resources Code, or are otherwise ineligible to receive a
permit.
(8)
(a) The options provided in Subsections
(4)(a)(i) through (4)(a)(v) are for antlerless animals only.
(b) Deer and pronghorn hunts may be August 1
through December 31, and elk hunts may be August 1 through January
31.
(9)
(a) The division director may approve
mitigation permits or mitigation permit vouchers issued for antlered
animals.
(b) A mitigation permit
may be issued to the landowner or lessee or a qualifying individual designated
by the landowner or lessee to take big game for personal use, provided the
division and the landowner or lessee desires the animals to be permanently
removed.
(c) A mitigation permit
voucher may be issued to the landowner or lessee, provided:
(i)
(A) the
division determines that the big game animals in the geographic area
significantly contribute to the wildlife management units;
(B) the landowner or lessee agrees to
perpetuate the animals on their land; and
(C) the damage, or expected damage, to the
landowner's or lessee's cleared and planted land equals or exceeds the expected
value of the mitigation permit voucher on that private land within the wildlife
unit; or
(ii)
(A) the big game damage occurs on the
landowner's or lessee's cleared and planted land;
(B) the division and the affected landowner
or lessee desire the animals to be permanently removed; and
(C) the damage, or expected damage, to the
cleared and planted land equals or exceeds the expected value of the mitigation
permit voucher on that private land within the wildlife unit.
(d) The hunting area for
a mitigation permit or permit voucher issued under this subsection includes the
landowner's or lessee's cleared and planted land where the depredation occurs
and may include a buffer zone established by the division that surrounds, or is
adjacent to, that land.
(10)
(a) If
the landowner or lessee and the division are unable to agree on the assessed
damage, they shall designate a third party pursuant to Subsection
23-16-4(3)(d).
(b) Additional compensation may be paid above
the value of any mitigation permits or vouchers granted to the landowner or
lessee if the damage exceeds the value of the mitigation permits or
vouchers.
(11)
(a) The landowner or lessee may revoke
approval of the mitigation plan agreed to pursuant to Subsection
(4)(c).
(b) If the landowner or
lessee revokes the mitigation plan, the landowner or lessee must request that
the division take action pursuant to Section
23-16-3(1)(a).
(c) Any subsequent request for action shall
start a new 72-hour time limit as specified in Section
23-16-3(2)(a).
(12) The expiration of the damage incident
period does not preclude the landowner or lessee from making future
claims.
(13) The division may enter
into a conservation lease with the landowner or lessee of private land pursuant
to Section
23-16-3(5).
Notes
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