Summary

During this workshop we have heard from some of the leading animal damage control and livestock management specialists in the Great Plains and adjoining states. It appears that western states personnel will likely be involved in wild animal damage control to a greater extent than before as control activities are passed from federal to the separate state agencies--hopefully, with financial assistance for both implementation and research. There is no widespread agreement on numbers or severity of damage, or on the best damage control techniques to use. What works in one area of the country will not necessarily work in another. Then too, some national publicity and attention have complicated control activities in many areas. More and better surveys of both coyote populations and actual livestock damage are desperately needed so that the animal damage control specialists can handle problems with some degree of perspective and so the public can be shown that predator control activity is necessary and biologically sound. Ranchers and farmers are in a squeeze in some areas--they need help and that help must be both effective in reducing/eliminating losses and be acceptable to the public body. Mechanical/nonmechanical, lethal/nonlethal methods of control have been explained in some detail. Livestock management is important and cannot be ignored. To be of value all these techniques must be balanced against economic factors, public reaction, and practical application considerations