BALANCING THE NEEDS OF SOCIETY: LISTENING TO THE PUBLIC

Wildlife damage management, as a professional activity, is involved in a broad range of management issues affecting agricultural productivity and profitability, human health and safety, and endangered and valued species management. Surveys by S. Kellert and others have indicated that the general public is agreeable to resolving wildlife damage issues, even utilizing lethal technologies. However, surveys and case histories have also indicated that the process involved in resolving wildlife damage issues invokes much public concern. By process I mean the specific methodologies, strategies, and resource and social tradeoffs involved in developing and implementing a wildlife damage management program