Wyoming Revises Pay
For Grizzly Damage

SHERIDAN, Wyo. —(AP)— Wyoming's Game and Fish Commission increased the amount of money it pays ranchers for livestock losses to grizzly bears.

Commissioners also refined policies that deal with the loss of livestock guard dogs, fence destruction, veterinary costs and sheep depredation by mountain lions.

The revised calf compensation formula provides a short-term solution until the Game and Fish Department gathers more information on grizzly kills, officials said.

The formula "really does create an incentive for livestock operators to monitor their livestock better," Commission President Hal Corbett said. Because the system is based on confirmed kills, "the more you find, the more you watch, the more you monitor, the more compensation you receive."

Under state law, the commission is required to compensate people who lose property to wildlife categorized as "trophy game" or "big game" animals.

Grizzly bears in Wyoming are classified as trophy game.

Last February, the commission asked the department to examine its damage compensation policy and indicate which issues needed clarification.

The request came after the commission postponed a decision on whether to pay claims totaling about $47,000 submitted by eight ranchers with the Upper Green River Cattle Association.

Commissioners said they wanted to defer a decision on those claims until agency biologists could rework the formula. The following month, commissioners paid claims to the Upper Green River ranchers totaling about $19,000, using a different formula. The formula, which was reworked again recently, resulted in more money for ranchers.

The new formula pays 167 percent of the value of every calf confirmed killed by grizzly bears. The extra 67 percent is intended to make up for deaths that cannot be tied conclusively to bears.

It "appears to provide a more accurate picture of grizzly bear losses," said Wildlife Division Chief Terry Cleveland.

Upper Green River Cattle Association President Albert Sommers told commissioners his group supports the formula.