R657-69-4. Turkey Damage Mitigation and Prevention Plans

(1) A damage mitigation and prevention plan may authorize the division to undertake any of the following actions: (a) provide educational materials regarding turkeys and turkey damage to the landowner or lessee, including strategies on how to alleviate damage; (b) use, or allow the landowner or lessee to use, nonlethal methods to haze turkeys on private property experiencing material damage and, if necessary, provide the landowner or lessee equipment and supplies necessary to carry out hazing; (c) exclude turkeys from areas in which material damage has occurred and is expected to continue to occur, using fencing, tarpaulins, or other similar materials; (d) capture and relocate any turkeys causing, or reasonably likely to cause, material damage to the property to a location on the Wildlife Board approved turkey transplant list and according to the "Damage Mitigation and Prevention Plan" in Section 23A-8-302; (e) allow expanded harvest of turkeys by: (i) increasing permit numbers during limited entry or general season hunts; (ii) expanding or increasing the areas for turkey hunts; (iii) enrolling the property in the division's Walk-In Access Program in accordance with Rule R657-56; (iv) enrolling the property in the division's Cooperative Wildlife Management Unit Program in accordance with Rule R657-37; (v) enrolling the property in the division's Cooperative Agreement pursuant to Rule R657-74; (vi) schedule and hold a depredation hunt pursuant to Section R657-69-5; (vii) issue control permits pursuant to Section R657-69-6; or (viii) issue control permit vouchers pursuant to Section R657-69-7; (f) allow landowners or lessees to capture and relocate turkeys causing, or reasonably likely to cause, material damage to the property to a location on the Wildlife Board approved turkey transplant list; (g) allow landowners or lessees to use weapons or methods otherwise prohibited to take a turkey if traditional weapons are unsuitable for the location of the property and other reasonable measures aimed at reducing instances of material damage to the private property in question; (h) subject to the limitations provided in Subsection (3), provide a landowner monetary compensation, up to $5,000 annually per green-belt eligible property for: (i) verified turkey damage to hay bales. This will only occur once per landowner, as tarps or other coverings will be provided for protection of hay bales in the future. The landowner must be willing to cover hay, as it will not be subject to monetary compensation once tarps are provided; (ii) bags of seed, given that planted seed has been removed from the soil and assessments prove this to be attributed to turkeys; (iii) silage; and (iv) any other perceived or actual damage from turkeys will not be monetarily compensated, including: (A) labor for seeding, stacking hay, or any other physically laborious activity; (B) damage to standing crops; and (C) any other perceived or actual damage. (2) To be eligible to receive compensation as provided in this section, the claimant shall: (a) notify the division of the damage within 72 hours after the damage is discovered; and (b) allow division personnel reasonable access to the property to verify an alleviate the depredation problem. (3)(a) The claimant and the division shall make an appraisal of the damage as soon as possible after notification. (b) In determining damage payment, the division and claimant shall consider: (i) the extent of damage experienced; and (ii) revenue the landowner derives from: (A) participation in a cooperative wildlife management unit; (B) use of landowner association permits; (C) use of mitigation permits; and (D) charging for hunter access or the sale of vouchers. (c) The division and claimant may not include speculative damages or claims of future value in an appraisal or damage payment beyond the growing season when the damage occurred under this section. (d) If the claimant and the division are unable to agree on a fair and equitable damage payment, the claimant and division shall designate a third party, consisting of one or more persons familiar with hay, silage, or seed destruction and turkeys, to appraise damage. (4)(a) A claim of $1,000 or less may be paid after appraisal of the damage as provided in Subsection (3), unless the claim brings the total amount of claims submitted by the claimant in the fiscal year to an amount over $1,000. (b)(i) A claim over $1,000, or claim that brings the total amount of claims submitted by the claimant in the fiscal year to an amount over $1,000, shall be treated as follows: (A) $1,000 may be paid pursuant to the conditions of this section; and (B) the amount over $1,000 may not be paid until the total amount of the approved claims of all the claimants in the fiscal year have been determined. (ii) If the total exceeds the amount appropriated by the DWR pursuant to Subsection (4)(a), claims over $1,000, or a claim that brings the total amount of a claimant's claims in a fiscal year to an amount over $1,000, shall be prorated. (5) The division may deny or limit compensation if the claimant: (a) fails to exercise reasonable care and diligence to avoid the loss or minimize the damage; (b) fails to provide the division reasonable access to the property; (c) fails to allow the division to use reasonable mitigation tools to alleviate the damage; (d) unreasonably restricts hunting on land under the claimant's control or passage through the land to access public lands for hunting, after receiving written notification from the division of the necessity of allowing the hunting or access to control or mitigate damage by turkeys; or (e) fails to provide supporting evidence of hay, seed, or silage values and claimed costs to the division during the damage appraisal process. (6) Damage mitigation and prevention plans shall have: (a) a description of the private property covered by the plan; (b) a specific effective date and effective term for the plan; (c) a description of the verified instances of material damage and the dates of occurrence; and (d) an assurance by the landowner or lessee that members of the public holding a control permit or a turkey depredation permit may access the private property at no charge during the hunts for which they hold a permit. (7) Damage mitigation and prevention plans may be amended or renewed with written consent of the division and the landowner or lessee during their effective term. (8)(a) The landowner or lessee may unilaterally revoke and withdraw from a damage mitigation and prevention plan by providing the division 30 days prior written notice. (b) A landowner or lessee's revocation of approval of a damage mitigation and prevention plan eliminates the division's obligations described in the plan. (c) A landowner or lessee may not revoke approval of a damage mitigation and prevention plan after a depredation hunt has been scheduled on their private property until after the depredation hunt has taken place. (9) The division may unilaterally revoke and withdraw from a damage mitigation and prevention plan if: (a) the landowner or lessee fails to exercise reasonable care and diligence to avoid loss or minimize the damage caused by turkeys; (b) the landowner or lessee fails to comply with the terms of the damage mitigation and prevention plan; or (c) in the division's discretion, the damage mitigation and prevention plan is not necessary. (10) The expiration or revocation of a damage mitigation and prevention plan does not preclude the landowner or lessee from making future requests for action. (11) The division may not be financially liable for damage to private property caused by: (a) turkeys; (b) its efforts to remove or drive off turkeys in response to a request for action; or (c) actions taken or authorized by a damage mitigation and prevention plan. (12) A landowner or lessee shall have a copy of the damage prevention and mitigation plan in their possession while undertaking any action authorized in the plan that otherwise violates Title 23A, the Wildlife Resources Code of Utah, including, the hazing, capturing, and transplanting of turkeys.