Wildlife Damage to Agriculture in Nebraska: a Preliminary Cost Assessment

We estimate the annual financial losses resulting from wildlife damage to major crops and livestock in Nebraska. For each wildlife species, the damage problem is presented along with a description of how the estimate was made. Field crop estimates include losses from Plains pocket gophers (Geomys bursarius), commensal rodents (Rattus norvegicus and Mus musculus), field rodents in grain fields (e.g. Peromyscus maniculatus. Dipodomys ordi, Spermophilus tridecemlineatus), house sparrows (Passer domesticus), blackbirds (e.g. Agelaius phoeniceus and Ouiscalus quiscula), lagomorphs (Sylvilaqus floridanus, Lepus californicus, and L. townsendii), deer (Odocoileus virainianus and Q. hemionus)> voles (Microtus spp.), and beaver (Castor canadensis). Livestock estimates include losses from commensal rodents, coyotes (Canis latrans). European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), blacktailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), and house sparrows. Estimated values of the crop and livestock resources damaged total I/Portions of this manuscript also appear in: Johnson, R. J., and R. M. Timm. Costs of wildlife damage to major field crops in Nebraska. In S. T. Kamble, ed. Distribution and economic losses caused by important pests of major field crops in Nebraska. Extension Circular, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, (in press). 2/Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and Wildlife, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583-0819. 3/Present address: Hopland Field Station, University of California, 4070 University Road, Hopland, CA 95449. approximately $37 million annually. Further study is needed to refine such estimates, as well as to assess the positive benefits of various wild vertebrates.