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The management of human–wildlife conflicts often involves walking the fine line between conservation of the species concerned and damage control. This article documents conflict management with Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata) in northern Japan. Although these monkeys are listed as endangered populations in Japan, local residents consider them serious vertebrate pests. In order to devise a reasonable population recovery plan that also serves to minimize the risk of social damage caused by these monkeys, the authors invent a simplified procedure for broadly assessing damage risk. Two indices are analyzed: species accessibility, estimated via an accessibility analysis that uses ecological-niche factor analysis (ENFA), and regional weakness to damage, calculated by evaluating the geographical placement of human settlements. ENFA shows that in northern Japan, most of the potential monkey …