Park board discusses haying and grazing, cattle, folf and stargazing

Editor’s note: This version corrects that Hill County Commissioner Diane McLean made the motion to approve a grazing variance.

A request by a Beaver Creek Park grazer led to an extended discussion by the Hill County Park Board at its monthly meeting Monday about the haying and grazing policies at the park, with an agreement to let the board’s Haying and Grazing Committee revisit those policies during its meeting in December.

Park Superintendent Chad Edgar told the board that due to the quality of forage in one section of the park, a grazer had asked if he could keep his cattle off this year without paying the fee and without hurting his three-year average that the board uses to determine how many cattle a grazer can put on the park each year.

The board allows ranchers to lease cattle grazing on the park each year from the day after Labor Day to the first of the year, with the duration and amount of cattle allowed depending on the quality of the forage and the weather.

Audience member Lowell Alcock said during the public comment section at the start of the meeting that if the board made an exception for one grazer, it could lead to others demanding the same treatment.

Under the park’s policies, if a rancher does’t put his or her cattle on the park, the three-year average that determines how many cattle are allowed in future years drops unless he or she still pays the fee.

Edgar said exceptions can be made, such as during years of drought, heavy snow or other disasters such as last year’s East Fork Fire in the Bear Paw Mountains.

He said the pasture in question is not in very good shape, although recent rains have helped, and the Grazing Committee had been watching it closely.

Lou Hagener, a Grazing Committee member, said part of the problem is that the pasture in question was over-hayed.

“So a lot of that forage left that pasture as hay rather than as grazed forage,” said Hagener. “So we lost a forage opportunity there because we cut hay. This is kind of a different iteration of the firstest gets the mostest.”

Hagener said that because of that, it left the park in a bad spot and shouldn’t come as a surprise to the board that the pasture’s potential for grazing this season is weak.

“It seems like we’re punishing the guy who was cautious and rewarding the guy who was aggressive,” Hagener said.

Hagener said that this was an opportunity to review the policies and procedures for haying, adding that he’s heard from hayers multiple times that they believe they can cut hay any place they could get their equipment.

“If they believe that, we need to get that adjusted. We need to get that under control so we know where the haying is going to occur and where it’s not going to occur,” Hagener said.

He added that, as he discussed at last month’s board meeting, haying only pays the park $17 a ton, while grazing gives, on average, the equivalent of more than $30 a ton.

Board member Larry Kinsella said grazers need to put all their allotment on the park to maintain their three-year average. The smallest cause for decrease could drastically impact a grazer’s allotment for the following three-year average, he said.

Hagener said that he would like to see grazers state their intent of use of grazing before the committee meets to set allotments. This way, the board can adjust for a grazer’s non-use and redistribute accordingly, he said.

The board and audience discussed extensively how the grazer’s request to not put cattle on would actually benefit the park, and potentially allow other grazers to stay on that pasture longer and make up for the lost revenue.

Hill County Commissioner Diane McLean made a motion to allow the non-use without penalty this year with the notation that this was an exception and not general policy.

June Grabofsky and Ursala Briese voted for the motion, with board chair Steve Mariani voting against, and the rest of the board abstained. The motion passed 2-1.

Speed Limit for cattle

The board members said they need to get the word out for people to obey posted speed limits within Beaver Creek Park during grazing season not just for the safety of the cattle but for the safety of the public as well.

Edgar said 2,039 head of cattle are on the park, and since Sept. 4 there have been five incidents of cattle being hit. This includes an incident where the same driver hit three cattle.

Edgar said that along with speeding, the issue is also caused by giant reflectors that have been set up along the road that drastically reduce visibility at a high speed.

The park speed limit normally is 55 mph to Taylor Road and 45 mph south of its intersection with Montana Secondary Highway 234, Beaver Creek Road, but a night-time speed limit of 35 mph through the park is in place during grazing season.

Hagener said people need to obey that limit or cattle will be hit.

“Thirty-five is awfully slow,” he said, “but I will say, it is a speed limit that is sufficient to see a cow incoming.”

Frisbee golf

When the frisbee golf course was updated at Montana State University-Northern, the previous baskets for the course were saved, Park Superintendent Assistant Aubrey Williams said, and the park has been contacted to see if it would like to use the baskets to set up a course at Beaver Creek Park.

Most of the old baskets are still in good shape and others need only minor fixes.

Edgar said he wants to collect more input on setting up a folf course at Beaver Creek.

“Honestly I thought about this when I first started,” Edgar said. “When I was in college I really liked folf. I don’t play folf anymore, but I think a park would be a cool place to have a course like that.”

He said they wanted to ask the public what they thought about the idea.

Park board members said they are eager to hear back from the public on whether a frisbee golf course should be established in Beaver Creek Park, and suggested the question be posted on the park Facebook page.

New trail and stargazing

Havre Trails has invited people to come hike its new 1 mile-loop Saturday and stay for some stargazing, Williams said.

The new trail is named The Rotary Canyon Loop Trail.

The hike is set for 6 p.m. with the stargazing scheduled for 7 p.m.

Attendees are encouraged to dress in warm layers and bring lawn chairs and mugs for hot chocolate, according to the Havre Trails Facebook page.