Grazing and haying committee works toward policies for 2019

Editor’s note: This version corrects comments on the reflectors Montana Department of Transportation installed on the edges of parts of Montana Secondary Highway 234 in Beaver Creek Park and about the availability of scales for weighing hay.

The Hill County Park Board Grazing and Haying Committee Monday went over a first draft of next season's policies and procedures for haying and grazing on Beaver Creek Park.

Committee Chair Chad Edgar, the superintendent of Beaver Creek Park, went through the grazing and haying policies and procedures paragraph by paragraph and the rest of the committee commented on what they thought of the verbiage.

Hill County Commissioner and committee member Diane McLean suggested meshing both the grazing and haying policies together as both had been printed out separately.

For example, under the Allotments section of the Grazing Policies and Procedures, item C reads: Available allotments will be divided between present grazers and those on the waiting list in the fairest way as determined by the Park Board and based on the allotments available.

McLean said she would like to see that wording added to the similar section under the Haying Policies and Procedures. Edgar said he would add the phrase.

McLean added that many of the examples that were provided in both policies and procedures should be taken out.

"Those examples, they take up a lot of room and they're good for you to know and for your people who are going to be hayers or grazers to know," she said. "But when you put it into this ordinance ... It's a big patch on this page and a big patch on this page also."

The examples show how allotments for land and hay are calculated by the park superintendent.

Lou Hagener, who sits on the board as a community member, said he would like to see the committee differentiate between policies and procedures and rules and regulations.

"Policies and procedures don't have weight like rules and regulations," Hagener said. "When I went and talked to the sheriff about that, and talked to a couple other people, they don't feel very good about trying to enforce policies and procedures because they are how we impose it upon ourselves. Rules and regulations, on the other hand, are very firm."

Edgar read over the Haying Policies and Procedures, with the committee suggesting some adjustments made to wording as well, and held a discussion about how and where to weigh the hay.

Various members of the committee agreed that most people bring their hay bales in to town to be weighed. However, committee member Bill Bradbury, a local rancher, said the weigh station in town is only staffed for a certain amount of time. The individual at the weigh station has the ability to provide the ranchers with a ticket showing the hay's weight which they take back to Edgar.

Committee Member Conrad Nystrom, also a local rancher, said people could buy a scale they could place on their loaders to weigh the hay.

Edgar said he felt like this would benefit not only ranchers, but himself as well.

"If somebody had one on their tractor that'd be great. 'Hey, Larry are you going to go weigh them today? OK, I'll go meet you up there,'" Edgar added. "All I have to do is run out there when they're baling."

Another item that was added to the Haying Policies and Procedures from the Grazing Policies and Procedures was a 1.5 percent penalty per month that would be imposed on any fees not paid within 30 days from the final billing date.

Edgar added that he was considering adjusting the 30 days to 60 days from the final billing for hay and asked the committee how they felt about that. The committee had no objections to the adjustment.

The committee also discussed reflectors that are along Montana highway through Beaver Creek Park was brought up again.

Hill County Commissioner Mark Petersen said he was told by a Montana Department of Transportation representative that the reflectors help to scare the deer away.

Edgar and several other committee members said they believe the reflectors made it more difficult for people to see animals at night.

Petersen said putting a fence along the highway instead of the reflectors was an option.

He added that he would look into the fence solution for the highway.

When the state took over maintenance of the highway early last decade, numerous people expressed opposition to fencing it in as was required by state law. The Legislature in 2001 unanimously passed a variance allowing counties to leave highways through county parks unfenced if factors to help keep livestock off the highway were implemented.

Edgar said the version of the policies and procedures seen Monday would not be the final draft and the committee would meet again in January to go over the revisions. Once a final draft was completed, he added, it would be sent to the Park Board for final approval. After the Park Board approved the final draft, it would then be open to the public for comments.