Whose park is this?

Editor’s note: This version corrects the time of Thursday’s Hill County Park Board Haying and Grazing Committee meeting.

We are owners of Beaver Creek Park and so are you. All residents of Hill County share ownership and responsibility for this one-of-a-kind park. Several Havre citizens first envisioned a public park in the 1910s. Eventually, in 1950, a land patent was issued by the federal government to Hill County designating this land for a park or recreational purposes.

With care and proper management, Beaver Creek Park will continue to serve future generations. Currently, however, the Hill County Park Board and Hill County commissioners appear to be giving priority to grazing, haying and trapping. Instead of a Natural Resources Committee, they have a Grazing and Haying Committee. Instead of trying to find a more sustainable way to mitigate damage from beavers, they are actively promoting trapping and killing. Instead of improving our grazing and haying practices with best management practices, they are continuing with status quo uses. They have chosen to ignore the voices of citizens who have concerns.

We have to ask … is this a cow park or an outdoor recreational natural resource park? Can we manage grazing and haying in a more sustainable and less damaging way? Is there a better way to manage the beaver issues? Can we protect the park’s native plants and control invasive species?

Recent new appointments have increased the number of ranchers on the Grazing and Haying Committee. There are eight people on the committee, and now six of the eight are ranchers. Ranchers are necessary to the committee, but according to the county ordinance established in 2019, only three of the committee members are to be ranchers. This committee needs to be a reflection of the community and have expertise in more than just grazing cows.

Almost half of all revenue for the park comes from recreation and cabin site permits. A comparable amount comes from grazing and haying fees. This should not mean that Beaver Creek Park be managed to benefit a few ranchers over the many Hill County residents who use and enjoy this park.

Those of us who are concerned about the current management of Beaver Creek Park are asking Hill County residents who also have concerns to make their voices heard. Together we can help ensure the park will be managed in a healthy, productive, ecologically, and economically sustainable way.

Responsible management requires a dedication to hearing all voices. Let your voices be heard.

The park board meetings are the first working Monday of every month at 5:30 p.m. in the Timmons Room of the Courthouse unless otherwise announced. The next meeting of the Grazing/Haying Committee is July 30 at 3 p.m. at the Beaver Lodge at Camp Kiwanis. (Check with the Park at 395-4565 to verify the date, time and location.) Commissioners’ business meetings are most Thursday mornings at Hill County Courthouse.

You can also write a letter to the park board/commissioners or a letter to the editor at the Havre Daily News with your concerns.

Todd Hanson

Carolyn Anderson

Cathy Jamruszka

Wayne Koepke

Renelle Braaten

J.W. Anderson

Pam Veis

Jacob Bachmeier

Margarett Campbell

Lou Hagener

Micheal J. Litzinger

Larry Fangsrud

Erv Hamblock 

Robert  Litzinger

Bonnie  Williamson

Chuck Vaughn

Tim Solomon

Patty Donoven

Brian Donoven

Erica McKeon Hanson

Lloyd Stallkamp

Margaret Stallkamp

Will Rawn

Juanita Hockett

Brian Hockett

Annette Swinney

Tom Swinney

Brian Lilletvedt

Delores Noffsinger

Linda Hoines

Raela Hulett

Courtney Tait