Next beaver population control meeting set for Wednesday

The Hill County Park Board’s Rules and Regulations Committee will hold its next meeting to examine beaver population control at Beaver Creek Park Wednesday, April 21, at 6 p.m. in the 4-H Chuckwagon at the Great Northern Fairgrounds.

The meeting is being held for members of the public to voice their perspectives on the topic and what direction they think the board should take in the future.

A similar meeting was held last month, where proponents and opponents of non-lethal beaver trapping alternatives spoke to the committee and provided written testimony and data to make their cases.

This is part of a series of meetings that will take place before the committee and board make any decisions on potential changes to their population control methods and policy.

The issue of beaver population control in the park has been a controversial one, with some favoring the historical model of lethal trapping as a method of keeping the population down, while others want the board to look into non-lethal alternatives.

While some in the latter category have suggested that population control may be unnecessary in its entirety, most who speak publicly at park board meetings on the subject agree that the impact of beavers needs to be controlled in some way, lest the park’s environment change significantly, but disagreeing on method rather than necessity.

Past meeting of the Hill County Park Board have been host to heated debates on the subject with proponents of non-lethal methods of beaver control arguing that trapping is inhumane and unnecessary when there are alternatives like Beaver Deceivers that, depending on the terrain, could be effective ways of mitigating damage without the need for killing the animals.

Opponents express skepticism about the non-lethal method’s effectiveness and cost efficiency as well as the aesthetics of the devices used for non-lethal population control.

Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said the committee will have time at next week’s meeting to ask questions of attendees, much like the March meeting, but he hopes to give people more speaking time at this meeting than the last one.

The two-minute time limit at the March meeting was criticized by many attendees.

He said he also hopes social distancing will be easier at the Chuckwagon than it was at the Hill County Courthouse Annex where it was held last month.

At the meeting in May, Peterson said, he hopes to have some presenters with expertise on the subject either in person or via GoToMeeting. He said the committee will be given the opportunity to ask questions and he hopes there will also be time for the public to ask questions.

In a previous interview about these meetings, Peterson said he hopes to get biologists from Fish, Wildlife and Parks, and other experts from nature conservancy organizations to pitch in.

Reports on the committee’s meetings will be given to the Hill County Park Board, but discussion of beaver population control will be handled at the committee meetings for the most part, he said.

Peterson has said the committee and board will not make any official moves until the end of the meetings, at least, and people shouldn’t expect serious changes in policy for at least a year.

He said the issue is complex and will require significant discussion before any potential changes are made.

“This is an important piece of regulation we need to look at,” he said.