Park board looks at draft on beaver control policies

The Hill County Park Board was presented a draft of their Rules and Regulations Committee's proposed policy on beaver management on Beaver Creek Park Monday, which includes trapping and non-lethal alternatives.

The policy states that beaver provide significant benefits to the ecosystem of the park but that some of their population can be removed for the sake of the park's aesthetics, facilities, infrastructure and public spaces.

The policy has the stated goal of using population control to avoid these problems when necessary but also to protect the beaver population when it is not causing problems, all at the direction of the Beaver Creek Park superintendent.

The policy gives the superintendent the authority to make determinations as to how beaver populations should be dealt with, whether that is through traditional methods of population control including trapping, or alternative non-lethal methods methods like flow devices, though approval from the board will be necessary to implement these alternative methods once they are funded.

Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson said he's pleased with the work of the committee which has recommended that their policy be taken under advisement by the board.

"They listened to the public, they listened to experts and this is what they came up with," Peterson said. "I'm very proud of that committee, they worked hard on it."

Beaver Creek Park Superintendent Chad Edgar also gave the board an update on the park's usage, which he said is extremely high.

Edgar said the Fourth of July went exceedingly well and compliance is good, though drought conditions have negatively affected the land.

He said the park is very dry, and recent rain hasn't helped that much.

"Conditions are not ideal right now," he said.

Peterson said a burn ban is in effect in Hill County, including Beaver Creek Park, meaning no open burning can take place with the exception of campfires in designated receptacles.

He said propane barbecues are also fine as long as people are being careful.

Edgar also said this past weekend's windstorm damaged trees all over the park and it will take another day or two to get the debris cleaned up.

He said warning signs regarding dangerous blue-green algae have also been installed, and the new folf course is fully operational and looks great.

He thanked Jake Rodgers and Havre Trails for their work setting the course up.

He said Havre Trails will also soon be seeking permission from the board to hold a folf tournament and board members should be on the lookout for that event.

In another piece of good news, Edgar said, the park now has five applicants for the assistant superintendent position, which he hopes to fill in the coming days.

Lou Hagener, a retired rangeland management specialist, provided an update on his observations regarding the production potential of the land on the park this year, which he said is far lower than normal.

Hagener said nearly all kinds of grass on the park are significantly shorter than they would normally be due to the drought with even Kentucky blue grass showing meager growth.

He said the soil is dry, and grasshoppers haven't helped the situation either.

He also requested the the board use the next meeting to discuss the possibility of widening their data collection efforts to include more cause-based data about things like weather, including temperatures and precipitation, as well as land treatment and disturbances.

He said collecting such data will allow the board to better respond to issues on the park.