Beaver Creek Park continues to see dry conditions

The Hill County Park Board discussed the drought conditions that continue to affect Beaver Creek Park at their monthly meeting Monday, and delayed their vote on implementing their Rules and Regulations Committee’s proposed beaver management policy.

Beaver Creek Park Superintendent Chad Edgar said conditions in the park are still very dry and the risk of wildfire continues to be high.

Board Chair Tony Reum said, because of the extremely dry conditions, he’s asking that people in the park stay on established trails.

Reum said the long, dry grass off the trails won’t take much to catch fire, and fire crews will always have more trouble getting equipment into those areas.

Edgar said park usage has dipped slightly due to recently implemented fire restrictions that prohibit campfires, but the drop is not significant considering the time of year.

“It’s normal in the dog days of August to be a bit slow out there,” he said.

Edgar said park users have been good about following fire restrictions and the park’s office has only received one call regarding an illegal fire since restrictions were put in place a few weeks ago.

He also said he wanted to remind people to use the parks garbage cans and not overfill them.

He said wind and birds can scatter trash that isn’t contained in the cans which creates a great deal of work for the park.

“Please contain your garbage,” he asked.

Unfortunately, Edgar said, the park’s administrative assistant position remains unfilled as the primary candidate for the position turned down the park’s offer, and the second choice withdrew their application.

He thanked Pam Wilson for doing what she can to fill the void and for keeping the park running.

He said the deputy warden position has two good applicants and he’s hoping to set up interviews this week.

In addition to discussing and approving a few cabin improvement projects, the board also talked about the construction of the south cross-fence, the price for which seems to be rising steadily.

Hill County Commissioner Diane McLean said the Hill County Road Department has looked at the location and has given an estimate of material cost, though Edgar said he’s still waiting on an estimate of installation costs.

McLean said installation would take four or five days, and Road Department Supervisor Jim Bedwell is requesting permission to move forward and purchase materials before they become even more expensive.

Edgar said the estimate of the project’s cost has risen substantially due to increasing materials costs.

McLean said she wasn’t sure if they can fast-track Bedwell’s request and questioned the prospect of paying the department for labor, saying it would effectively be the county paying the county.

The board determined that the matter would stay on the agenda until these issues were sorted out.

The board also received an update from etired rangeland management expert Lou Hagener, who has been tracking park conditions. He said areas vary in terms of plant growth and regrowth is similarly lacking at the moment.

Hagener also renewed a request from the last meeting that the board put on the next agenda a conversation about improving the park’s tracking of the causal influences of park conditions.

He said the park’s level of production is largely a function of weather, but the changes in plant community, its biodiversity and soil is largely a matter of management and he thinks the park should be keeping more comprehensive records of these influences and which will allow for better management of the park.

The board also discussed the possible implementation of their Rules and Regulations Committee’s recommended policy on beaver management in the park.

The board was originally going to vote on the policy but it did not make it onto the agenda in time so it would be pushed back to next month’s meeting.

McLean said this would give the board more time to consider some recommended changes and rewordings Hagener provided to the board, changes she thinks are largely beneficial to the document.

She said Hagener’s recommended rewordings do not fundamentally change the policy but provide a bit more guidance and make it clear that Edgar is not solely responsible for management practices on the park.

She asked fellow board members to look at the matter for next month.

The next meeting of the board will be Sept. 13 at 5:30 p.m. at the Timmons Room in the Hill County Courthouse.