Park board hears comments on beaver management

Hill County Park Board heard an update Monday evening about beaver and ecosystem monitoring at Beaver Creek Park from Humane Society expert Dave Pauli for suggestions.

“Something has to be done or we are going to lose our park,” said Dave Manning, who camps on the park.

The common theme throughout the meeting was not simply finding ways to monitor the beavers, but also finding a way to control them.

Park Board Chair Steve Mariani said no decision will be made because the board is educating themselves on options for long-term alternatives on managing the beavers and the ecosystem.

Mariani said more investigation and data collection on animals in Beaver Creek Park needs to be done before any decisions are made.

“Anyone with opinions about watershed and beaver management in the park should share them with the board of directors,” park board member Renelle Braaten said after the meeting.

Several questions were raised during the public comment section, including how many trees are being impacted by the beavers, how replacing trees works, and how long does it take.

The board agreed that a developed source of evidence needs to be provided for the public to understand what is really going on out at Beaver Creek Park.

Norsman Consulting Firm Managing Partner Todd Hanson offered his firm’s services in completing a study of the Beaver Creek Park riparian and watershed ecosystems free of charge.

Hanson said the public needs to know this is a process and is going to take time.

Board member Renelle Braaten moved to accept the offer, although it was not listed on the agenda for the meeting.

The board tabled the motion and sent the proposal to County Attorney Karen Alley for review.

In other news, Beaver Creek Park Board Superintendent Chad Edgar said park usage has been rather busy due to the Fourth of July this past month and that everything is going well out there. Edgar said he is out checking the spring tanks, cleaning them and doing general campsite cleaning.

Friends of Beaver Creek Chair and park board member Ursula Brese said Friends has installed eight fire pits on the park and eight more are on the way.

The next park board meeting is Monday, Sept. 5, at the Timmons Room in the Hill County Courthouse. Deadline to put items on the agenda for the next meeting is noon, Aug. 30.