Conservation District Beaver Control Program Issues that lead to legislation: Damage to crop fields Damage to timber

 Created under Act 630 of 1993  Administered by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission through Arkansas’ Conservation Districts  Act 1358 of 1997 appropriated $150,000 per for two years  CDs will be reimbursed $5 per beaver  Beaver harvesters must be certified

CD Participation  To receive money through the Conservation District Beaver Control Program, CDs must submit a District Beaver Control Plan, which complies with the commission’s rules, by September 1 of each year,

Before harvesting can begin, the commission must approve the district plan which:  Designates a beaver control officer  Provides that the tails be notched when brought to the officer  Sets up a schedule for beaver control officer to submit reports of payments to the harvesters to the district board and for board application for reimbursement  Approximates the number of beavers to be harvested within the year

Allocation of funds by ANRC  projected Harvest  Funds carried over from prior year  other factors to insure fairness and assure funds are expended each year

Conservation Districts  Maintain a list of beaver harvesters in the county  Require harvesters certify number of beavers trapped  Harvesters are required to identify the landowners they trapped on for each billing.

CD Participation and Annual Funding Level  State - $150,000  County - $146,000  Other - $ 32,000  Total - $328,000  50 conservation districts receive funding for this program in Arkansas.

Other funding for Conservation District Beaver Control Program  County Funding - Quorum Court - Quorum Court - Voluntary Tax - Voluntary Tax  Irrigation and Drainage Districts  Landownrers

Bounties Paid by Districts  Bounty Number of Counties  $5 10  $10 30  $15 6  $20 1  $25 3

Total Funding Since 1997 the State of Arkansas has funded the beaver control Program at the $2.1 million level (Approximately 420,000 beaver harvested) Since 1997 the State of Arkansas has funded the beaver control Program at the $2.1 million level (Approximately 420,000 beaver harvested)  Counties have expended $2.0 million dollars. Most of these funds have been used to increase bounties.  Other funding sources have provided an additional $448,000.  It’s hard to estimate what landowners have thrown into the funding mix to get harvesters on their property.

Summary  After 14 years the beaver still causes millions in flood damages to crops and timber each year.  However, we have been successful in some areas. Beaver are being controlled enough to keep irrigation ditches open, road ditches unclogged, and major drainage channels free of beaver dams.

What can be done to improve on our success in the future?  What can be done to improve on our success in the future?  The allowable bounty for the State needs to be increased from $5 to $10 to increase the incentive for harvesters  Additional funding needed. The allocation for this program has stayed the same since 1997.