Manitoba’s rural development minister gave municipalities the good news they were hoping for last week, though local wildlife might not agree.
Glen Cummings announced he would offer again this year a program that compensates municipalities for hiring trappers to kill off problem beavers.
The announcement, which came three days before the provincial budget was announced, was made when municipal officials met here last week.
“We know the demand is there and we will have to allocate resources to make sure we can in fact run one,” Cummings said following his address.
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The $200,000 program is cost-shared by the province and municipalities. Local officials said the announcement is welcome news.
“Beavers plug up the culverts so water rushes over the road and washes the road out,” said Jim Whitiker, a councillor with the Rural Municipality of Clanwilliam south of Riding Mountain National Park.
For a while he went out twice a day to remove one problem dam, but that proved fruitless.
“It’s like weed control, you’ve got to do some parts every year.”
Dwain Lawless, reeve of the RM of Rossburn, said his municipality was approved to take out 2,000 beavers under the program two years ago.
“Flooding of farmland, hay meadows, culverts overflowing, blocking roads – it can wipe out a lot of productive farmland.”
The nearby national park is a breeding ground for beavers, and when it gets overrun, the animals move into nearby communities, Lawless said.
Under the program, when a municipal official identifies a problem site, he calls a natural resource officer to get approval and decide how many beaver need to be killed.
The municipality then contacts a local trapper for the job, who has to provide proof of the kill before receiving the $15.
Low beaver pelt prices have prevented the problem from solving itself. But that could change, said Whitiker. A recent agreement with the Europeans that Canadian trappers stop using leg-hold traps should open up that market and push prices back up.
“Fur prices are so low now that it’s not economical.”
The beaver season ends in Manitoba on May 15. Whitiker said the program must kick in immediately after that and not wait until June, which is what occurred last year.
Depending on spring weather and run-off periods, municipalities say they need the program in place sooner to make any difference.
