Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Wildlife Management topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee broadens permit authority for beaver and muskrat damage control; bill passes second reading
Summary
House Bill 95, requested by the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, passed second reading with a 93-6 recorded vote to expand permit-based control of beaver and muskrat damage to additional rural and urban structures and extend the months when take permits are available.
House Bill 95, requested by the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, was recommended do pass on second reading with a recorded vote of 93 ayes and 6 no. Representative Fielder presented the bill to expand the list of structures and projects eligible for a permit to control beaver and muskrat damage beyond existing irrigation projects and stock ponds.
Fielder said the bill recognizes additional projects where beaver and muskrat cause damage and allows the property owner or employees to perform damage-control work with a permit; a trapping license would not be required for landowners or facilities acting under a damage-control permit. The bill also expands the time of year that take permits are available to include the months when these animals disperse and cause the most damage.
Fielder described examples including beaver damming a culvert or threatening a septic field that could result in flooding and property damage. The committee record shows the Fish, Wildlife and Parks department requested the change and that the House Fish and Wildlife Committee previously reported the measure out 20-0.
The committee's motion that the bill "recommend the same do pass" was adopted with 93 ayes and 6 no votes, and the bill will continue through House consideration under the committee report.
