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County signs five-year agreement to let state trap beaver and respond to wolf depredation on county lands
Summary
Pine County approved a five-year work initiation document (WID) with the Department of Agriculture allowing state staff to conduct beaver control and wolf-depredation work on county-owned properties to speed response and facilitate research such as radio-collaring.
Pine County commissioners approved a five-year work initiation document (WID) granting the Minnesota Department of Agriculture permission to perform beaver control and wolf-depredation work on county-owned properties.
Dwayne Saar, with the Department of Agriculture, explained the WID would allow department staff to set traps or perform other mitigation work on county tax-forfeited property, county-maintained ditches, or similar county land when depredations occur. The agreement is nonbinding and can be voided by either party; it simply provides authority to act without obtaining a signed property release each time an incident arises. The WID also includes an addendum describing additional trapping tools beyond the six components originally allowed on the form.
Saar said the department had trapped roughly 320 wolves and about 350 beaver in Pine County since 2010 as part of broader regional work. Commissioners asked about the acreage listed in the template (1,000 acres) and were told the figure is a placeholder.
Commissioner Nelson moved to approve the WID; Commissioner Holland seconded and the board unanimously approved the agreement. The WID runs five years and the department will provide copies of both the WID and the addendum signed by the county.
