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Dawes County commissioners seek clarification on proposed APHIS cooperative agreement and consider subcontracting for predator control
Summary
Commissioners questioned a proposed USDA-APHIS cooperative agreement that includes a $10,000 aerial-expense line, expressing concern about flight hours, coverage for four counties, and whether APHIS has aircraft access; the board asked APHIS to return to clarify terms and discussed subcontracting alternatives and a possible coyote bounty.
At its July 8 meeting, the Dawes County Board of Commissioners discussed a proposed cooperative agreement with USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) that would include $10,000 labeled for aerial expense. Commissioners said they need clearer detail about how many flight hours that amount would cover and whether APHIS would provide aircraft or access to flight time.
The issue emerged during discussion at 9:30 a.m. Commissioner Walter Juhlin asked whether a single APHIS agent could realistically cover four counties and what coverage would actually look like for Dawes County residents; Commissioner Jake Stewart said the county would need more explicit coverage commitments in the contract. Deputy County Attorney Adam Edmund said Sioux County had not yet decided on the cooperative agreement and raised subcontracting as a possible way to manage different predator categories separately, including prairie dogs and pest birds. Edmund also said the county could consider reducing the APHIS contract to free funds for subcontracts.
Why it matters: the agreement defines how predator control services would be delivered in rural parts of western Nebraska and how county funds would be spent. The board flagged the $10,000 aerial line as a material budget item that lacks an expressed service level (hours or flights), which makes it hard to evaluate value for county residents.
What was proposed and what the board asked for: Commissioners discussed a range of options beyond the APHIS proposal. Juhlin raised the idea of a coyote bounty as one potential supplement; Edmund noted the need to establish oversight and management procedures if the county pursued alternative contractors or bounties. The board requested that an APHIS representative return at a future meeting to clarify how the aerial-expense funding would be used, whether APHIS would supply aircraft, and how service coverage would be allocated among counties.
No formal action to approve or reject the APHIS cooperative agreement was taken at the meeting. The board’s direction was procedural: secure more information from APHIS and explore subcontracting or adjusted funding levels before committing county resources.
