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Lawmakers question cost of one-year feral swine management extension
Summary
The Department of Conservation told the committee it is seeking a one-year extension for feral swine management services and plans to re-procure in about six months; a committee member challenged the nearly $500,000 price tag and discussed how prior legislative bans on transporting live feral swine have changed on-the-ground practices.
Juliana Dean of the Department of Conservation presented a one-year extension for feral swine management and said the department plans to re-procure the services with an RFP in about six months.
A committee member asked bluntly, "Almost a half a million dollars to kill wild pigs?" and pressed the agency about vendor capacity and the procurement plan. Agency staff said the extension aims to increase capacity and that the planned re-procurement will encourage more vendors to participate.
During the discussion a committee member noted past legislative changes that prohibited transporting live feral swine and suggested that those policy changes altered private capture and control markets—arguing the law reduced options for landowners and contributed to feral-swine problems. The comment was offered as context for the management costs and was framed as a policy observation rather than a motion or resolution.
The committee did not record a formal vote on the extension during the session. Department staff said they would notify members when the RFP is released and welcomed further input.
