(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Council business

R.M. of Prince Albert exploring alternate beaver control methods

Aug 13, 2020 | 5:54 PM

The Rural Municipality (R.M.) of Prince Albert is actively exploring the best and most cost-effective method to deal with beaver complaints.

Under the current terms of the provincial beaver control program, licensed trappers receive $30 per adult tail they bring in to the R.M. which in turn receives $5,500 in annual funding from the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM).

Issues arise however because the tails that are claimed may or may not have come from within the borders of the R.M., and the beaver itself may or may not have been the source of a complaint and was simply killed for the money it offered.

(Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

At Thursday’s council meeting, Div 2 Councillor Tyler Hazelwood suggested that after speaking with a number of R.M.’s including Flett Sprigs and Shellbrook, a more productive option for the R.M. may be to hire a specialist to target only the problem areas.

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The rural municipalities “spent less money and they got better results because they were targeting a certain spot,” Hazelwood said.

Hazelwood explained one of the flaws of the beaver bounty program is that he’s heard examples where a person complains about a beaver blocking a culvert in a given area, but the trapper in the area may decline to come.

“They will say to them how many are there, well there’s just one, well I’m not coming for one beaver because it’s only $30 to them,” Hazelwood said. “They want to go for 10 beavers so they can trap 10 in two days and get $300.”

Div. 2 Councillor Tyler Hazelwood. (Nigel Maxwell/ paNOW Staff)

Reeve Eric Schmalz told council he had no issues trying something new for one year, but added it was not an option for this year. Afterwards Schmalz confirmed he is in support of exploring options.

“Rather than a blanket approach, this would be more of a surgical approach,” he said.

Council has agreed to address the issue further at a future meeting and Div. 1 Councillor Michael Grassick requested specific numbers with regard to how much the R.M. has spent this year on beaver tail payouts.

Other R.M. Council highlights

The R.M. continues to review the speed limits on gravel roads where there is a considerable amount of foot traffic. As a result of more recent complaints, the R.M. has reduced the speed limit to 50 km/hr on three more roads.

Councillor Barton Franc asked administration to look into the possibility of a designated conservation area in Division 3. Franc explained there is a considerable amount of wetland area, and the province provides funding for conservation areas.

Noticeably absent from Thursday’s meeting was Div. 5 Councillor Wayne Acorn. The second item on the agenda was the opportunity for him to address council regarding an incident at the R.M’s February meeting.

Div. 5 Councillor Wayne Acorn has now missed six council meetings. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

Acorn was asked to leave the meeting after clenching his fist at Reeve Eric Schmalz. Before Acorn can return to council, he must submit both a written and verbal apology, as well as receive a class on ethics and respectful behaviour. Acorn told paNOW he takes no issue with the apology but has no plans to get anger management training

In an interview last month, Acorn hinted he may pursue legal action, and suggested he also may attend the Aug. 13 meeting.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell