GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 1533

Short Title:  Beaver Control Pilot Funds.	(Local)
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Sponsors: Representatives Redwine, Bowen, Mercer, and Nye.
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Referred to:  Appropriations.
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June 3, 1992

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A BEAVER DAMAGE CONTROL ADVISORY BOARD TO DEVELOP A PILOT PROGRAM FOR BEAVER DAMAGE CONTROL IN BLADEN, BRUNSWICK, COLUMBUS, AND SAMPSON COUNTIES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  There is established the Beaver Damage Control Advisory Board.  The Board shall consist of nine members, as follows:
(1)	The Executive Director of the Wildlife Resources Commission, or his designee, who shall serve as chairman;
(2)	The Commissioner of Agriculture, or his designee;
(3)	The Director of the Division of Forest Resources of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, or his designee;
(4)	The Director of the Soil and Water Conservation Division of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, or his designee;
(5)	The Director of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, or his designee;
(6) 	The Secretary of Transportation, or his designee;
(7) 	The State Director of the Animal Damage Control Division of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, or his designee;
(8)	The President of the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, Inc., or his designee, representing private landowners in the participating counties;
(9) 	A representative of the North Carolina Forestry Association.
Sec. 2.  The Beaver Damage Control Advisory Board shall develop a pilot program to control beaver damage on private lands in Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, and Sampson Counties, and act in an advisory capacity to the Wildlife Resources Commission in the implementation of the program.  In developing the program, the Board should:
(1) 	Orient the program primarily toward landowner assistance, providing some relief to landowners through beaver control and management rather than eradication;
(2)	Develop a priority system for responding to beaver complaints;
(3)	Develop a system for documenting all activities associated with beaver damage control, so as to facilitate evaluation of the program;
(4)	Provide educational activities as a part of the program, such as printed materials, on-site instructions, and local workshops;
(5)	Provide for the hiring of three trained wildlife biologists with beaver trapping and damage control experience who will conduct the actual field work;
(6)	Evaluate the costs and benefits of the program that might be applicable elsewhere in North Carolina.
Upon the conclusion of the pilot program on October 1, 1993, the Board shall issue a report to the Wildlife Resources Commission on the results of the program, including recommendations on the feasibility of continuing the program in participating counties and the desirability of expanding the program into other counties. 
Sec. 3.  The Wildlife Resources Commission shall implement the program, and may enter a cooperative agreement with the Animal Damage Control Division of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, United States Department of Agriculture, to accomplish the purposes of this act.
Sec. 4.  No fee may be charged for the first visit made to each landowner in implementing the beaver damage control program established pursuant to this act.  The Wildlife Resources Commission may thereafter collect a fee of up to twenty-five dollars ($25.00) from a landowner for each visit for beaver control measures, for the cost of the assistance provided.
Sec. 5.  Notwithstanding G.S. 113-291.6(d) or any other law, it is lawful to use snares when trapping beaver pursuant to the beaver damage control program developed pursuant to this act. The provisions of Chapter 218 of the 1975 Session Laws, Chapter 492 of the 1951 Session Laws, as amended by Chapter 506 of the 1955 Session Laws, and Chapter 1001 of the 1983 Session Laws  shall not apply to trapping carried out in implementing the beaver damage control program developed pursuant to this act.
Sec. 6.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Wildlife Resources Commission the sum of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for the 1992-93 fiscal year to match twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in federal funding and sixteen thousand dollars ($16,000) from the four participating counties, for the implementation of this act.
Sec. 7.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1992, and expires October 1, 1993.