GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 1549

Short Title:  Statewide Beaver Control Funds.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Redwine, Wright, Hill; McLawhorn, Grady, J. Preston, and Edwards.
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Referred to:  Appropriations.
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May 25, 1994

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A BEAVER MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AVAILABLE TO ALL COUNTIES EXPERIENCING BEAVER DAMAGE, TO AUTHORIZE THE WILDLIFE RESOURCES COMMISSION TO COLLECT FEES FROM PARTICIPANTS RECEIVING SERVICES UNDER THE PROGRAM, TO ESTABLISH THE BEAVER MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ADVISORY BOARD, AND TO APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO IMPLEMENT THE PROGRAM.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.   Article 22 of Chapter 113 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:
"§ 113-296.  Beaver Management Assistance Program.
(a)	There is established the Beaver Management Assistance Advisory Board, hereafter referred to as the Board.  The Board shall consist of nine members, as follows:
(1)	The Executive Director of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, or his designee, who shall serve as chair;
(2)	The Commissioner of Agriculture, or a designee;
(3)	The Director of the Division of Forest Resources of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, or a designee;
(4)	The Director of the Soil and Water Conservation Division of the Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, or a designee;
(5)	The Director of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service, or a designee;
(6)	The Secretary of Transportation, or a 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 a designee;
(8)	The President of the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, Inc., or a designee, representing private landowners in the participating counties; and
(9)	A representative of the North Carolina Forestry Association.
(b)	The Board shall recommend to the Wildlife Resources Commission a Beaver Management Assistance Program to control beaver damage on private and public lands.  The Board shall act in an advisory capacity to the Wildlife Resources Commission in the implementation of the Program.  The Board shall in its recommendation:
(1) 	Orient the Program primarily toward public health and safety and toward landowner assistance, providing some relief to landowners through beaver control and beaver management;
(2)	Develop a priority system for responding to complaints about beaver damage;
(3)	Develop a system for documenting all activities associated with beaver damage control and management, 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)	Designate the areas of the State having the greatest need for beaver damage control and establish a list of priority areas on an annual basis; and
(6)	Develop a fee system as may be necessary to charge individual participants in the Program amounts not to exceed twenty percent (20%) of actual costs.
The Board shall review the Program and make recommendations to the Wildlife Resources Commission annually.
(c)	The Wildlife Resources Commission shall implement the Program, and may enter cooperative agreements with federal and State agencies, local governments, and individual participants to accomplish the Program.  The Wildlife Resources Commission may charge individual participants a fee not to exceed twenty percent (20%) of actual costs for the cost of providing services under the Program.
The Beaver Management Assistance Account is established within the Wildlife Resources Fund.  The Wildlife Resources Commission may use revenues in the account only for the Beaver Management Assistance Program established in this section.  Fees collected under this section, amounts appropriated by the General Assembly or received from the federal government for beaver management assistance, and matching funds required of counties participating in the Program shall be credited to the account.  Revenue in the Beaver Management Assistance Account that has been neither obligated nor expended as of June 30 of each fiscal year shall revert to the Wildlife Resources Fund to be carried forward for use in beaver management assistance in future years.
(d)	Any laws regulating the seasons or methods of taking beaver do not apply to activities carried out in implementing the Beaver Management Assistance Program developed pursuant to this section."
Sec. 2.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the Wildlife Resources Commission the sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) for the 1994-95 fiscal year to implement the statewide Beaver Management Assistance Program established in G.S. 113-296.  The funds appropriated in this section shall be matched by five thousand dollars ($5,000) of local funds from each county electing to participate in the Beaver Management Assistance Program and by funds provided from federal sources.  In order to assure proper staffing and planning, participating counties shall commit the matching funds to the Beaver Management Assistance Account for each fiscal year by adopting and submitting a resolution to that effect before August 1 of that fiscal year.   The Wildlife Resources Commission shall establish a due date and receive funds prior to initiation of beaver management programs within a county.
Sec. 3.  This act becomes effective July 1, 1994.