By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – The Hill County Park Board held their regular monthly meeting on Monday and voted to approve the Grazing Committee’s recommendation for a 15 percent emergency reduction in grazing at Beaver Creek Park this fall due to the ongoing drought.
The emergency reductions will have no impact on the three-year averages for grazers, according to Park Superintendent Chad Edgar.
“Ranchers won’t be penalized in any way with the 15 percent reduction. They would get their same numbers back, just for clarification,” said Edgar.
Commission Chair Diane McLean estimated that this may cause about a $15,000 reduction in the funds they receive through fall grazing.
Also at the meeting, the Board decided that they will hold an open house at the Camp Kiwanis Lodge on the Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend from 1-4 PM. This Open House will allow area residents to view the deficiencies with the building themselves. This comes as the County Commission is expected to vote on Thursday to put a resolution on the November ballot to fund a 3-mill levy for up to 15-years in order to pay for a new Lodge.
The Board also approved a motion to proceed with a proposal for the building of a Spring tank in Blackie Coulee. This would be paid for out of the ranchers Land Management Fund, and the Grazing Committee felt that this tank would keep cattle in the area.
It was also decided at the meeting that they would look into potential future changes in regards to how allocations are managed, particularly when it comes to cow calf pairs. Included in the discussions was a proposal to count cow calf pairs as 1.3 AUM instead of 1.0.
“Less pairs would be able to graze the same allotment,” said Edgar. “If you had 10,000 animal unit days, with pairs, it is still considered 1 for a pair today. And also a single cow is still considered 1. So it would still be considered 10,000 single cows and 10,000 pairs. If you look at it in that light, you’re feeding a cow and a calf vs. a single cow, and we consider it the same. That’s kind of what (Grazing Committee member) Leon LaSalle is getting at here with this conversation. Which is convincing. They do eat more grass.”
In his Superintendent’s report at the end of the meeting, Edgar announced that while the park has been very busy, compliance with rules has been good. He said it appears the grass may be done growing for the year, and some rain would help things. The Park received 2.5 inches of rain in July and Edgar and other employees remain busy completing regular maintenance.
