Eastern Wildlife Damage Control Conferences
Date of this Version
November 1995
Abstract
Responding to landowner requests, the 1989 Mississippi Legislature created the Beaver Control Advisory Hoard and mandated it to develop a program which would ensure the control of beaver damage throughout Mississippi. The Advisory Board is comprised of the administrative heads of five state agencies: the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (chairperson), the Department of Transportation, the Cooperative Extension Service, the Forestry Commission, and the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. In cooperation with the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Animal Damage Control (ADC) program, the Advisory Board developed the Beaver Control Assistance Program (BCAP). BCAP is designed to provide assistance with the management of beaver damage on private, county, and state-owned lands and is funded through a combination of federal, state, county, and landowner funds. Actual administrative authority of BCAP rests with the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, however, the enabling state legislation allows the program administration to be transferred to a federal agency. As a result, ADC administers BCAP under the guidance of the Advisory Board. Through a combination of technical assistance and direct control, ADC works in cooperation with the BCAP Advisory Board to alleviate beaver-caused damages throughout Mississippi. County enrollment in BCAP has gown from 22 participants in 1989 to 50 in 1994 and cooperative funding has increased by 44%. With increasing beaver populations and predicted decreases in the commercial fur harvest, the demand for BCAP services is likely to increase.