Mississippi is doing an outstanding job at not solving problems. It’s working so well for them that they have decided to do it more. I was going to question their intelligence but the 2010 census assures me that fully 78% have high school degrees so things are going better than we might have guessed for the region. Apparently the curriculum doesn’t include any information on beaver management though.
(Or evolution)
Program controls damaging critter
There’s a buck-toothed villain with a bounty on his tail in Alcorn County.
In an effort to help local landowners conserve timber and crops, the Alcorn County Soil and Water Conservation District is encouraging landowners to sign up for this year’s beaver control program.
Organizers say last year’s program was a success, with over 100 participating landowners and 260 beavers eliminated on over 3,500 acres throughout Alcorn County. Since the beginning of the program, over 9,000 beavers have been trapped in the county.
“It’s amazing what those little workers can do,” said Sandy Mitchell, district clerk at the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service office. “Even though we’ve been doing the program for 12 years now, they’re still producing, there are still plenty of beavers out there.”
That’s incredible! You’ve killed 9000 and the ones you missed keep reproducing? Instead of just giving up and moving to the next county or committing suicide by alligator? It’s like they’re MACHINES with no appreciation for all your effort! Considering that you’ve been doing this for more than a decade and it hasn’t worked yet, a lesser county would have started to rethink their strategy – you know, try something new, do some research or talk to other areas. But not you. You gamely keep trying the same failed plan over and over regardless of minor distractions like success. You have to admire that kind of determination.
Alcorn County resident Ozzy Hendrix has trapped beavers for half of his life. He has trapped for the City of Corinth as well as Alcorn County. In the last 15 years Hendrix has trapped over 100 beavers in the area around the train tracks on Harper Road. Hendrix said the most humane beaver traps are the ones that kill the animals instantly.
Anyone looking to trap beavers should first look for the telltale “runs” in shallow water, Hendrix explained.
“It makes a small indention in the ground where they travel in the water,” he said. “It looks like a little ditch. You put the trap down there, and they fit perfectly most of the time in these runs. We catch most of them that way.” Hendrix said there will be occasionally be a smarter class of beaver that will require a snare to trap.
A smarter class of beaver? Now that’s interesting. Hey I wonder if you happen to notice whether there are any more of them than their used to be when you started? Almost like the smarter survivors are breeding more smart survivors? It’s just a curious notion based on something I picked up in yankee school. Don’t trouble yourself about it.
Landowners may trap the beavers themselves or enlist the services of a trapper. They are asked to wrap each beaver’s tail and left back foot in clear plastic wrap or a freezer bag and keep them frozen until collection day. Landowners will receive $10 for each tail up to the maximum amount set.
