As the heavy rain season approaches, county officials are trying to get ahead of flooding due to beaver dams.
At Monday night’s Leflore County Board of Supervisors meeting, Jerry Smith, the county road manager, spoke about the search for and destruction of beaver dams throughout the area.
“We’re dealing with this type of problem now, this time of year, more than ever,” Smith said. “We have to do it because if you leave some there and we get a lot of rain, we are going to get a lot of flooding.”
The dams cause water to flood roads.
In August, the board voted unanimously to take part in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Beaver Control Program. According to the USDA website, the program provides “technical assistance and direct management for beaver damage (including) assistance to communities, ranchers, municipal officials, farmers, and others.”
The price for the county to participate is $7,500 a year.
Chancery Clerk and County Administrator Johnny Gary Jr. said he had spoken to representatives from the program but the communication line fell through.
District 2 Supervisor Reginald Moore, vice president of the board, said this is a huge problem for the county.
“At this point, we really need to take some kind of action because this is going to be a hindrance to Mr. Smith and the entire unit if they are going out and breaking up dams,” Moore said. “So let’s see if we can wave a red flag to the USDA and say, ‘Hey, this is an emergency situation,’ whatever it is. Let’s get some assistance in breaking these beaver dams because you might as well say this is January, and February is when the water comes.”
Moore likened the situation to a football game, saying that right now the county was in the “fourth quarter.” District 3 Supervisor Anjuan Brown added that it was closer to “overtime.”
Moore also suggested that the board may even need to hire a private company to come in to break the dams or trap the rodents if the agency does not step forward.
District 5 Supervisor Robert Collins, president of the board, added that the county could even use drone surveillance to locate and handle the situation.
The board took no further action.
Smith said this is not a new issue. “It has been an ongoing problem, and we just have to deal with it,” he said.
• Contact Adam Bakst at 581-7233 or abakst@gwcommonwealth.com. On Twitter at @AdamBakst_GWCW.
