Brown Coleman Runnels Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program Project
The Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program responds to the threat feral swine pose to American agriculture, landscapes and human and livestock health..
Project Area
Brown, Coleman and Runnels Counties contain 2,108,800 acres. United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reports a combined total of 3,790 farms and ranches covering 476,626 acres of cropland, 1,246,713 acres of pastureland, and 120,985 acres of woodlands. The counties are within the Upper Colorado River Basin and contain several creeks, rivers and lakes with potential for feral swine contamination, including the Colorado River itself in Runnels and Coleman Counties, Elm and Hords Creeks in Coleman County and Jim Ned Creek in Coleman and Brown Counties. Numerous reservoirs are within these counties, notably OH Ivie Reservoir, Hords Creek Reservoir and Lakes Scarborough, Coleman and Brownwood. Beef cattle, sheep & goats, hay, wheat, and cotton are the chief agricultural products.
Map(s)
Anticipated Partner Activities
The partner will coordinate a trap loan program to deliver traps, assist landowners in setting the traps, delivering initial bait and tracking landowner time as in-kind support for the project. The partner will coordinate with Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) -Wildlife Services and will provide quarterly reports and a final project report to Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
APHIS will be considered the subject matter experts for implementing feral swine removal and damage reduction activities. Partners will need to collaborate with APHIS personnel when removal activities are requested by participating landowners. All projects will be a collaborative and coordinated effort between the selected partner, NRCS, and APHIS. It is required that APHIS maintains operational control of feral swine management activities.
Monitoring/Evaluation Requirements of Partner
Continual monitoring will be conducted to identify reinfestation of cooperating properties. Annual damage data collection will evaluate the efficacy of the project. APHIS will adjust intensity of control based on monitoring and the partner will report damage data annually and trap loan statistics quarterly. The partner will gather damage data and summarize damage data by project area.
Partners are required to collect standardized information for trapping operations in accordance with APHIS procedures. Examples of data collected include trap location, number of pigs trapped, location of nearby resources, etc.
Training Expectations
Community-level outreach will be in the form of organized community open house, press releases, newspaper articles and radio programs.
Education will be essential aspects of the project to ensure landowners are educated on the need for removing feral swine, approved techniques, and methods for controlling feral swine populations. Partners are expected to assist with training and educational activities.