Commissioners approve feral hog agreement

By Wesley Gardner
LPR Editor

Caldwell County Commissioners on Tuesday approved a professional service agreement with Texas State University to assist with the county’s 2020 Feral Hog Abatement Program.
Officials have noted Caldwell County and its partners have suffered millions of dollars in damages to property and natural resources from feral hog activity.
In December, the county renewed an agreement with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service to receive $20,000 in grant funding from Texas A&M AgriLife to assist with the implementation of the program, which will provide education opportunities, coordinate trapping and hunting operations, and facilitate aerial gunning from helicopters.
According to the agreement, Texas State University will assist the county with project oversight and coordination, including progress reports detailing program’s status. The university will also provide a workshop on the abatement program, as well as a one-hour webinar.
The agreement also stipulates that Texas State will implement cost-sharing incentive programs, provide trapping supplies to up to three program participants and secure aerial services contracts for up 14.25 hours of aerial hunting.
The estimated cost of the services is about $5,000, which will be taken from the $20,000 Texas A&M AgriLife grant.
County officials noted more than 15,000 feral hogs have been harvested through the program since 2010.

To read more, pick up this week’s edition of the Post-Register