2013 Minnesota Statutes
Chapters 97 - 102 — Game and Fish
Chapter 97B — Hunting
Section 97B.667 — Removal of Beavers, Beaver Dams, and Lodges by Road Authorities and Local Government Units
Subdivision 1. Road authorities. (a) When a drainage watercourse is impaired by a beaver dam and the water damages or threatens to damage a public road, the road authority, as defined in section 160.02, subdivision 25, may remove the impairment and any associated beaver lodge within 300 feet of the road.
(b) The road authority may kill beaver associated with the lodge or damage in any manner, except by poison or artificial lights.
(c) The road authority may arrange to have killed any beaver associated with the lodge by trapping through a third-party contract or under subdivision 4.
Subd. 2. Local government units. (a) Local government units may, as provided in this section, kill or arrange to have killed beaver that are causing damage, including damage to silvicultural projects and drainage ditches, on property owned or managed by the local government unit. Removal or destruction of any associated beaver lodge is subject to section 97A.401, subdivision 5.
(b) The local government unit may kill beaver associated with the lodge or damage in any manner, except by poison or artificial lights.
(c) The local government unit may arrange to have killed any beaver associated with the lodge or damage by trapping through a third-party contract or under subdivision 4.
Subd. 3. Permits and notice; requirements. (a) Before killing or arranging to kill a beaver under this section, the road authority or local government unit must contact a conservation officer for a special beaver permit. The conservation officer must issue the permit for any beaver subject to this section.
(b) A road authority or local government unit that kills or arranges to have killed a beaver under this section must notify a conservation officer or employee of the Wildlife Division within ten days after the animal is killed.
Subd. 4. Local beaver control programs. A road authority or local government unit may, after consultation with the Wildlife Division, implement a local beaver control program designed to reduce the number of incidents of beaver:
(1) interfering with or damaging a public road; or
(2) causing damage, including damage to silvicultural projects and drainage ditches, on property owned or managed by the local government unit.
The local control program may include the offering of a bounty for the lawful taking of beaver.
History:1994 c 623 art 1 s 33; 1997 c 216 s 84; 1Sp2011 c 2 art 5 s 52; 2012 c 277 art 1 s 66
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