Hays County will be continuing countywide feral hog management efforts in 2019 after receiving a $13,100 grant from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Wildlife Services. The Hays County program will include a feral hog workshop and three webinars, aerial control services, a damage assessment and free trapping equipment for a limited number of local participants.
Hays County is an affiliate of the Central Texas Feral Hog Task Force and has partnered with The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, the Cypress Creek Project, the San Marcos Watershed Initiative and the Plum Creek Watershed Partnership to assist with educational components of the program in 2019.
“The 2019 feral hog program in Hays County has a great opportunity for sustained success as we have received both the continued funding and support to coordinate on a regional scale with projects in Caldwell County and Guadalupe County,” said Nick Dornak, Director of Watershed Services at The Meadows Center.
Texas is home to an estimated 3 million feral hogs. Lacking sweat glands, hogs seek out shelter along creeks and rivers, which can result in contamination of those waterways, such as Cypress Creek and the
San Marcos River. Recognized as an invasive species, feral hogs are responsible for significant agricultural and property losses in Texas, exceeding $500,000,000 each year.
“Feral hogs continue to pose significant problems for both agriculture producers and residential property owners in Hays County,” said Jason Mangold, Hays County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources.
A feature component of the Hays County feral hog program in 2019 includes free corral trapping kits for up to 12 program participants. The kits will be available for pickup from King Feed in Wimberley and
include t-posts, panels and a 40” door. To be eligible to receive a free trapping kit, participants must confirm that they own or manage land in Hays County by completing a 2019 feral hog survey and damage assessment. Surveys can be picked up at the Hays County AgriLife Extension Office, 200 Stillwater Road, Wimberley, TX 78676 or downloaded from the Central Texas Feral Hog Task Force Website. Selected participants will be issued an equipment voucher to present when picking up their
kit.
Although, there is no bounty program currently being offered in Hays County this year, the County is offering aerial control services for local landowners. Please contact Nick Dornak at nickdornak@txstate.edu if you are interested in signing up for aerial control.
A Hays County Feral Hog Abatement Workshop will be held later this spring. Workshop details will be posted online at http://www.feralhogtaskforce.com/calendar.
For more information, visit the project website, http://www.feralhogtaskforce.com/hays.
For questions, email The Meadows Center at feralhog@txstate.edu or call 512.245.6697.
This Press Release from The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment