Agency's underfunding has been frustrating

By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition

July 3, 2003 -- The Texas Wildlife Damage Management Service, a part of the Texas A&M University system, is the largest wildlife damage agency in the country. Each year it provides primarily predator control services to more than 5,000 properties with more than 20 million acres.

And it's not just beavers and coyotes they control for landowners, but also migratory birds, rodents, and more.

Right now, the agency is running six to eight months behind schedule - a situation TWDMS attributes to being underfunded, and thus, understaffed.

"The job becomes stressful when people with problems and we can't get to them," explained Gerald Gregg, a wildlife damage specialist who covers 11 counties in East and North Texas for the agency.

"One month our of the year, we do rabies prevention programs. That leaves me 11 months to see 11 counties. I work county-by-county," Gregg said.

Ted Pepps, a wildlife damage management biologist for TWDMS, expanded on Gregg's comments. "If Gerald is working in Wichita County because three trees have been damaged by beaver and a call comes from a pine plantation in Smith County saying they have several acres under water (due to beaver dams), then Gerald can not leave Wichita County to go to Smith County because we go county-by-county."

Whereever a specific county is in TWDMS' rotation system is where it stays.

"It gets frustrating," the men agreed.

"We are underfunded, which makes us understaffed, and then we get cut altogether, which came as a surprise," Gregg cited.

"I'm still in shock," said Pepps.