1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to natural resources; providing for beaver control by road authorities; 
1.3 	amending Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 97B.667.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2008, section 97B.667, is amended to read:
1.6 	97B.667 REMOVAL OF BEAVERS, BEAVER DAMS, AND LODGES BY 
1.7 	ROAD AUTHORITIES.
1.8 	When a drainage watercourse is impaired by a beaver dam and the water damages 
1.9 	or threatens to damage a public road, the road authority, as defined in section 160.02, 
1.10 	subdivision 25, may remove the impairment and any associated beaver lodge within 300 
1.11 	feet of the road. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the road authority may remove 
1.12 	or kill or arrange to have removed or killed by any lawful means a beaver associated 
1.13 	with the lodge. A road authority that kills or arranges to have killed a beaver under this 
1.14 	section must notify a conservation officer or employee of the Wildlife Division within 
1.15 	ten days after the animal is killed. A road authority may, after consultation with the 
1.16 	Wildlife Division and the Board of Water and Soil Resources, implement a local beaver 
1.17 	control program designed to reduce the number of incidents of beaver interfering with or 
1.18 	damaging a public road. The local control program may include the offering of a bounty 
1.19 	for the lawful taking of beaver.