JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – The Stutsman County Commission received concerns Tuesday regarding the use of poison to control or eliminate a colony of ground squirrels near Jamestown Dam.

Clint Otto asked the commission why the colony was targeted and why there was no warning signs for people that poison was being used in the area.

Commission chairman Mark Klose stated that he was informed there was an “excessive amount” of the critters in that area.

Stutsman County Park Board Superintendent Karl Bergh says the vermin were only first seen between six or eight years ago, but have since exploded in population growth.

The land in question where a majority of the animals are found is still owned by the Bureau of Reclamation, though it’s managed by the Stutsman County Park Board. In a 2020 memo, the Bureau of Reclamation says burrowing mammal population near the Jamestown Dam met the criteria of posing a “potential to expose the public to active plague and to reduce impact to Reclamation facilities and any potential risk to human health and safety.”

The bait used in the control efforts had been furnished to the county by the Bureau of Reclamation.

Signs being added to the area warning the public were discussed, but no motions were made.