Kentuck
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Wild pigs bulldoze golfers' greens
CLAYTON: Oakhurst Country Club's course, nearby neighborhood lawns being torn up by the foraging swine
By Elisabeth Nardi
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A decade ago, to get rid of unwanted wild pigs at Clayton's Oakhurst Country Club, residents and hunters opened fire, killing dozens of swine.
The aggressive feral pigs in the hills surrounding the course have not been much of a problem since -- until a month ago. That's when the course started to become scarred with ruts and holes, a sign that the pigs were back.
This time, because development surrounds the course, a shootout is not a viable solution, said John Vest, general manager of the course.
But something needs to be done, because the pigs are destructive to the course and surrounding neighborhoods, Vest said.
"It looks like a bomb went off. It looks like a tractor was out there," he said.
At night, the wild pigs have been coming down from the hills above Clayton. They tear up the rough and fairways with their snouts trying to find food, such as grubs.
The wild pigs, ranging from 50 to 300 pounds, are digging up parts of the course to get to food underneath because low rainfall has meant less food in their normal foraging grounds.
Vest has not estimated the cost of the damage. Crews are fixing what they can, but a complete fix will not be done until Vest can be sure that the pigs are gone, he said. The course is playable, but the destruction is noticeable, he said.
Course officials received a depredation permit from the California Department of Fish and Game last week. It allows a licensed trapper to trap and dispose of the pigs.
That is good news for Clayton resident Joe Campbell. His front yard, located in the Black Diamond subdivision off of Oakhurst Drive, which surrounds the course, has been torn up by the pigs. There are at least eight other yards that have been stripped of a front lawn from the pigs, which no one sees, Campbell said.
With the course having the same problems, it means that residents may not have to solve the problem alone, he said.
"It's kind of good news for us (that the golf course is involved,)" he said. "If we were in this by ourselves we would be in trouble, but if the golf course gets in this they will get the permit ... I sort of think of it like the more the merrier."
Wild pigs were recently a problem for another foothill golf course, Walnut Creek's Boundary Oak. The city hired a pig trapper in November to dispose of those unwanted porkers at an estimated cost of $5,000. More than 20 pigs were killed.
According to Bob Boldt, Boundary Oak's golf director, there has been no new damage and no trapped pigs for the past three weeks. The city is considering putting up fences to stop the pigs from coming to the course.
That is what Oakhurst did years ago to combat the pig problem. But the one area of the course that is not fenced seems to be where they are coming in now, Vest said.
Wild pigs are the only animals that can be hunted year-round, and a homeowner can legally kill a pig if their property is threatened.
But local ordinances would preclude someone from killing a pig with a firearm within Clayton city limits, said Cathy Roybal, deputy agricultural commissioner for Contra Costa County.
The county has few options to solve the problem, she said.
If a resident has a problem with a wild pig, the county offers a list of professional pig trappers for hire, she said.
The pigs "are getting so numerous now that, to a point, these trappers are beginning to be few and far between," she said.
Reach Elisabeth Nardi at 925-952-2617 or enardi@cctimes.com.
CLAYTON: Oakhurst Country Club's course, nearby neighborhood lawns being torn up by the foraging swine
By Elisabeth Nardi
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
A decade ago, to get rid of unwanted wild pigs at Clayton's Oakhurst Country Club, residents and hunters opened fire, killing dozens of swine.
The aggressive feral pigs in the hills surrounding the course have not been much of a problem since -- until a month ago. That's when the course started to become scarred with ruts and holes, a sign that the pigs were back.
This time, because development surrounds the course, a shootout is not a viable solution, said John Vest, general manager of the course.
But something needs to be done, because the pigs are destructive to the course and surrounding neighborhoods, Vest said.
"It looks like a bomb went off. It looks like a tractor was out there," he said.
At night, the wild pigs have been coming down from the hills above Clayton. They tear up the rough and fairways with their snouts trying to find food, such as grubs.
The wild pigs, ranging from 50 to 300 pounds, are digging up parts of the course to get to food underneath because low rainfall has meant less food in their normal foraging grounds.
Vest has not estimated the cost of the damage. Crews are fixing what they can, but a complete fix will not be done until Vest can be sure that the pigs are gone, he said. The course is playable, but the destruction is noticeable, he said.
Course officials received a depredation permit from the California Department of Fish and Game last week. It allows a licensed trapper to trap and dispose of the pigs.
That is good news for Clayton resident Joe Campbell. His front yard, located in the Black Diamond subdivision off of Oakhurst Drive, which surrounds the course, has been torn up by the pigs. There are at least eight other yards that have been stripped of a front lawn from the pigs, which no one sees, Campbell said.
With the course having the same problems, it means that residents may not have to solve the problem alone, he said.
"It's kind of good news for us (that the golf course is involved,)" he said. "If we were in this by ourselves we would be in trouble, but if the golf course gets in this they will get the permit ... I sort of think of it like the more the merrier."
Wild pigs were recently a problem for another foothill golf course, Walnut Creek's Boundary Oak. The city hired a pig trapper in November to dispose of those unwanted porkers at an estimated cost of $5,000. More than 20 pigs were killed.
According to Bob Boldt, Boundary Oak's golf director, there has been no new damage and no trapped pigs for the past three weeks. The city is considering putting up fences to stop the pigs from coming to the course.
That is what Oakhurst did years ago to combat the pig problem. But the one area of the course that is not fenced seems to be where they are coming in now, Vest said.
Wild pigs are the only animals that can be hunted year-round, and a homeowner can legally kill a pig if their property is threatened.
But local ordinances would preclude someone from killing a pig with a firearm within Clayton city limits, said Cathy Roybal, deputy agricultural commissioner for Contra Costa County.
The county has few options to solve the problem, she said.
If a resident has a problem with a wild pig, the county offers a list of professional pig trappers for hire, she said.
The pigs "are getting so numerous now that, to a point, these trappers are beginning to be few and far between," she said.
Reach Elisabeth Nardi at 925-952-2617 or enardi@cctimes.com.
