Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
FORT SUMNER — The De Baca County Commission on April 10 approved renewal of a contract with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund the Wildlife Services cooperative program for fiscal year 2024.
The Commission agreed to pay $43,250 to fund the predator protection program provided by long-time USDA employee Dwayne Milliron. The amount is a slight increase over the current contract.
Also known as the “government trapper,” Milliron works to prevent predator damage to livestock. He has also been working to help manage a recent outbreak of rabies found in a cat and three skunks in the county. He is especially busy during calving season and at times is working 11 ranches.
Milliron does “double duty,” however. He helps provide predator coverage in Curry County, which funds only enough for a half-time trapper. Full-time trappers from Chaves and Quay counties split time with Milliron for the part-time coverage in Curry County. He told the County Commission those extra hours are in addition to his regular schedule in De Baca County and are funded separately.
