At the Big Canoe POA board meeting on June 25, 2026, a resident told the board that feral hogs had torn up his yard three times in 10 days. He asked for more trapping and more shooting right away, without waiting for help that was still months off.
The staff's answer explains why the fix looks the way it does. Hogs aren't the only animal at a Big Canoe trap site. Black bears get there first, eat the bait, and could be hurt by the biggest traps built for hogs. So the hog problem and the bear problem are really one problem. That's why the board approved a partnership with USDA Wildlife Services for a full-time wildlife biologist, and it's why the bear rules most owners already know matter more this fall than usual.
Why a Trap Alone Doesn't Solve It
General Manager Scott Auer and Public Works Manager Matthew Parks said trapping was already happening. They then listed what keeps it from working well on this mountain:
- Terrain and access. Terrain and access to trap sites both limit where a trap can go. Crews also have to get the animals out after they're euthanized, so a trap can only go where staff can retrieve what it catches.
- Cell coverage. The trigger on the trap and the cameras that watch it both run on a cell connection. In parts of Big Canoe with weak signal, a trap can't work properly.
- Bears. Bears often eat the bait before any hogs walk in. Parks said staff are being careful to protect the bears.
- The hogs themselves. Parks called feral hogs extremely intelligent. If you trap part of a sounder, the hogs that get away learn from it, and catching them later gets much harder.
That last point is why a resident at the same meeting asked about suspended sounder traps, which are built to catch a whole group at once. Parks said Big Canoe had recently bought a net-style trap but didn't own a suspended sounder trap. Board Director Craig Price raised a concern. He said those traps are so large and heavy that they could kill bears or other animals by accident.
So the tool that solves the sounder problem is also the riskiest one for the community's bears. A few weeks of trapping by staff who already have other jobs couldn't work out that tradeoff.
What the Board Approved Instead
The proposal started with residents. Board Director Lynette Howard said Cynthia Hendry, known for her work with native landscaping, and Alan DeNiro, a longtime volunteer who founded the community garden, came to her about wild hogs, deer and other invasive wildlife. Their conversations pointed to a missing kind of expertise and to regulatory limits that made existing control efforts less effective. Howard made a point of saying this wasn't a criticism of Parks, and she praised his knowledge of invasive plants.
Parks described how things work now. His department handles invasive species, deer, geese and wild hogs with no dedicated staff, so Public Works and landscaping crews respond to wildlife problems as they come up. Wildlife management had run in short efforts lasting only a few weeks a year. The proposal replaces that with a year-round program built around a dedicated biologist from USDA Wildlife Services. Odin Stevens, the agency's Georgia state director for the Eastern Region, helped shape the plan.
Parks had visited Reynolds Lake Oconee, a similar residential community with its own full-time wildlife biologist. He met with property management staff and the biologist there, and came back calling the approach a potential game-changer for Big Canoe.
Here's how the arrangement works, according to the meeting discussion:
- Who employs the biologist. The biologist stays a USDA employee but works closely with POA staff under clearly defined performance goals, with regular contact between the USDA and Big Canoe.
- What the job covers. Wild hogs are the top priority. The job also includes educating residents, monitoring wildlife, and coordinating with neighboring landowners and public agencies, plus armadillos and other invasive wildlife as needed.
- Equipment. USDA Wildlife Services is expected to supply better trapping equipment, including sounder traps, plus bait and coolers. Auer added that the USDA covers the biologist's equipment, vehicles and employee benefits.
- Cost. Auer said money already budgeted for deer management will cover part of the annual cost. The rest goes into next year's zero-based budget, and the association's strong financial results let it absorb this year's startup cost.
The vote was unanimous. Board President Sandy Pullara pointed to it as an example of the board acting on what residents had said about the growing hog population.
The sounder traps Price warned about are part of the equipment package. Putting them in the hands of a trained biologist is the board's answer to the risk he described.
Where Things Stand in Early October
When a resident asked whether help would arrive by October or slip to 2027, Auer said the goal was to have the biologist on board by October, possibly sooner. Hiring could start because the board approved the position that night. The June coverage didn't name a candidate or give a start date. The POA's board page sends owners to a members' portal for board documents, so that's where any update on the hire is likely to show up first.
Until there's an announcement, a few things are already settled:
- Residents may not shoot hogs. The board said this directly at the June meeting, and said population control will be handled by the USDA biologist, who will have the authority to do it.
- Questions go through Ask the POA. The POA's wildlife page sends wildlife questions there. In June the board asked residents to use it for anything time-sensitive instead of waiting for a meeting.
- Your yard could be a trap site. The resident who reported the yard damage offered his property for a trap, and Parks agreed to meet with him.
- Geese are part of the program too. Staff said goose management will be folded into the wildlife program. A goose roundup was already underway in June, and the geese are relocated, not harmed.
Where Residents Come In: The Bear Rules
Bears eating the bait is one of the main things that makes hog trapping hard here, so how bears behave around homes affects how well the program can work. Food is the biggest factor in how bears behave around homes. This fall there's a lot of it.
Georgia DNR's 2026 mast survey, dated September 8, 2026, rates North Georgia's overall oak crop "Good" and hickories "Fair." On the Dawson Forest survey route, oaks rate "Good" and hickories "Poor." DNR publishes the survey because the amount of wild food can affect where bears go and how active they are. The survey covers the region, though, and doesn't predict bear sightings on any particular Big Canoe street.
The POA's bear safety rules are short and specific:
- Take household garbage to the designated compactor sites, and keep it sealed indoors until then.
- Don't store food outside, even in a locked freezer or refrigerator.
- Don't leave trash, groceries, coolers or anything with a smell in your car.
- Feed pets indoors and keep their food inside.
- Clean the grill right after you use it, then store it covered.
- Don't leave pet bones or treats in the yard.
If a bear shows up in a residential area, the POA says to stay calm and keep well away. Bring small children and untrained pets inside. Once the bear has a clear way out, make plenty of noise so it doesn't get comfortable in your yard. The page points to the BearWise program for more. Smoke Signals' Bear Essentials checklist, which its Big Canoe page lists as updated September 8, 2026, adds a few tips: use bear-proof bins, leash dogs on routes where bears pass, leave cubs alone, and call Public Safety if a cub is involved.
The rule with a date coming up is bird feeders. They're strictly prohibited from March 1 to December 1. From December 1 to March 1 they're allowed but discouraged. The Smoke Signals checklist uses the same calendar: December through February is the winter feeder window, and feeders come down before March 1. That means anything hung before December 1 breaks the rule, even in a strong acorn year when bears are already moving around looking for food.
If hogs have been tearing up your lawn and you're wondering how that will look when you list, or you'd just like to compare notes on what's happening on your road this fall, Steve Yambor has lived with these same woods for about 20 years and is happy to talk it through. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
