A city of Longview official said options to keep wild pigs from rooting around in Lear Park are limited after several dug up grass and soil in soccer fields this past week.
Parks Director Scott Caron said the damage to the fields involved more than one wild pig that initially came out in the evening and returned several more evenings throughout the week.
According to Caron, recent weather conditions are what drove the pigs from their normal environment in search of higher ground. Typically, after the area goes through an extended dry period like this summer and then is hit with a deluge of rain like this past week, low-lying areas become flooded causing the animals to flee.
“The flooding of the Sabine River — it pushes them out from the low-lying areas and up to Lear Park … So, it pushes them up into dryer, higher ground,” Caron said. “They’re looking for food, and they found some fertile ground that had some bugs.”
The case of hogs wreaking havoc in local fields isn’t the first time the Parks Department has dealt with such an incident. According to Caron, this type of thing happens at least once or twice a year around the same time — in May toward the end of soccer season and sometimes when large bouts of rain occur.
The Parks department made a post on social media with pictures showing the damage the pigs had made to fields 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 and 9 at Lear Park. The affected fields are set to be closed for about two weeks and should be open and functional by the time soccer games are scheduled to start Sept. 10, Caron said.
“And that’s a priority, is making sure that they are ready to go for when games are scheduled to be played,” he added.
However, Caron said ways to keep the fields free of pigs aren’t as clear cut as they might seem. The only sure-fire solution Caron could think of is to put a fence around the entire property, which would be too expensive since the sports complex takes up 182 acres, he said.
He said the department previously tried trapping pigs but that it didn’t work.
“We have attempted to (do that). They usually come in, do their damage and they’re usually gone once the flood waters recede and they go elsewhere,” he said.
Caron said his department considers the long-term effects on the fields. If a field is damaged early in the year, it could have an impact on the season. A field closure that lasts an extended period of time allows roots to regrow into the soil, he said.
Work to restore the fields is relatively simple and involves placing sod material down to allow for regrowth and integration. Bermuda sod, which grows sideways and helps the material re-root itself, is what is used, Caron said. He called it a “self-healing grass” that’s typically used as sports turf.
Caron said repairing the damage to the fields did not impose an extra cost on the city.
“It just takes time away from some other stuff that they may be doing at that time. It’s not really an additional cost to us, maybe $100-$200 of sod would be it,” Caron said.