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The Osage County Board of County Commissioners met this morning for a brief meeting with one major resolution approved.

The board brought forward and approved the motion to remove the American Burying Beetle from the endangered species list. The resolution highlighted the facts that the American Burying Beetle has frequently slowed or prevented development within Osage County, without regard to the beetles current population growth.

The American Burying Beetle, which was added to the endangered species list in 1989 in accordance with the Endangered Species Act, has shown dramatic recovery and population increase in Oklahoma and Nebraska according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The resolution also highlighted that the beetle's population has grown in the thousands despite very limited recovery projects.  The American Burying Beetle population growth has far exceeded initial recovery plan goals set by the Fish and Wildlife Service. However, the beetle's status on the endangered species list has been shown to cause "unnecessary regulation, mitigation and financial cost" at the burden of the taxpayer according to the resolution.

Currently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists the American Burying Beetle as Endangered according to  the research done in 1989, as well as in Experimental Population Non-Essential for the population introduced in Southwest Missouri in 2011.

Additional items on the meeting agenda included the review of the Public Housing Assessment System Score Report for the Housing Authority of Osage County and the Authority's Report and Annual Audit. The Housing Authority received a substandard rating with regards to the Authority's current occupancy rate, which was 91.8 percent.

The next scheduled meeting of the Board of County Commissioners will take place next Monday, 2 February, 2015.