Morgan Hill Neighbors Blame Wild Pig Problems on Local Construction Project

MORGAN HILL (KPIX) -- Some residents in a Morgan Jill neighborhood are blaming an area dam construction project on the influx wild pigs running amok, tearing up lawns and eating gardens where they live.

Wild pigs have long been a problem in the Morgan Hill foothills, but neighbors in the Jackson Oaks subdivision say lately the problems have only gotten worse.

One neighbor's security camera caught the culprits at work: a family of wild pigs, rooting around a lush lawn, looking for food and doing a lot of landscape destruction.

"At least three or four pigs came and they dug it all up in one night," said neighbor Jim Moskus.

Some neighbors claim when the Valley Water District drained Anderson Reservoir to rebuild the dam, it removed a seven-mile-long water barrier between the neighborhoods and a vast open space, giving wildlife an easy avenue to their property.

"They dug up his yard, but not as bad. They come out here and dig up our gardens and they're nothing we can do," Moskus said.

Last month, neighbors went to the Valley Water District, asking the Board of Directors to pay about $20,000 for the damage to their properties.

The Water District declined, saying the reservoir is not to blame.

"We haven't seen any evidence of that. I can understand why the neighbors are frustrated, but there is a wild pig issue in Morgan Hill, in San Jose and all over Santa Clara County," said Valley Water spokesman Matt Keller.

The water district is looking into the problem and could come back later with a plan to help manage the pig population, which seems to be growing.

Wild pigs are a non-native species and could be hunted under special permits. But neighbors are frustrated that there is little they can do right now to stop the destruction.

"I've been here 40 years, and the pigs have been here 40 years," Moskus said.