Are pet cemeteries forever?

That question was asked at the Burleigh County Water Resource Board as it deliberated the future of the pet cemetery located at the McDowell Dam recreation area.

The McDowell pet cemetery is run by Dave Matzke. Nearly 3,000 pets have been buried in a designated area west of the lake since the early 1990s. Matzke said that his father had started burying pets at Pioneer Park and was eventually told to move to McDowell, where public property was available.

The water board met with Matzke at its regular monthly meeting on Monday. The board discussed the future of his operation and the pet cemetery.

In 2003, the cemetery was officially closed to new interment. But people who had one of the 58-inch-by-65-inch plots were allowed to bury additional pets. Matzke said that there could be room for an additional 2,700 pets, depending on the size of the animal.

Matzke does charge for burying pets at the site, enough to cover the cost of a wood box, small marker and labor.

Matzke mows the area with his own lawn tractor. The markers are flat on the ground, allowing clearance for the mowing. The Bismarck Park District has indicated a willingness to maintain the cemetery, but Matzke said he worries the equipment will damage the markers.

With the official closing to anyone who doesn't already have a pet buried, there has been a steady decline in the numbers of interment, with 256 in 2003, 196 in 2004, 62 in 2005 and 54 last year.

Ken Royse, water board chairman, said he doesn't believe there are any written contracts assuring the area for a pet cemetery. The verbal commitment made by the water board predates any of its current members.

"There will be a day you will not be able to mow for one reason or another," Royse said.

"We can't expect you to take care of it forever," said board member Terry Fleck. "But we do have to respect what we have there."

Royse said the issue of a pet cemetery is an emotional one. But he asked, what is the lifetime of a pet cemetery? And he said that since the McDowell site is basically closed, there will likely come a time when owners will no longer visit.

"I see a day when people won't be going out to see the pets because they will have passed on, too," Royse said. "It might be five, 10 or 15 years when a decision comes to convert it to something else. It might be something like a softball field where there might be some reshaping, but it would allow the pets to continue to be buried there."

Dave Bliss, water board attorney, asked Matzke to provide information on how many more "reserve" spots are left for pets. Matzke said he could research the cemetery and have that information for the board in early July.

It was also pointed out that there were no written policies regarding the cemetery. In some cases, pet owners have put in their own headstones and even fenced some of the plots.

Board member Rynee Kellar made a motion to close the pet cemetery to any further burials in 2010, and in the remaining time only typical markers such as supplied by Matzke and no fences will be allowed. The motion was approved unanimously.

Bliss said he has concerns that only an oral agreement seems to be in place allowing the pet cemetery and that any court challenges could be "messy."

He said that this is an unusual situation where a private enterprise was using public property. Bliss suggested, that at the very minimum, a price list be put in writing and that the remaining reserve burial spots be mapped.

Board members did agree that the pet cemetery did provide a public service and thanked Matzke for his work over the years.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@;bismarcktribune.com.)