Dam beavers!

The training officer with Welland Fire and Emergency Services takes almost daily walks along the waterway on Canal Bank St. during his lunch break, and recently he began noticing distinctive markings on area trees. After inspecting several trunks, both large and small, along the water, it became apparent to Ellis that Welland is now home to a colony of beavers.

Several attempts have since been made to remove the lodge and makeshift dam that has been backing up water, but the beavers are persistent in rebuilding their home, Bering said.

“They’re pretty industrious.”

Beavers have made their presence known in Niagara more prominently over the past five to eight years, said land management director Darcy Baker of Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

“They’re really expanding their territory,” he said, with sightings coming in from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Fort Erie.

Dam removal can be tricky, he said, as beavers are tenacious and will work to repair their damaged dams, whether patching or rebuilding entirely.  Dam removal should be done in consultation with the Ministry of Natural Resources, Baker said, to ensure it’s done properly.

You might remember the amount of angst and outcry caused when nearby St Catherines sought to remove some beavers a while back. Now Welland wants in on the beaver-killing action. Don’t worry though because the article gives helpful comments like “Discourage beavers on your property by removing trees and brush.“

It’s that time of year again, when every day gives a smorgasbord choice of beaver-killing stories. You can literally search on the Google and find complaints from PEI to Arizona and everywhere in between. Sometimes it wearies me, especially when I’m sent an email thread between CDFG and Caltrans about the Weaver Creek beavers being extirpated on the Klamath because their dams were causing problems for Coho.

Honestly, have we learned NOTHING?