When the beaver revolution finally comes to Texas – and mark my words, it will come – it will be to somewhere like Tyler, where we already met at least two unrelated stories about women trying to save beavers on their little community lake. The first was Carmen Sosa, a staunch beaver defender that still donates to Worth A Dam every month, and the second is our new friend Brittany Poster Oak Hollow.
Residents speak out on beaver trapping in south Tyler neighborhood
TYLER, TX (KLTV) – Since the first of the year, beavers have been causing problems at a lake in the Oak Hollow neighborhood in south Tyler.
And they are taking care of it using a trapper hired by the property owner’s association through the property manageme
nt company.
Okay this you expect from Texas. But this next paragraph not so much.
“I just think there could be a peacful resolution for both the residents and the wildlife,” resident Brittany Poster said.Poster says while she understands the Beavers are a problem, she doesn’t agree with how that problem is being handled.
“The way that they were originally trapped is they just left them that way, “I felt that was both dangerous to the residents, our pets, and our children who use that lake. But it also seemed unfair to the beavers, who were just trying to make a home.”
Well said, Brittany, now if only there were a few more of you and a few less of these:
“We know it’s going to undermine the shoreline and they’re headed to the root system of the trees and we certainly don’t want to lose the trees,” resident Gene Shull said.
“We’re just really interested in protecting the lake and protecting our trees,” Shull said. “And we don’t want to be liable to misfortunes that we didn’t try and take care of.”
Game Warden Captain Quint Balkcom says that beavers can cause big problems and while they can be relocated, it’s not the best option.
Okay, saving beavers is never easy. It always takes more effort than you think you can spare. Step one is to talk to the media, which you’ve done. And step two is to UNION-IZE. Talk to your neighbors and that woman down the street who took your parking place, that nice mom with three little girls, and that english teacher you never liked. Find allies. All the allies, not just the ones who bring brownies to the meeting. Some of them will be flakes, some will be really annoying, and some will become your friends for life.
It takes a village to save a beaver. It really does. For some reason the voice of trapping is always louder than the other one. Even if it’s one against a dozen. You have to team up. Do everything at once. Fight the battle on many fronts. That’s what happens when you start a beaver-union.
