Well those around Okanagan B.C. anyway…
Got beavers? Okanagan landowners wanted for program that can help
Anyone with busy beavers on their property knows their natural activities can be a hassle, as the critters can plug up culverts and build dams that cause flooding and elevated water flow.
Some property owners respond by setting kill traps to remove beaver colonies, but Kelowna resident Eva Hartmann is working to change that, as she completes her studies with the Beaver Institute, an organization in the United States.
“Through my program I’m becoming more knowledgeable in helping property owners resolve beaver conflicts without resorting to kill-traps,” Hartmann told iNFOnews.ca said. “The problem is always increasing as our urban spaces expand.”
Hartmann is the executive director of the Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society in Summerland and has years of experience working with wildlife, including orphaned beavers, but said this project is separate from the society, and she can’t complete the program without the public’s help.
She is looking for a property owner in the Okanagan who needs help dealing with beavers that have dammed a creek or blocked a culvert on their property, posing a flooding risk for roads or nearby buildings.
“Beavers live in smaller streams or rivers where there are culverts installed under the roads for the stream to flow through and if the beaver plugs the culvert it causes flooding,” she said. “The roads flood frequently if the culverts are unprotected, which can be mitigated by putting the correct kind of fencing on it.
Here that girls and boys? She’s working with the beaver institute and can help you! This is my favorite part:
Through her role with the Interior Wildlife Rehabilitation Society, Hartmann and her team have rehabilitated and relocated beavers to suitable habits along with help from local conservation groups and First Nations, projects that are lengthy and complicated.
She is working to prevent beavers from being killed, injured or orphaned in the first place. Beavers do important work in the environment by slowing and spreading the flow of water with their dams, making water tables higher.
Hear that? NO MORE ORPHANS!!! Finally a rehabber who doesn’t just put videos of cute babies on Youtube. She’s trying to prevent orphans in the first place!
Headquartered in North Vancouver, the Fur-Bearers is a wildlife protection charity that works to protect fur bearing animals through conservation, advocacy, research and education.
So far, Hartmann hasn’t found a property owner to collaborate with.
“It’s a little tricky as beavers are still mostly kill-trapped if anyone in B.C. has issues with them,” she said. “Installations like this are happening all over Canada and the states, there are companies with experience in doing this, but B.C. is lagging behind.
“It’s time we catch up and stop taking the easy way out by defaulting to kill-trapping.”
If you’d like to reach out to Hartmann to see if your property is a fit for the program send an email her at Eva@interiorwildlife.ca.
Be brave. Flow devices work longer that trapping. We solved our problem in Martinez for a decade. How long does kill trapping guarantee you won’t have beavers?
I thought so.
