I’m a sucker for any city council where humane solutions for beaver are discussed. And this recent article from Rhode Island got all my attention.

Councilor calls for humane solution to beaver troubles on Mechanic Street

NORTH SMITHFIELD – A dam built – and then rebuilt – by beavers has caused ongoing problems with flooding on Mechanic Street and now, one town councilor is asking North Smithfield officials to pursue a humane solution.

Councilor Rebecca DeCristofaro has asked Town Administrator Scott Gibbs to look into using a beaver diversion device rather than the usual practice of euthanizing the critters.

“If this is an issue in town, then maybe a diversion plan is a better solution than just having to kill beavers year after year,” DeCristofaro told Gibbs at a meeting last week.

When I read a sentence like that I realize that it truly is a new world we are living in for beavers. Once upon a time I heard from our city treasurer that she happened to see a documentary about Skip Lisle and beaver deceivers and invited the mayor and public works over to watch it at her house when we were in the middle of the beaver drama.

Do you think they came? GUESS.

Much simpler than it sounds, a “diversion system” is essentially just a pipe through a beaver dam that allows water to flow past. Dams can be a troublesome – and often reoccurring – nuisance as the animals work to block water flow, causing build up that floods yards and roadways, and can result in costly damage.

“It’s a horrible problem,” said Gibbs. “They’re very destructive. I understand the sensitivity, but I also understand when people’s driveways are collapsing from flooding, that makes me a little bit anxious.”

It is not the first time the town has debated potential solutions to beaver troubles. Multiple diversion systems – also known as beaver deceivers – were installed at a town-owned property known as Cedar Swamp under the guidance of former Conservation Commission Chairman Paul Soares between 2014 and 2018. Paulette Hamilton was serving as town administrator at time, and recalls the discussions and eventual solution.

“Beaver diversion systems were not really that popular then,” Hamilton said. “It’s a very, very small investment for a long term solution to a problem.”

At the time, the systems cost around $1,200.

Come on people. Skip is 157 miles away. Martinez brought him out THREE THOUSAND MILES. We took a much bigger risk than you. N

Much simpler than it sounds, a “diversion system” is essentially just a pipe through a beaver dam that allows water to flow past. Dams can be a troublesome – and often reoccurring – nuisance as the animals work to block water flow, causing build up that floods yards and roadways, and can result in costly damage.

“It’s a horrible problem,” said Gibbs. “They’re very destructive. I understand the sensitivity, but I also understand when people’s driveways are collapsing from flooding, that makes me a little bit anxious.”

It is not the first time the town has debated potential solutions to beaver troubles. Multiple diversion systems – also known as beaver deceivers – were installed at a town-owned property known as Cedar Swamp under the guidance of former Conservation Commission Chairman Paul Soares between 2014 and 2018. Paulette Hamilton was serving as town administrator at time, and recalls the discussions and eventual solution.

“Beaver diversion systems were not really that popular then,” Hamilton said. “It’s a very, very small investment for a long term solution to a problem.”

At the time, the systems cost around $1,200.S

I remembered that our city council was so alarmed by the scary beaver people that they had 11 police officers and a sniper at the beaver meeting.

I didn’t find out about the sniper until a decade later.

“I was very, very much against euthanizing,” said Hamilton. “It was a last resort.”

While the state suggests euthanasia as a means to deal with nuisance beavers, Hamilton noted it often doesn’t solve the problem.

“Others will come in and they’ll start using the same area,” she said.

“They really do a lot of good stuff,” said Hamilton.

On Mechanic Street, beaver dams on a 27 acre property purchased this year by Mike Mongeon of North Smithfield Tree Service has caused flooding that has damaged an abutting driveway, which has started to develop a sinkhole.

“It’s been flooding into the roadway,” said Gibbs. While town officials are actively working with the owner on a solution, Gibbs noted, “We do not have the legal right to go onto a private property and expend public funds.”

And is the creek private property? Because that’s where the flow device would be.

Gibbs noted the flooding is not a new issue and that town officials also worked with the past owner.

“This problem has resurfaced on numerous occasions,” Gibbs said.

DeCristofaro told NRI NOW this week that she’s serious about the issue. During the last council meeting, she told board members she would gladly relocate the animals to her own property if it wasn’t illegal in the state.

“I obviously love animals,” DeCristofaro said. “I have a whole farm.”

Gibbs said he’s hopeful a solution will be found.

“As the town administrator, I lean more on the rights of property owners than the beavers though, and it’s causing some serious property damage off of Mechanic right now, and it’s got to be resolved, he said. “We’re working carefully around this issue. The DPW director is looking at diversion as a possible option to mitigate the problem.”

If there’s a will there’s a way. Our story proves you can truly do this and there are good reasons why you should. I have gotten out of the habit of writing letters to cities with beaver issues but maybe I can do one more.

For the team.

 

Carolina Wildlife Conservation Center 

This baby beaver’s lodge was being excavated when the workers heard a tiny little cry and out popped a vulnerable newborn baby beaver. Just moments before, the baby’s mother had swum out of the lodge trying to get away from the destruction of the lodge. We almost never suggest baby beaver reuniting because baby beavers are extremely prone to pneumonia and it’s often an emergency situation when one was found. But this was a rare case where we knew mom was right there and so we gave it a chance.
The machinery was cut off and the baby was placed in a cardboard box next to the water. After just an hour, the crew returned to check on the baby beaver and there was a clear track where the momma beaver came up the bank, smashed the cardboard box down and retrieved the baby. The work was stopped and the remaining lodge was left alone.
Moral of the story: Wild animal moms are incredible. They love their babies fiercely and, when given the chance, will do whatever it takes to get them back. While reunions aren’t always possible, they should always be a priority when they are. We can care for orphaned animals, but we’ll never be a true replacement for their natural mothers. Their love and instincts are real—and powerful. ❤️

Great report from the North Coast.

Beaver-based restoration

Beaver-based restoration has been gaining popularity as a strategy for responding to growing wildfire risk in an ecologically-informed way. Raincoast connected with Jennifer Rogers from the British Columbia Wildlife Federation to learn more about their 10,000 Wetlands Project and how it might inform better fire response throughout British Columbia. This article outlines how beaver-based restoration is an effective, ecologically-informed tool in the arsenal of approaches to reduce wildfire risk.

Finally a solution we can get behind!

Though this is normal and instinctual beaver behaviour (behaviour that is increasingly understood by the scientific community to be essential to ecological functionality), many people feel justified in removing “nuisance beavers” from the landscape either by relocation or lethal trapping. However, the chance of another beaver colony (aka beaver family) moving into the area within the next few years is fairly high. As such, there is a much higher benefit to learn to live with and work alongside beavers, rather than fighting against them. After all, humans and beavers have more in common than most people might initially realize.

Mature beavers are monogamous and have an average of two to four offspring per year, called kits. Beavers live in family units (i.e., colonies) consisting of the breeding pair and their offspring from both the current and previous year. Between the ages of 20-24 months, young beavers leave to establish their own territories. A beaver family unit tends to be territorial, occupying areas of anywhere between 0.5 to 20km², with their territorial range depending on food availability and the density of the surrounding beaver population. Perhaps more than any similarity, the trait that may be most definitive of both beaver and human behaviour is the shared ability to reshape habitats to better suit their needs.

You would think we would understand eachother better since we have so much in common.

Beavers live in rivers, lakes, and wetlands, and in more modern times, ditches and stormwater ponds. They prefer slow-moving water, and the modulation of faster-moving streams is often the impetus for dam construction. Beavers also build dams to create better conditions for siting lodges, which are used for shelter, protection from predators, overwintering, rearing offspring, and food storage. 

Though dams and lodges are their best-known constructions, beavers are also known to develop canal systems to:

• • more easily transport food and building materials throughout their territories, and 
  • expand food availability by creating better growing conditions for the herbaceous, aquatic, and woody plants they depend on for their food supply and other needs.

Taken together, beaver-built infrastructure is designed to slow the flow of water, hold it on the landscape, and foster the growth of the types of plants that beavers depend on for survival. Some of these species include alder and cottonwoods (Alnus spp.), aspen and other poplars (Populus spp.), birches (Betula spp.), maples (Acer spp.), willows (Salix spp.), dogwoods (Cornys spp.), cattails (Typha spp.), water lilies (Nymphaea spp.), sedges (Salix spp.), and rushes (Juncus spp.). Many of these species are also early successional species, that is, they establish early and quickly after a disturbance. This means that beavers not only mitigate the impacts of disturbances, but can also help recover recently disturbed sites. This is explored in more detail later in this article.

Go check out the entire article here.

Now this is a class I would have liked to attend as a child!

Event to help children identified creek critters

BEAVERCREEK — The Beaver Creek Wetlands Association will be hosting a new adventure later this Summer.

A presentation titled “Exploring the Underwater World — A Macroinvertebrate Experience” will be held at the creek beginning at 10 a.m. on Aug. 10.

“We’re going creekin’ in Little Beaver Creek which means we’ll be turning over rocks, digging in the sand, and using nets to discover incredible unseen creatures that call the creek home,” said Beth Edsall, Outreach Director. “We’re talking macroinvertebrates — think aquatic insects — and tiny fish and all sorts of fascinating creek life.”

Attendees are invited to meet at the large shelter house located at E.J. Nutter Park before hiking to Creekside Reserve to access Little Beaver Creek.

“You’ll learn how to identify these amazing critters and even cooler, find out how scientists use them as a report card to determine the health of the creek,” Edsall said. “It’s a hands-on lesson in ecology that’s way more fun than any classroom. So — let’s see what wonders we can discover together.”

Now that sounds truly fun, I trust they’ll be turning all those rocks back over in after the kids leave, right?

Event organizers hope it will spark interest in children and teens between the ages of 10-15.

Program leader Kevin Riley will give an introduction before leading the attending group on a short hike of half a mile into Creekside Reserve to access Little Beaver Creek. Any critters found will be released back into the creek after the program.

Registration is required for this free program. Parents must sign BCWA’s Electronic Liability Form. A QR Code will be on site or sign ahead online by clicking the link at beavercreekwetlands.org.

Twice when I worked at day care I lead creek walks from the Junior high. I’m not even sure where we got in or out. But I know it was fantastic.

Have fun!