Pikes Peak in Colorado wants beavers. Apparently they just received a grant to do some LTPBR in the area and encourage some furry engineers.

‘Yes, we’re attempting to entice beavers back to the Peak’: Colorado Springs Utilities receives grant to restore beaver meadow on Pikes Peak

According to CSU, a grant from the Colorado Water Conservation Board will be used to try and restore beaver habitat near North Catamount Reservoir. Officials said the funding will allow CSU to implement “a beaver-based, low-tech solution to supplement on-going fire mitigation efforts.”

Representatives for CSU said in the past, beaver habitats on the mountain created landscapes with “wetter” trees and meadows that acted as natural fire breaks.

As of early December, the plan was to have simulated beaver structures in the area by September 2025, and CSU said the hope is to see beaver activity in the area within a few years of that implementation.

Apparently there is a lot of interest in the BDAS but I don’t see any mention of planting willow. I hope  the hills just covered in it but the photo looks pretty grassy.

• 2024- early 2025: Project planning, baseline data collection, and forestry management project work
• September 2025: Install SBSs and PALS, collect post construction data
• 2026: Adaptive management of the SBSs and PALS (add, remove, modify structures as needed) and post project data analysis

Ultimately, we hope to spy actual beaver activity in the area within a few years of implementation. Regardless, the project will help protect our nearby infrastructure, increase the resiliency of North Catamount Creek, improve water quality and enhance ecosystem health.

I can’t say I’m fond of the word REGARDLESS. I’d be much happier if you were using some grant money to have young people put in a whole bunch of willow cuttings and fascines.

Then put in your special BDAs.

More earth shattering news out of  “Wolves-Eat-Beavers-University“. This time finding that a life time of living around wolves actually makes beavers cautious. The most annoying part is how surprised they are about beavers affecting habitat for soo many species even though are so annoying.

Well I should certainly hope so. Good Lord What next? Exciting new research that putting mousetraps in children’s pockets tends to make their hands colder?

Brave or bashful: How the threat of wolves changes beaver behavior

University of Minnesota researcher Thomas Gabel discusses his research on ecosystem interactions between wolves and beavers in Minnesota. This is part of “The Iconic Beaver,” a series that investigates the influence of this keystone species in Minnesota. “The Iconic Beaver” is produced by Mark Jacobs.

Vistaprint is offering it’s holiday prices so I thought this would make a fun yards sign for the entrance of the festival. I’ll do the new one too.

Beaver educational programs are my favorite educational programs. I never get tired of hearing stories about  children learning about beavers.

DOWN TO EARTH: Beavers and wetlands

We have just got to the end of the Gavin Lake school program, and I have spent two months teaching Grade 4 to 7s about beavers and wetlands, which includes a walk through our wetland.

There hadn’t been a single sign of fresh beaver activity all summer, until the last day of the school program, when a beaver was spotted close to camp. Soon after two old lodges were reactivated and winter food piles started.

Our best guess is that the lake level was so low this year that the underwater entrances were exposed, making the lodges unusable. The lake levels started to rise a few weeks ago, which brings up all sorts of other questions. Are they the same family that used to live here? If so, where did they go, and how did they know it was time to come back? Or is it a new family, excited to find some usable homes just in the nick of time before the lake freezes?

Beavers are such a fascinating species that I can barely touch on their sophisticated biology in the hour session I have with the kids. We race through their technical and engineering building skills and close family relationships. We talk about their role in wetland creation and the importance of wetlands to the planet; habitat, water and carbon storage, water filtration and providing natural firebreaks. Beavers are also becoming a hot topic in European countries, where they had been wiped out in many countries and are now being reintroduced for their superior engineering skills and free labour.

Hard agree! And teaching children about beavers is about the best work there is!

Beavers in the UK were extirpated for 400 years. In 2013 a pair was discovered in the wild that had escaped from captivity. They were allowed to stay, after considerable public pressure, and the growing population studied for several years to see what effects they were having on the surrounding countryside.

The beavers were shown to be excellent and socially conscious neighbours. Their dam construction reduced floodwater levels and ‘peak flow’ through a local village. They lowered the pollution levels of the river they lived on with the filtering effects of the wetlands and ponds they were creating. Species such as water voles and wetland birds flourished. Trout numbers increased by 37 per cent in beaver ponds.

Yes, they did cause some flooding of farmland, but only five times over five years in the watershed area of 250 square kilometres. They also cut some down orchard trees. These problems were reduced with relatively simple solutions and the cooperation of local landowners, such as wire around trees and occasional dam removal or ‘beaver deceivers’ that allow some water to pass through dams and lower water levels.

Yes beavers are happy to show off their mighty benefits to a host of researchers. Bring on your clipboards and nanometers beavers say. I’m going to give you a lot to measure and publish in those journals!

With many recent incidents of European towns devastated by floods and considerable loss of life, the reintroduction of this species may be one step towards climate change resilience. Droughts, fires and floods are all increasing in frequency, but beaver ponds and wetlands mitigate the effects of all three. Wetlands are also the most effective carbon sinks on Earth.

So, I wish our Gavin beavers well as they face a long winter stuck in their lodges and under the ice, and look forward to seeing them out and about again in the spring, giving our students a chance to connect with such an incredible keystone species.

Saving beavers in Ohio? Sure it could theoretically happen. But It’s not something you see every day. I mean I’m so old that I remember the horrible story where a very cruel Ohio man bought very old tigers for his private hunting grounds and then let them all lose before he died.

The police had to hunt all 19  down in neighborhoods.

It’s a new day for beavers and Ohio.

Beavers are a keystone species

Have you taken a walk at Shawnee Prairie Preserve lately? If not, I recommend hiking out across the mud creek bridge towards the Beaver Wetlands. Once you cross the bridge, you will be on the “Beaver Path,” aptly named for the amount of beaver activity you can see along the trail. Keep your eyes peeled for beaver chews and mud slides as you make your way to the Beaver Wetland observation area.

Beavers are fascinating mammals and some of the greatest engineers on the planet. In fact, there are only two mammals that will change their environment to suit their needs. While the beaver is one, can you guess who the other mammal is? If you guessed humans, you would be correct! A beaver’s ability to destroy and build using the natural resources in their immediate environment is what makes them a keystone species. What does this mean? What makes an animal a keystone species? Well, if you can imagine, on a stone archway, the center stone at the very top, is called the keystone. If the keystone is removed, the entire arch will fail and fall to ruin. Likewise, if a keystone species is killed or removed from their environment, the entire ecosystem that was built around them will begin to fall apart. As a beaver dams a waterway, the water that builds up on the other side creates a new, specific habitat suitable for the beaver. In turn, other species that may have never existed in the area prior to the creation of this new habitat, move in to utilize the new real estate. So long as the beaver is able to maintain their engineered dams, the ecosystem they created will thrive.

Wow. Well actually a while after but then everything falls apart. Right.

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that you could find signs of beavers along the “Beaver Path” at Shawnee Prairie Preserve. However, I never said anything about actually seeing one! Funny enough, I have never seen the beavers within the preserve, only signs of their presence. Beavers are crepuscular animals which means they are most active at dawn and dusk. So, if you are hoping to see them, you will either need luck on your side or plan your walk shortly after the park opens or right before the park closes. All of the parks across the Darke County Park District are open from sunrise to sunset which leaves you a narrow window to find these secretive animals. If you do happen to encounter one of the beavers at Shawnee Prairie, be sure to take a photo and send it to us using our new “Wildlife Sightings” website feature at www.darkecountyparks.org/wildife-sightings.rks’ other preserve, Tecumseh Point. This excess water could possibly cause Greenville Creek to flood the Greenville City Park and beyond. Back at the wetland, as the water wouldbegin to drain, species that relied on the wetland, like fish, turtles, snakes, frogs, salamanders, birds, and the beaver itself, would be at risk. Along with water supply, food chains and shelters would also be compromised and many animals would be left without sufficient habitat to survive. Thankfully, this hypothetical will never become reality while our beaver population remains healthy within the preserve.

GULP. Wow Ohio? That’s impressive. But I guess when ideas catch on they catch on all over. Good for you and Shawnee Preserve.

Beavers have always had a prominent role in human history. If we rewind time back to 1748, during early settlement in the area that would eventually become Ohio, fur trappers were hunting beavers for their pelts because they were extremely valuable. Beaver fur is thick and insulated to keep them warm from frigid temperatures as well as being oily, making them water repellent. This high-quality fur was turned into clothing and remained in high demand by those who could afford it. However, by 1830, just 82 years after the establishment of the first trading post in the area, beavers would be extirpated from Ohio. It would take 117 years and the passing of several wildlife laws and regulations, like the Lacy Act of 1900, before beavers would eventually return to Ohio in 1947. Keep in mind, that was only 77 years ago that our beavers returned, and populations are still recovering to this day.

Sure beavers being trapped out of Ohio, that sounds familiar. But praising their return? Just wow.

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that you could find signs of beavers along the “Beaver Path” at Shawnee Prairie Preserve. However, I never said anything about actually seeing one! Funny enough, I have never seen the beavers within the preserve, only signs of their presence. Beavers are crepuscular animals which means they are most active at dawn and dusk. So, if you are hoping to see them, you will either need luck on your side or plan your walk shortly after the park opens or right before the park closes. All of the parks across the Darke County Park District are open from sunrise to sunset which leaves you a narrow window to find these secretive animals. If you do happen to encounter one of the beavers at Shawnee Prairie, be sure to take a photo and send it to us using our new “Wildlife Sightings” website feature at www.darkecountyparks.org/wildife-sightings.

I remember that beavers are hard to spot in the winter months. They have long periods of darkness and can avoid us better. But keep looking spring is bound to come eventually.