Beaver supporters in Texas too? You bet your tail! Granted the defense is a little muted, but it’s the best I’ve seen from the region so we’re going to celebrate our new friend, Tara Bushoe of the Upper Guadalupe River Authority. The article is behind a firewall so here’s the full text.
Currents: The facts about beavers and how they affect the community
If I ask you to conjure up an image of typical Hill Country wildlife, it might include white-tailed deer, armadillo, or a mockingbird. I doubt many would include beaver in this category, but maybe you should. The North American beaver is the largest rodent in the United States and requires water in the form of a pond, stream, lake, or river for survival. They can be found almost anywhere there’s water, and, in fact, are found throughout most of Texas including here in our own backyard. UGRA receives several calls each year about tree damage or sightings of beavers along waterfront property.
Many are surprised to learn that beavers can be found in the headwaters of the Guadalupe River because they don’t see the typical beaver dams or lodges associated with the furry engineers. In colder regions, beavers live in lodges made of sticks and mud and enter and leave them through underwater tunnels. They build dams to surround the lodge with water as a means of protection from predators and to keep the lodge entrance ice-free. The area of impounded water also expands their access to trees while allowing these strong swimmers to remain close to the water. In contrast, southern beavers in Texa
s typically do not build dams or lodges and instead burrow into the banks of streams or lakes. Burrows examined in the Rio Grande in Big Bend were quite large; high enough to stand up in and about 30 feet long.
Many complaints received by UGRA involve damage from beavers gnawing on cypress and other riparian trees. You can protect your trees from this type of damage by wrapping them in hardware cloth.
Don’t mistake any aquatic rodent as a beaver, however. The exotic and invasive nutria are also found in the Guadalupe River, but their smaller size and round tail can help you to distinguish them from beavers.
Wow! A woman from Texas who advocates protecting trees by wrapping themAND reminds people not to confuse beaver and nutria? Be still my heart. This is a wonderful day that just gets better.
Before we write the beaver off as a nuisance, it’s important to understand the role they play in the environment. Their burrowing and harvesting activities maintain and create habitats for species that live in and around the river. Also, areas impounded by dams collect nutrients and sediments and have an impact on the ecosystem long after the beaver has abandoned the dam.
Hurray for Ecosystem Engineers in Texas! And hurray for Tara! Although you might also mention they SAVE WATER. I mean, I’m not sure how wide the guadalupe is and maybe 
some parts are too big to dam, but I’m sure it has feeding streams that get dams and canals made by beavers. Tara we love this paragraph but being as it’s Texas and all which is not known for it’s steady regular rainfall you might mention they SAVE WATER and reduce flooding. Storing water not just above ground either where you can see it, beaver pond recharge the water table where you can’t see it, which helps prevent wells from going dry. I mean, yes you’re right about the nutrients and sediments but given your drought record you might want to plug that important note in your next column.
Still, nice surprise to find this column, Now I can count on four fingers the number of people I know in the Lone Star state who think beavers are worth a dam. That’s getting exponentially better.
And speaking of how beavers benefit a community, Jon got our announcements delivered yesterday with positive feedback from neighbors. And we got word on two parking lots available that day for overflow, one that is already secured and one in the works. Not bad for a day’s labor! Here’s our ad in the new issue of Bay Nature. Great placement.
