The sad story of Nevers park in Connecticut continues to be told. This article yesterday shows hown the town is struggling to blame miscommunication on social media for the confusion.

3 beavers gone as town, residents prepare for more

SOUTH WINDSOR — With the three Nevers Park beavers now gone, and town officials unsure if or when others will return, many residents are pushing for ways to coexist and avoid trapping or harming them.

Beavers were responsible for felling nearly 200 trees in the park last year, and Parks officials said trapping was an uncommon last resort to prevent further damage and public safety issues there.

Parks officials plan to hold a forum in the coming weeks with representatives from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and a beaver specialist from Massachusetts suggested by residents upset over the way the town has handled the matter. The forum will discuss the damage caused by the creatures and how best to prevent future problems.

That’s Mike Callahan who will be explaining how to prevent flooding by using a pond leveler. Just for historical perspective out own beaver subcommittee meeting early on, maybe the second one, featured Skip Lisle talking about flow devices and how they work. He was on his way to New Mexico to do a training there, and said he could return when it was done. It was all so new to me that I can barely remember it all, but i know he stood at the back of the room, and was not invited to the podium.

Over 1,850 people have signed an online petition created weeks ago by Abbe Road resident Stephen Straight that calls for town officials to meet with the beaver specialist and implement his suggested solutions.

Straight said he is working to keep “the next beavers from being needlessly killed.”

Not all residents are on board, however.

One, who preferred not to be named as the issue has gone viral on social media, defended town officials and said the town had to make a tough decision to put residents’ quality of life first.

People spewing hate at town officials on Facebook seem to be misguided, he said, and they haven’t paid attention to the other methods of preventing tree damage and flooding that the town tried

“There were too many factors that affect public health, safety, and property in place to allow for the beavers to coexist” with Nevers Park activity, town officials said in a statement this month.

Ahhh the anonymous opposition. I remember that. At every beaver meeting there was a single dominating voice of a certain wealthy property owner who never even showed up to express his thoughts. He didn’t have to. He had made sure that ever single council member already knew them – and knew that they were intimately tied to his future campaign contributions. Money talks. Welcome to the family, looks like you got yourselves a horse race.

In an effort to dissolve misinformation about the trapping spread on social media, town officials clarified that the town did not spend any money to trap beavers, and the traps used are humane and meant to catch the animals alive without causing any injury.

Removing the beavers from this particular park was not an easy decision to make, officials said in the prepared statement, and they understand “the passion that residents have for animals.”

We would have done the right thing it was easier. Honest. As it was we trapped the beaver with pillows and cotton candy so it wouldn’t hurt them one whit. Scouts honor.

Why do reporters let them say these kinds of things? Resident Steve Straight had this to say;

I believe the reporter did her best, but the article contains inaccuracies:

First, there is no way the beavers were captured alive. We have eyewitnesses, have photos of the actual traps used. (See below.) People spoke with the trapper at the time he was trapping. The wording makes it seem as if the beavers were caught unharmed and perhaps relocated somewhere. Relocating is illegal in Connecticut.

The wording of the first sentence is unclear: “Town officials unsure if or when they will return” is very misleading. Those beavers are dead. The only questions is, What will the town do when new beavers come to the pond? Have them killed, too? And what about the beavers after them? And after them?

The system Mike Callahan would install, for $1,575, would prevent ANY flooding. The pond is naturally four feet deep, and beavers only need three. (That money could easily be raised privately.) Trees could easily be wrapped or painted.

From the reporter’s point of view, I understand how difficult it is to be accurate, especially given what town officials are saying.

I urge the town to coexist with the next beavers instead of killing them. And the next ones. And the next ones.

Steve is kinder than I could be. But I will say this much. The town needs to learn to coexist – but not just with its beavers. With its residents. With all those 1850 voters who didn’t want the beavers killed. Coexist with them. City officials can’t make them disappear by blaming social media. And they can’t jeep telling them bedtime stories by saying the beavers ‘went to live on the farm“.

Here’s a friendly reminder courtesy of our own beaver meeting and Middlechild Productions ‘Beavers las vegas‘.

Untitled from Heidi Perryman on Vimeo.

2 comments on “BEAVER CIVICS LESSON”

Steve Straight

April 27, 2019 at 7:44 am

Thank you so much, Heidi. You warned me that saving beavers is really hard work, and now I know just how hard. Some days I think our plan will prevail; others I can’t see it happening. At this point I have no choice but to keep fighting.