Heidi Perryman
A midnight visit to the dam showed four happy healthy beavers with no signs of the day’s danger. A network of care had intervened to keep the beavers out of harm’s way. S/C member Igor Skaredoff was the first to notice the Oleander, and contacted committee members and city staff. City Engineer Tim Tucker called Julian Fraser who was able to remove the oleander and other concerned residents checked through the night to make sure it didn’t “reappear”. It remains unclear whether the act was a mistaken attempt to “help” the beavers–Julian reports the branches were chainsaw-cut and 15-20 were planted in circles around existing trees – or whether this was a malicious attempt to end the beaver “problem” for good. What is clear is that the subcommittee needs to address the augmentation of appropriate food supply to make sure our beavers are supported in their current habitat and firmly ask that residents respect this and not supply cuttings.
In the mean time all beaver friends should keep an eye on the site and spread the word to others to do the same. There was a police call about three teens on the dam over the weekend, and this kind of dangerous behavior needs to be controlled.
