I’m sorry but my tolerance for the “EW beaver” brigade is just about worn out. Honestly, you’d think that the fact that we cover the same story day after day from Oklahoma to Ontario  would eventually begin sink in! Information should be flooding the  Google pages if nothing else so that folks couldn’t possibly search ‘beaver problems’ without finding ‘solutions’.

Ahh, but you’d be wrong if you thought the willful need to maintain ignorance was easily vanquished in combat. No, it is  viral-hardy, and always sprouting new varieties when one form is cured. Never mind. It’s almost Earth day. Let’s educate.

First we should go to the Nutmeg state where a budding poet-laureate has made the brilliant discovery that the words “beaver” and “cleaver” rhyme. Good for him.

Pardon The Reality: Cleaver beavers?

We live on one of Lewisboro’s pristine lakes, within an area served by the Three Lakes Council (3LC), an organization dedicated to the preservation of the entire surrounding watershed.

And here in 3LC-land we’re dealing with a beaver problem unknown in recent memory.  Specifically: they’re back.

Beavers destroy beloved trees, including very large ones, sometimes literally overnight, and gobble up shoreside vegetation, including waterfront perennial gardens; and they build dams that block the two much-travelled channels connecting our three lakes.

There is substantial disagreement among lake residents as to what the proper course of action should be, and for the past couple of years, since the beaver issue reared its cutesy nose, destructive teeth and talented claws, my neighbors have been discussing what to do about it via the 3LC email group.

So the good folks of the Three Lakes Council are unsure about having all that NATURE messing up their views? And even though neighbors know you can protect trees with wire, its so dam UGLY it would be much prettier just to kill them!  Never mind that abrasive painting would solve all their problems and cost 30 cents. Never mind that beavers are bringing fish for the fishermen and birds for the birdwatchers. They have columns to write. Does beaver rhyme with the name of any other murder weapon besides cleaver? Maybe he’ll work on a ‘trap rap’ next?

The save-the-beaver group points out that shoreside trees can be protectively wrapped (advice for protecting gardens is less available). And a group of dedicated and stalwart volunteers now dismantles beaver dams in the channels as they’re built. 

But should residents be forced to put what some consider unsightly wrappings on their trees and give up on waterfront flowers and vegetation just to accommodate a few interloping rodents?

Sigh.

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Now let’s rush to Incline Village near Tahoe where they just can’t kill beavers quickly enough!

Killing of beavers in Incline Village causes stir among Tahoe wildlife groups

When members of the Sierra Wildlife Coalition recently heard reports of beavers potentially being killed on public land along Incline Creek near Tyrolian Village, they were shocked and frustrated. 

The permit, which allows for the trapping or shooting of beavers on Incline Creek, requires shooting authorization to be given by city or county government. Tyrolian Village Association is the homeowners’ association for the Tyrolian Village subdivision in Incline Village, so in this instance, Washoe County would have to give the OK.

The Tyrolian Village Association issued a statement Tuesday chronologically detailing events. According to the statement, beavers began damming a small stream next to TVA property approximately three years ago.

Beaver ponds were rapidly eroding the dirt berm and trench line supporting the TVA sewer line, which transports raw sewage from more than 200 homes. The association said workers attempted to break up the dams, but beavers quickly rebuilt them.

Upon seeking help from local, state and federal agencies over a two-year span, according to the statement, none of the agencies disagreed with the need to remove the beavers, nor did any suggest alternatives, other than obtaining a depredation permit.

So wait, are you saying that the Tyrolian Village Association allows raw sewage to pass in open canals from its homes? You might need to change your name from “Village” to ‘Medieval residence cluster’ okay? Oh, wait the raw sewage is in a protected pipe that’s resting near a berm beaver ponds could possibly erode. Anyone have a tape measure handy? I’d love to measure how dangerous the situation is!

Wait, again, I’m sorry. Doesn’t it snow in Incline village (I mean Incline MRC)? So isn’t the snow melting about four months of the year and wouldn’t those lines be exposed to soggy conditions anyway? I mean I’m sure you took that into account when you made them, right? Can a beaver pond really cause more erosion than 3 feet of snow? Really?

Horn said IVGID land begins below Tyrolian Village at Diamond Peak Ski Resort.

“Since we’re (IVGID) the water purveyor for Incline Village and Crystal Bay, we’re certainly concerned about the environmental impact of (beaver-caused) erosion going down this creek and into the lake,” Horn said. “But the turbidity is not at any level that would be unacceptable to us.”

Right. It’s those beaver-caused problems that run into the lake that you need to worry about. Not those humans and detergents and oils and weed-killers and….

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And now to clear your palate; the Delightful Surfing beaver by Ann Siegal.