There’s an article this morning from Winnipeg about those darn pesky beavers chewing up all the city parks. You and I both know the solution, and I wrote this morning to tell them about the knew tree manual from Project Beaver.
A Winnipeg city councillor says a number of local parks are being beset by buck-toothed rodents, and a solution needs to be found.
Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverley West) said she’s seen destruction caused by beavers first-hand, and that the city’s naturalist services branch is working on solutions to humanely dissuade the tree-chomping animals from causing problems near local rivers.
“I understand that their teeth keep growing unless they chew. They have to keep chewing,” Lukes said.
“So they’re continually mowing down these trees. Spring, summer, winter, fall. And it’s disheartening…. It’s kind of it’s a battle.”
Mowing down? Constant? You mean more often than you wish? Think about it from a beavers point of view. That’s their food, their work supplies and their shelter. How often do you require those items? Constantly?
So far, Lukes said she’s seen damage along the riverbank at Maple Grove Park and has heard additional reports from park areas all over the city — along the Seine, La Salle, Assiniboine and Red Rivers.
Trapping and relocating the beavers isn’t an option, as it can endanger them, she said, so the next best solution is to protect the trees by wrapping them in what she describes as a “mesh type of” stucco wire.
That sounded promising. So I sent off the new resource right away. I’ll let you know if anything happens.
A Eurasian beaver family will be getting new neighbours to help protect an additional stretch of Finchingfield Brook. The Essex project is to build two, new, 50-acre enclosures in preparation for more beaver families. The new arrivals will extend the amazing work of their cousins, introduced to the Estate in 2019, who have already transformed a woodland into a thriving wetland. The unprecedented £350,000 scale-up is jointly supported by Anglian Water, the Environment Agency, the Anglian Eastern Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC), Essex County Council and Essex and Suffolk Water in an innovative partnership funding approach.
The two new enclosures, along the Finchingfield Brook, will measure 1.9km long cover 40 hectares (100 acres), 10 times the size of the original enclosure, which was built in 2019. Preparations for the project are already underway with two new beaver families expected to be re-introduced in Spring 2023.
Archie Ruggles-Brise, Spains Hall Estate manager said:
“The chance to bring more natural engineering skills to the estate is beyond exciting. Since 2019 we’ve seen what beavers can do to reduce flood risk, increase drought resilience, clean water and create year-round habitat for wildlife. Now, thanks to the incredible support of our partners, we can supersize these benefits.
“With a massive new area to work in the beavers will help make the Finchingfield area more able to weather the changes climate change will bring, and all the while providing inspiration and experience that others can use elsewhere. For the estate this means we can keep pushing the boundaries of what can be done on private land, if you are willing to be open about working with others and offer a compelling vision.”
Acting as nature’s engineers, the beavers have helped to completely transform the landscape around them. The dams have played a crucial role in reducing flood risk in the area by slowing down the river flow and channelling it through new channels and wetlands.
Throughout this year’s drought, the dams also helped the river flows by slowly releasing retained water, helping to protect local wildlife. We hope these new beavers settle in and breed as successfully as the original pair, who produced three sets of kits.”
Environment Agency lead on the project Matt Butcher said:
“It’s great to see this project go from strength to strength providing real benefits to the local environment and community.
“The beavers have shown what effective flood engineers they are in the past few years and it’ll be great to extend this to a wider area.”
Dr Robin Price, Director of Quality and Environment for Anglian Water said:
“The effects of climate change including the risk of drought and flooding are felt more keenly in the East of England more than anywhere else in the UK. We need to find new and better ways of dealing with the challenges they bring while continuing to protect homes and businesses– and what better way to approach the problem of flooding here in Finchingfield than this wonderful, nature-based solution.
“Restoring natural habitat in such a purposeful way is also at the heart of Anglian Water’s Get River Positive commitment and we are proud to be supporting the next stage of Archie’s vision for Spains Hall Estate.”
Cllr Peter Schwier, Climate Czar at Essex County Council said:
“Essex County Council has been involved in the Essex Beaver project from the very beginning, providing administrative assistance and advice on water courses, so we are very pleased this project is proving so successful.
“Our work with all partners involved in this project means we are improving space and habitat for wildlife, while at the same time the work of the beavers is mitigating flooding, two of the key priorities contained in the Everyone’s Essex Green Infrastructure Strategy.
“Beavers are productive and useful and an honour to have in the beautiful Essex countryside.”
Richard Powell, Chair of the Regional Flood and Coastal Committee said:
“We are once again delighted to be part of the estate’s work, using flood risk funding to deliver nature based solutions is in all our interests. This project will deliver so much more than reduced flooding, creating invaluable wetland habitat as an oasis in the East Anglian landscape.”
Tom Harris, Catchment Advisor at Essex & Suffolk Water said:
“We’re delighted to be able to support the next phase of this exciting project, expanding significantly on the good work that the beavers have already carried out, turning their areas of the Estate into wild wetlands – providing huge benefits for biodiversity as well as slowing the flow in the catchment.
“Having the Spain’s Hall estate situated in one of our key raw water catchments has given us a fantastic opportunity to develop our ongoing work with catchment landowners, bringing multiple benefits for water quality, the local environment and their businesses. We are truly looking forward to the continuation of our partnership with the fantastic team at Spains Hall.”
To find out more about this fantastic project, please visit: Anglian Water
Should you ever wish to travel back to the times of the Tudors in London, you’ll probably notice significantly more folks on horseback and rows of half-timbered houses. It also will beam you to a time where beavers could be seen scuttling around riverbanks, doing their dam thing.
Sadly, the rodents were eventually hunted to extinction for their fur and meat, but after more than 400 years, it looks like the boys beavers are back in town.
Come this Autumn, London will have its first beaver habitat that’s accessible to the public, when Paradise Fields in Greenford welcomes a breeding pair, who will arrive alongside their kits (infants).
It comes—handily, on World Rewilding Day!—as part of major plans to rewild London, with conservation groups receiving nearly £40,000 in funding from City Hall to create this habitat for beavers.
Canal boots and footbridge near Paradise Fields in Greenford (Image: PawelByl, Shutterstock)
Eventually, this area will become a ‘beaver safari’ for visitors to view the rodents, who are known for their vegetarian diet and their dam-building prowess. It is hoped that this skill will be useful to quell flooding in England made worse by climate change.
Beaver enthusiasts may recall some talk of beavers arriving in London last year as part of rewilding plans, and they were, in fact, introduced in Enfield. Sadly, the male beaver – who was named Justin Beaver (!) and arrived alongside his partner, Sigourney (!!) – passed away due to natural causes three months into the rewilding scheme.
A second beaver is said to have been welcomed at Forty Hall farm in north London, though Paradise Fields in Greenford will welcome more beavers as part of this first ‘beaver safari’ later this year. This safari is part of a new wetland planned in Ealing by Citizen Zoo, Ealing Wildlife Group, Ealing Council and Friends of Horsenden Hill.
In a press release, Nick Swallow, Citizen Zoo Fundraising Operations Officer, said: “Across Europe and North America, beavers are known to thrive alongside urban communities.
“…We hope to challenge the perceptions of Londoners and demonstrate how London too, can embrace these ecosystem engineers as we strive for a healthier, wilder future in which our Capital can become a leader in urban rewilding, which will greatly benefit not only wildlife populations but local communities too.”
“We’re cleaning up our city, re-establishing lost species and reconnecting people and nature as we build a greener, fairer city for all Londoners.”
Cliff Samson has a love-hate relationship with his “neighbours” along Pigeon Creek.
“Behind my property here, I’ve got a nice pond creek that’s running all year, and I’ve got all kinds of animals and whatnot for the past, probably seven years.”
Then one day in the past few years, his “neighbours” moved in … or more precisely, beavers began to build homes and dams on the creek, and according to Samson, there are some good points of having these industrious critters nearby.
“What ends up happening is that there’s a natural waterfall down at the other end and in the summer months, when it’s dry, there’s no water coming over that. Without the beaver dam at this end, all my water would drain out, and I would basically have a marsh behind my house with no water in it. But because of the beaver dam, it keeps water here all the time. And as a result, I’ve got wildlife here all the time.”
While the beavers do allow Samson and his family to enjoy regular visits by various wildlife caused by the flowing water, the situation does come with some overflow issues.
According to the Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, it is illegal to damage or destroy a beaver dam unless specifically exempted through the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, such as for the removal of dams to protect private property.
“When a landowner elects to remove a beaver dam, the landowner or agent must exercise extreme caution to prevent downstream flooding, damage to natural habitats and property damage,” said Amanda Vincent, resource management co-ordinator for the ministry.
So what should a property owner do if they spot a beaver dam on their property that could cause infrastructure damage?
The ministry said property owners can make the area uninviting for beavers by planting vegetation that beavers don’t like, such as elderberry, ninebark and twinberry; wrapping individual trees in metre-high, galvanized welded wire fencing, hardware cloth or multiple layers of chicken wire; or painting tree trunks with a sand and paint mix to protect trees from beaver damage.
One can also hire an experienced trapper or wildlife technician to properly remove the beavers from the region. [But we’ll be back!]
In cases of flooding due to a blocked waterway or culvert, some experts recommend using a beaver deceiver, a structure that utilizes a plastic culvert and heavy-duty fencing installed in the beaver dam, allowing water to drain to a lower level.
I’m sure you know that there is nothing I like better than an animated ticked off neighbor meeting about beavers. But beaver defenders pitted against snow mobilers? Well bring on the popcorn because I could listen to this all year. You’ll remember we covered the BOW story at the beginningof the month. Well this is a helluva epilogue.
On a Saturday afternoon walk, Kelly Schofield and her husband turned a corner onto a road near their house in Bow. They sensed something was wrong with the beaver pond before they saw it.
“You could smell it. It was pretty strong. And then when we got down to the pond where you could really see the pond, you could see it was gone,” she said.
The pond was drained. Left behind was a huge tract of mud, and creatures trying to survive. Neighbors took videos of fish floundering as the water receded.
Beavers are beloved by some and considered a nuisance by many. But Schofield and others who lived on the pond agreed: nature’s engineers made their property more valuable, and made their lives better. They took their kids down to the water to learn about frogs and turtles; watched ducks stop by as they migrated south.
In the winter, this beaver pond, technically known as an impoundment, was an ice skating spot for many, including Lisa Franklin’s family.
Are you reading this? You should stop reading and be listening to the clip. It’s SOOO GOOD.
Finally, I would like to point out that the pond lever lasted for five years with the beavers living there. How long do you think the excavator and trapping will last?
A family of beavers in Logan Canyon has gained celebrity status of sorts this summer, attracting spectators almost nightly to watch them go about their business.
One reason for the beavers’ popularity is that the dam and lodge they’ve built along Temple Fork are only a few paces from the road, so families can easily park and set out blankets and lawn chairs for the evening “shows.”
“It’s really interesting, almost a Yellowstone-ish experience where people can go up and watch animals’ behavior in their natural setting,” said Nate Norman, director of Utah State University’s Beaver Ecology and Relocation Center. “The beavers have gotten used to people being around, and in the evening they’ll come out and do their thing — chewing on sticks, grooming themselves, fixing their dam — in front of what’s turning out to be crowds of people.”
Whoo hoo! Hey I remember that kind of life. Yes beavers are fascinating to watch and can easily draw a crowd. Yes beavers can habituate and get used to people watching them over and over. Oh I never thought I’d say this, but I’m jealous of Utah right now.
Of course, like at Yellowstone National Park, crowds of people and wild animals sometimes don’t mix well, and there have been reports of some unruly Homo sapiens disrupting Temple Fork’s Mammalia rodentia — both unintentionally and on purpose.
“It’s a really neat place to go see beavers in action, but it’s starting to get really popular to the point where people are starting to harass them, like throwing rocks at them and crossing over to the other bank and getting too close,” said Norton’s assistant, Becky Yeager. “It’s a great opportunity for people to see them, but we have to educate people on how not to harass them.”
Grr. I believe the part about getting too close. But throwing rocks? That never even happened in Martinez the origin of all crazy beaver stories. I saw people sometimes throwing bread, Throwing sticks. Stupidly fishing and laughing when beavers swam to the line, but rocks? I’m not terribly worried because beavers in water are pretty good at getting away from annoying humans.
With this in mind, Norman and Yeager have discussed approaching the U.S. Forest Service and offering help in developing some signage at Temple Fork that gives visitors some guidance on respectfully observing the beavers. However, Forest Service biologist Paul Chase told The Herald Journal on Monday he’d likely advise against this since beaver colonies like this one never remain at one location.
“We certainly support that message, but these beaver lodges are fairly transient,” Chase said. “That one’s been there for three or four years and keeps expanding, but it likely won’t be there in three or four more years because they’ll be running out of food. They build their dams, they harvest all the aspen and willow in that location, and then they pack up and move. At some point in time, they’ll be back once the aspen gets rejuvenated to a size that they can utilize.”
Not really that transient if you consider that I was writing about the Logan beavers in wallmart in 2014.
Signs of this pattern are visible all along the Temple Fork trail in Logan Canyon, where remnants of former beaver dams and lodges are common. Depletion of trees in the area of the current thriving colony is also visible, and Chase said the beavers have lately been going farther and farther upstream to cut and gather more wood.
On a recent weekday evening, nine beavers of all sizes could be seen in and around the pond as two couples watched from blankets on the bank. The older of the beavers, who spent a lot of time out of the water on the opposite shore, are surprisingly large. Google searches indicate they can grow as long as 4 feet, including their tails, and sometimes weigh as much as 100 pounds.
The peacefulness of the scene was occasionally interrupted by the sound of the younger beavers slapping their tails on the water before diving under, then resurfacing across the pond.
The beavers at Temple Fork were not subjects in USU’s relocation program, but Norton and Yeager have been aware of the site’s growing popularity — as they are with most things beaver related hereabouts.
Their program, too, is getting a lot of attention of late. This summer it hosted Mike Rowe and the film crew of the popular television series “Dirty Jobs” for a segment to air later this year or early next year. They were also paid visits by CBS Morning and wildlife author Ben Goldfarb, who is doing an article on beavers for National Geographic.
The “Dirty Jobs” experience was described as intense, with Rowe arriving for one extremely busy day after a lot of preparation by his advance team.
The mission of USU’s beaver relocation program, based at the Predator Research Center in Millville, is to find new homes for beavers that are disrupting farmers, neighborhoods and infrastructure in populated areas. After trapping and quarantining the animals — preferably without separating families — the university’s biologists find a places in the wild where the beavers’ work as “nature’s engineers” will benefit habitat and other wildlife populations.
No no no. These beavers are just fine. Don’t you start relocating them too, okay? I dream of the day when all cities have a lodge like this where folks can lay a blanket to watch the beavers work. And articles like this are as common as shoe sales.
