Sure you might be thinking, beavers have an easier time of it now because of things like that conference and Ben’s book. But you’d be wrong. Because beaver stupid runs deep And Hamlet wasn’t kidding when he told Ophelia to stop hoping

“for virtue cannot so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it”.

Here’s the relish.

In running beaver battle, Pointe Coupee raises bounty to $50 per tail

In its latest battle against the beaver, officials in Pointe Coupee Parish raised the bounty on the pesky critters that build stream- and culvert-clogging dams that lead to more flooding.

The Parish Council unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday that increases the bounty for beaver tail by $10, allowing trappers to collect $50 for each one they turn between April 1 and May 31. Trappers can still collect $40 before and after those times.

Officials say the boost is part of an effort to encourage more trapping because the cost of finding and destroying beaver dams is an expensive and time-consuming process. Many times crews will raze a dam only to find it rebuilt within a few days.

Fifty dollars a tail? FIFTY? If Louisiana is a boot Pointe Coupee is above the ankle and in the arches of the wearer. It is a parish with six rivers, s healthy alligator population and a wildlife refuge. The average working man can hardly walk by a deal like that When the mean income of the parish is about 20 dollars an hour, offering 50 to kill a beaver is too good to pass up. Imagine, if you trapped a family of five you could easily earn enough to install a goddamned flow device. But hey, I guess they aren’t into longer term solutions.

“Beavers are the best engineers you can find,” said Parish President Major Thibaut. “They’ll build dams on everything from streams and rivers to even bayous with a slight current.If you eliminate the beavers altogether … it saves you from having to go out.”

Well sure. I mean when you face another drought like you did four years ago you could just get some bailout money from Fema, you shouldn’t worry about killing off the animal that could prevent it. Why plan ahead? It’s Louisiana for god’s sake.

“We were able to get more meaningful work done when the time is spent not fooling with beaver dams,” he said. The council has already budgeted the money it expects to pay beaver trappers for this year, Thibaut said.

One of the great ironies of this article is that the photo they ran with it (shown above) is of a beaver with an ear-tag taken in Washington State. That particular beaver was given an earring not for a fashion accessory, but because it was reintroduced on PURPOSE to prevent drought, raise the water table and help salmon. Because, unlike you, that state understands that the animals are valuable and have a vital role to play for our streams.

A live beaver is more valuable to mankind than a dead one. These remaining beaver may be exterminated; but if protected they would multiply and colonize stream-sources. Here they would practise conservation. Their presence would reduce river and harbor appropriations and make rivers more manageable, useful, and attractive. It would pay us to keep beaver colonies in the heights. Beaver would help keep America beautiful.

Enos Mills, In Beaver World