Windsor Ontario is just east of the thumb on Michigan’s mitten across the detroit river before it runs down into Lake Erie. It’s a region that’s had its share of pollution mostly from years of its key role in the automobile industry. It also has a higher than average number of respiratory diseases because it is downwind of too many coal burning plants in the US.
So when they get good environmental news, there are reasons to celebrate.
Beavers making a comeback in Windsor-Essex a sign of good habitat
Beavers are making a comeback in Windsor and Essex and officials say it’s a sign their habitats are improving. It’s been decades since the semi-aquatic rodents have been in the region, but in recent years they’ve continued to build their dams on major waterways.
“It shows that they can exist here that they can thrive in fact and reproduce and they have enough food and habitat to live here,” said Kevin Money, director of conservation services at the Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA).
He said it’s a good thing that the beavers have come back.
“Windsor-Essex has long been known as an area without much habitat, so the fact that they’re here indicates that we’re on the path to recovery,” he said.
Dams have been spotted in Hillman Marsh in Leamington, on the Detroit River, and primarily along Lake St. Clair in Lakeshore.
“Beavers started showing up here 10 to 15 years ago. The population has slowly grown,” said Money.
One family has moved in at Holiday Beach in Amherstburg, where they’ve built a dam on the side of the park’s trout pond. The family has been there for more than a year, to the delight of birders and others catching a glimpse while on nature walks.
“They have removed some of the trees but not as many as you’d think,” said Money. “I see them as a benefit to this particular site. We don’t have drainage issues here.”
Beavers can be somewhat of a nuisance, as they can cut down up to 200 trees each year.
“You can actually use a material around the bottom of your trees so they can’t cut them down,” said Money, adding that there are types of trees that beavers don’t like.
“They’re just doing their thing. They’re part of wildlife just like other forms of wildlife in this park,” said Money.
Wow! Beaver acceptance and wisdom from a place I might not expect it! They’re just doing there thing! Don’t worry about the trees, you can wrap them with wire, and hey it means good things that they’re here in the first place, because our river used to be a MESS!
Not that that’s entirely true, since beavers came back to Chernobyl after the nuclear meltdown and don’t need clean water or even much water to make it. They tend to carry their own solutions in their back pocket. Much better than the famous cockroaches, they are a survivor and can handle the pollution life throws at them.
But if folks want to take beavers as a compliment, I’m certainly not going to complain.
