Producer channels inner beaver to keep water on his farm

As a keystone species in North America, the beaver is so much more than just a hat with legs.

It is indisputably one of the most important and influential species, responsible not only for biodiverse ecosystems, but also for drought prevention. Takota Coen, a fourth-generation farmer, educator, and carpenter, has been channelling his inner beaver since he was a child.

“Every spring, all I did was throw sticks in creeks and try to build dams with weeds and mud,” the 25-year-old says. “Children have an innate sense of trying to slow water down.”

And all that play has made him a pro.

Now if I were in charge this realization that beavers save water and it makes a huge difference to available groundwater on a farm would lead Takota to tolerate the actual beavers on his farm and work with them to allow them to help his work. But sadly, I’m not in charge. So he doesn’t have any.

In the spring of 2014, Coen harvested enough water to meet their farm’s water needs for 40 years — 10 million gallons — in just 10 days.

A couple years earlier, when Coen decided to move to his parent’s farm, Grass Roots Family Farm near Ferintosh, Alta., the farm had a water problem: they’d already had two wells dry up on the property, a third that was dry right from the beginning, and a fourth that only pumped two gallons per minute.

“We had no choice but to look for water elsewhere,” he says.

Using LIDAR (light detection and ranging) maps of the property, Coen found the longest and highest valley on the farm, rented a Caterpillar D3 for a day and dug a 1.5 kilometre long, 1.2 metre wide, 0.3 metre swale — which he calls a “wetland on contour.”

That swale enabled Coen to catch all that runoff, and eventually, more.

Ahh so you made yourself a beaver pond and the rain filled it up! Great idea. I wonder how much that LIDAR and caterpillar rental coast you?  Gosh, I know something that would have done that for free! Suddenly this graph springs to mind.

Onto Maine where we’re very happy they’ve decided to live trap a beaver rather than kill it. But honestly.

Catch & Release: Stalking the Wild Beaver

As state-certified Maine Animal Damage Control Cooperators, Maynard Stanley Jr. (pictured) and his wife Norma catch and release wild animals and help solve problems and conflicts between people and animals. This beaver (pictured) was building a dam in a culvert with sticks and mud, which, if left unattended, can cause a road to wash out, sometimes just overnight. So, Rockland Public Works Department called “Critter Catcher” Maynard Stanley Jr. on Tuesday to trap the beaver. The beaver is about four years old, Stanley said, and, after trapping it, he relocated it to a Maine Wildlife Management Area far away from people.

Before releasing the beaver, he and his wife stopped by Owls Head Central School for a quick Show and Tell. “The kids had lots of great questions,” Stanley said. “They love to see wild critters up close, smell the different trapping lures, and I enjoy sharing my experience and helping others understand wildlife and how to coexist. I give wildlife talks and have shown critters at other schools and never pass up a chance to talk with kids.”

Never mind that the poor beaver is confused frightened and isolated from his family. This morning we’re going to a brightly lit schoolroom full of  noisy children who will poke at you and ask questions. Do you think that beaver was still in the clamshell trap? I’m going to guess he was because I doubt critter control moved him to something more comfortable.  So five hours in that trap and then another five to drive him to his destination and then released without family or safety into some strange stream somewhere.

Poor little beaver.

The good news is that at least that culvert will NEVER get blocked again, right? I mean no other beaver is going to plug it tonight, or next month, because this story has a happy ending rof course?