“I was walking along the river two weeks ago when I noticed the trees and reported it to the person at the front desk at parks and recreation,” said Dickinson resident Bradley Robertson. “They said someone else had called before and that fencing would go up, but fencing isn’t going to be enough. They need to trap the beavers and set them loose somewhere else.
Clearly one of the limiting factors of maintaining a beaver website is plot variation. There isn’t any. Beavers build dams and cities get upset. Let’s call that Example A. Beavers block culverts and cities get upset. Let’s call that Example B. Beavers Chew trees and cities get upset.
Let’s call that example ‘C‘ – for CHEW.
Residents and users of the area along Heart River near Jaycee Park are concerned that beavers may chew down all of the park’s trees if the Dickinson Parks and Recreation doesn’t step in.
“There’s not much I can do about it. They won’t let me shoot in the city limits,” he said. “And that it’s not my responsibility anyway. It’s the park board’s responsibility.”
“I’ve reported it to our staff operation manager, who will check it out and wrap with chain link, and we’ll contact the city forester to see if they will be salvageable,” he said.
Chain link? To give it that prison-yard look? I don’t suppose you’ll leave any space for the tree to grow? With their chain link tourniquets those trees should all be dead in NO time!
Maybe I should keep form letters for the three predictable solutions. I’ve been writing them all individually but why bother? They all require exactly the same advice. Get that man who wants to help but can’t “use his gun in the city” and put a paintbrush in his hand. Take some latex paint that matches the color of the bark and toss in some mason sand – (about 5 oz per quart of paint). Stir it up right before painting about three feet up the trunk on all sides. Voila! The gritty texture will discourage chewing and your trees will be safe. You’ll need to repeat it in about two years but visually it will look much less ‘penal’ than chain link.
If the trees are not salvageable, Kramer said they would be taken down but didn’t know how soon the issue would be resolved. He said it has been two or three years since a trapper was called to the area around Jaycee’s Park and the baseball field.
“The thing is we can’t chain link or wire mesh around every tree,” he said. “Obviously, one of these trees is probably past the point of being salvageable, but we have some years where we go without any issues. It’s not like it is a problem we see coming. Typically, we don’t see activity until after the damage is done.”
Sigh. Example C – corollary 1. Don’t rush to take the trees out that the beavers cut down. The roots will still prevent erosion for a good long time – and depending on the species they’ll provide energy for the tree to recover its ‘root/shoot ratio’ by stimulating a natural coppicing effect when shoots grow back. Maybe you could put a little park sign to explain it to visitors. I know you’re in North Dakota but look what your next door neighbor is teaching today in Montana:
When beavers take down willow trees to construct their dams and lodges, Ryan said, what is left eventually sprouts the fairly thin shoots that are the perfect material for fish traps.
Longer shoots were used to make the cone-like enclosure, while short ones were shaved into sharp points on one end and bound to the opening at an angle. Fish could enter unscathed, but would run into the sharp points if they tried to exit.
“Every time I do one, I thank the beaver for helping make my ribs for the fish trap,” Ryan said.
Well, I’m glad we had this little chat. Just remember example C – corollary 2: beaver chewed trees create ideal nesting habitat for migratory and songbirds. You like those things, right?
That’s why Kramer looks to users of and residents around the city’s parks to be additional eyes and ears for him and his staff.
Fair enough. Can we be the brains too?
