I feel so naive. I had been seeing this headline for the last couple of days but it was protected by a firewall or i was busy so I couldn’t read the whole story but I though “Oh that’s cute, a grad student made a map of where beaver populations are in Connecticut because of all the good things beavers do.”.
But poor poor Heidi with her silly little ideas. it turns out the grad student was working under a real estate grant and was doing it to consider whether BEAVER DAMS SHOULD BE ADDED TO REALESTATE DISCLOSURES Because of all the FLOODING.
No word on whether they should also be added to reduce fire insurance zones. I guess we aren’t worried about that.
UConn graduate student creates Connecticut’s first beaver map
The first map tracking Connecticut’s increasing beaver population was part of a research project in the University of Connecticut’s Department of Natural Resources and the Environment. Evan Zocco, the research assistant who conducted the project, says the map can help solve both property management and climate mitigation issues.
One reason the map has such wide applicability is because beavers are categorized as a “keystone species” with profound influence on the ecosystem, according to the project’s website.
“Beavers are considered keystone species because of their unique ability to create more diverse habitats than those that previously existed,” the website stated. The creation of this diversity was analyzed in the research project by distinguishing the “stages of sites” in beaver habitats.
You can see why I might of thought this would be good news. Ohh you silly silly girl.
The first stage in the website’s breakdown was the construction of a dam to block flowing water. Beavers stop streams because they need to redistribute that water to create their habitat. Dams create ponds where beavers build lodges in the middle to protect against predators, according to the project’s introduction.
Connecticut’s landscape is abundant with optimal areas for beavers looking to build dams, but that becomes a problem in close proximity to human structures, according to the study. The security that dams grant beavers is not extended to humans because dams flood the surrounding area. This increases the likelihood of water damage in residential areas close to active beaver sites, according to Zocco’s research.
Zocco gave some examples behind the map’s practicality by highlighting at-risk residential areas that he found using the resource he created. The website highlights 15 houses that are particularly close to beaver structures in the towns of New Milford, Sherman, Ashford, Colchester and Killingworth.
Websites citing towns close to BEAVER STUCTURES.
Because they’re so dangerous and ICKY. Okay you do know that nothing a beaver makes is permanent right? Addresses change with the calendars. OMG what if you make this whole useful map and the beavers move? Or are eaten?
Connecticut home flood repair costs are some of the highest in the country, according to a report published earlier this year by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC). A contributing factor to these costs is the lack of required disclosure about flooding in the real estate industry. In Connecticut, sellers are only required to warn buyers when a home is in a flood hazard area, not if there was any previous flood damage, according to NRDC lawyer Joel Scata.
“This difference in flood costs highlights the importance of flood disclosure laws so that home buyers have a clear picture of the potential burden from flooding,” the NRDC report stated. While mapping beaver activity won’t tell buyers whether there were any previous floods, the information in the map can help homeowners avoid some financial burden, according to Zocco.
You know how you have to report if someone died in a house in some states or if its haunted in NY state or in Martinez when we bought our house that it was subject to the noise of CHURCH BELLS.
Well this study thinks you should have to report being near BEAVERS too.
“While having a stream on a property can enhance its aesthetic appeal, it also brings the potential for unintended destruction if beavers choose to build there,” according to Zucco’s website. “Awareness of these risks is crucial for property owners to implement preventative or mitigative measures effectively.” The beaver site map used Zocco’s research to ensure the public has accessible resources informing about the risks.
Or you know if the stream CHOOSES TO FLOOD EVEN WITHOUT BEAVERS. That could be a problem for homeowners too.
But don’t worry. It’s not all bad news.
Not all beaver activity was found to be financially destructive, according to Zocco’s study. While the first stage of a beaver site raises concern in human-beaver relationships with flooding, later stages of beaver activity compel our co-existence through carbon dioxide mitigation, according to the project’s website.
Well that sounds better. How long does that take?
“Beavers naturally generate these ecosystems as a byproduct of their activities,” the website stated. “In contrast, man-made wetlands often fail to replicate the effectiveness of their naturally occurring counterparts.” Research by the State of Washington’s Department of Ecology reassures Zocco’s claim.
“Younger freshwater wetlands and disturbed wetlands can emit carbon until they develop sufficiently to sequester carbon,” Washington’s Department of Ecology reported. “The turnover time from a wetland being a carbon emitter to a carbon sink can take 61 to 14,000 year.”
Okay so the bad things beavers do are going to happen RIGHT NOW so you better watch out. But the good things they do take a millenium or so,
So homeowners should plan accordingly.
It took Evan Zocco and advisor Dr. Chandi Withrana months to compare different images and monitor changes instigated by beaver colonies. The long period of research reflects the number of images the pair analyzed, with the dates going back as far as 1930, according to The Hartford Courant.
You mean to tell me you looked at images from that long ago and the subject of your research ISN’T “Home owners in CT are soo stupid that they’ve been building on the flood plains for nearly a century?”
Any mention of fire risk near beaver ponds? No I didn’t think so.
Moy sought to involve diverse participants, including students, volunteers, and various organizations, alongside scientific monitoring and artistic storytelling to convey the project’s cultural relevance. In recent years, Vesper Meadow has increasingly collaborated with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, recognizing the historical stewardship of these lands by tribal people. “The beavers are the keepers of the waterway, and the Native people have, since time immemorial, been the keepers of the land.”
