You might remember that about 10 days ago I told you about the problematic beavers of Knox in the county of Albany NY. The historic bridges in the city park were being damaged by water because the beavers there were raising the wetlands. They were told that there were some 40-50 beaver in the area and they should just kill a few to fix the issue.

I thought it was a good a chance as any for education so I wrote the city council. the town provost and the author of the article about our issue and how we solved it and a few pointed facts about beavers.

One of the council even wrote me back thanking me for for the information.

Apparently it was added to the circular filing cabinet because this was reported last night.

Knox approves beaver culling in town wetlands amid flooding concerns

Town officials are trying to mitigate flooding concerns in and around the Knox wetlands and town park on Street Road, and that means taking on busy beavers who they say are the cause.

Knox Town Supervisor Russell Pokorny said beaver dams have causing flooding at the park and its trail bridges.

But that alone wasn’t the reason why the town board voted unanimously last week to hire a trapper to reduce the beaver population.

“I could almost live with what’s happening to the park but there’s another problem. There’s a culvert that goes under Street Road and into the wetland area and that culvert keeps getting clogged by the beavers,” said Pokorny. “And according to our Highway Superintendent Matthew Schanz it’s a very expensive and labor consuming task to keep clearing that pipe out.”

You know how it is when very rare problems crop up that you never in a million years expected to happen. Except this happened again 4 years ago and I specifically sent them information about how installng a trapezoidal culvert fence could save money by preventing the need for man power hours to clean out the culvert.

I guess they just love paying trappers and  making headlines that use the word CULL?

“The money involved in continuing to service that, it pushed us over the edge and we decided we needed less beavers,” said Porkorny.

According to Porkorny, he heard there could be around 40 beavers in the wetlands, but the trapper, Gary Salisbury, hired to reduce the population believes the number is much lower than that, closing to about 10.

Despite the smaller number, officials remain worried about the potential damage.

“Huge beaver dams during floods will break, and just take highways out. I’ve seen it many, many times, and that’s where the danger comes in,” said Salisbury.

Salisbury plans to trap and kill the beavers gradually, trapping and killing one at a time and then monitoring the situation closely to see if it resolves the flooding concerns.

What? You mean like a form of torture where you cut off one finger at a time until the victim does what you want? Is the beaver family supposed to watch in terror thinking, well they got Bob and Sherry. They are really serious about this. We better stop building the dam.

If we just kill the older ones maybe everything will be okay.
CBS6’S BRIANA SUPARDI: “Do you think killing the beavers in their own habitat is fair?”

RUSSELL PORKORNY: “I think it’s a bad thing. A bad thing for them, but I’m not sure what we’re going to do because this is what we’ve done all over the world, we’re encroaching on habitats,” said Pokorny. “We’re trying to have a park here where people can walk the trails and walk their dogs and play basketball and all kinds of things, and in order to keep that open for people, we can’t have it flooding.”

Salisbury has trapped and killed one beaver so far. When asked about relocating instead of killing them, he explained that it is not a viable option, as they could be attacked and killed by other beavers in new territories.

Yes and its illegal in NY. Much better to Kill a problem than to solve it.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/news/knox-approves-beaver-culling-in-town-wetlands-amid-flooding-concerns/vi-BB1rcqWr?ocid=socialshare&t=3

 

I know what you should stream on amazon prime tonight. It’s not every day I hear my quiet English husband belly laugh outloud. In the spirit of Buster Keaton and Saturday morning cartoons.

You will spot my favorite parts right away. And if you ever read even a single trappers journal you will know the plot instantly and also what happens to all those cheerful hunting dogs.

Another fantastic film from Beaver Trust, they are putting all their best minds to work on keeping beavers around.

This article caught my eye and made me think about how beavers lead each other. They are definitely not dictators to their family members. Rather they lead by example. And when example does not work and the issue is crucial they are a little more forceful about it.

Leadership Lessons From Beavers, Wolves And Sea Stars

In the natural world, certain species have an outsized influence on the health and stability of their ecosystems. Known as keystone species, these creatures play a critical role in maintaining balance, diversity, and resilience. Remove them, and entire ecosystems can collapse. The beaver, wolf, and sea star each represent unique ways of influencing their environments—and offer profound leadership lessons for those seeking to create positive, lasting impact in their organizations.

Recent research in ecosystem management suggests that keystone species drive biodiversity and stability by shaping their surroundings in proactive, often transformative ways. Similarly, effective leadership isn’t just about guiding—it’s about shaping environments where people can thrive.

This struck me as interesting, in a coffee house intellectual but impractical kind of way chatting with a host of fellow students some have just come back from a protest against sleeping in beds instead of on the ground under the trees.  I don’t really think what beavers do is lead other species to do their own thing. On a personal level I don’t think beavers much care about other species.

But I guess in the abstract the concept kind of works.

Leadership Lessons from the Beaver

Beavers are nature’s architects. By constructing dams and wetlands, they create environments that support a diverse range of species. Their work transforms entire landscapes, turning stagnant areas into rich habitats where ecosystems flourish.

Like the beaver, transformational leaders build environments where teams can thrive. They create systems, frameworks, and resources that empower others to grow. This could mean establishing collaborative tools, fostering psychological safety, or designing clear processes that allow creativity and productivity to flow. Leaders can act as foundation-builders by:

• • Creating mentorship and professional development structures.
  • Designing systems that balance autonomy with support.
  • Establishing shared values that guide decision-making.

Are you creating the conditions for sustainable success in your organization?

That is kind of silly. Beavers are not good leaders. They are communists. Or rather they are structured like ISIS where everyone does their own thing for a cause in independent cells.

But I guess that article wouldn’t get published in Forbes.