One of the most pesky problems in this beaver biz is that AFTER you convince a city not to kill the critters and install a flow device instead, AFTER you’ve found someone qualified to do it and figured out how to pay for it to happen. After all that bruhaha then you find out that you might need a frickin PERMIT from fish and game just to install it in the first place!
Because you’re ‘changing the creek you see.
And before you ask no you don’t need a creek-altering permit if you want to KILL the beavers. Because that would make sense. Why do you ask?
Well that might change soon in New Hampshire,
Hopkinton Seeks Legislative Intervention In Year-Long Beaver Dam Saga
An ongoing struggle with a beaver dam in Hopkinton will land in the state legislature this session. Hopkinton select board chair Jim O’Brien says the town has been trying for more than a year to stop a beaver dam from flooding a local back road
After reducing the dam’s size, O’Brien says they installed a pipe to allow water to flow freely underneath. It’s similar to a device called a beaver deceiver, which lets a beaver safely maintain its dam without blocking water flow. Deceivers have been effective elsewhere in the state.
But it wasn’t clear if Hopkinton needed state permission to install one. A local resident worried they did, and alerted state officials, who weren’t sure how to proceed.
Now, Hopkinton state Rep. Mel Myler will bring a bill before the legislature to clarify the state’s beaver protection code.
Wow. Just wow. I don’t think even washington state has legislation to protect beaver deceivers. Maybe Vermont does? I know the issue can be a bear to resolve in California. Good luck, Mr, Myler. This deserves to pass.
Fingers crossed.
More good news from Washington State. This time combined with a gentle review of Ben’s book.
Beavers return to Elwha nearshore good for fish
A recent increase in beaver activity along the Elwha nearshore is good news for the juvenile salmon population. In a video posted by the CWI in December, a beaver can be seen in the area nearshore, digging and chopping down a tree.
The nearshore, where the Elwha River meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is critical to salmon spawning. Many young salmon spend time in the estuary acclimating to saltwater before they head out to the ocean. Beavers improve the habitat for the juvenile salmon populations in that area.
“Beavers are ecological engineers,” said Anne Shaffer, lead scientist with the CWI. “They allow water to flow, to channelize. They increase the ecological productivity of the area.”
Honestly, isn’t Washington adorable? Where else would you EVER read that a beaver chopped down a tree and its GOOD NEWS for the salmon? Sniff. I think I’m tearing up.
But in May, a dead beaver was found along the west levee of the Elwha river nearshore. Shaffer said the cause of death was unknown, but that the body found indicated a larger animal, such as a dog, could have been the cause.
“When the beaver was killed, the area went quiet until a couple of months ago,” Shaffer said, noting that after one beaver died, (researchers) did not see any other beavers in the area for several months. Beavers reside in a small colony, which consists of two adult parents, a couple “yearlings” (adolescents) who learn building techniques from the parents, and the “kits” or baby beavers. Shaffer said when one beaver dies, it can cause the colony to leave the area.
Are you with me so far? Beavers are good for the salmon poplation. And if something happens to one then ALL might leave. Which would be bad.
But the nearshore beavers are also vulnerable. With a new set of beavers in the area, Shaffer said it is critical that people keep their dogs on leashes.
“In our own Place Road habitat near the western Elwha delta, the frequency of domestic dogs to the nearshore ecosystem has also dramatically increased,” wrote former CWI scientist Breyanna Waldsmith in a blog post. “If beavers do not return to the area, the ecosystem will alter over time; connectivity will be reduced, dredging of the side channel will not be maintained, and sediment may infill the most critical west side channel of the Elwha delta.”
Oh you little Washington state. You are so darned adorable. Warning people not to drive away their beavers. That’s about the sweetest thing that I’ve ever heard. 
It’s really not fair that Washington gets Michael Pollock, Kent Woodruff AND Ben Goldfarb. That’s just putting too many brilliant beaver resources in one state. Can’t you spread them around a bit?
California would like one…
