Tim Nolan, Foreman of Maintenance at the Department of Public Utilities, a division of the city’s public works department, stands on a beaver dam at the Still River drainage basin that feeds Lake Kenosia. There are two dams that are opened with a rake each morning. Friday, Sept. 24, 2010 Photo: Scott Mullin / The News-Times Freelance
The constitution state takes its name from the Algonquin word for the “Long tidal river”. In the 1600’s tribal leaders actually asked the settlers in Boston and Plymouth to come to their region, luring them with promises of beaver skins and corn. They were looking for help managing their unruly neighbors the Pequots. Great idea, how could that possibly go wrong?
Podunk sachems were journeying to Boston and Plymouth to solicit English settlers with promises of corn and beaver skins and glowing descriptions of the “exceeding fruitfulness of the country.” What the Indians along the river wanted was protection against the hostile neighboring Pequots. The bait was taken when, in the fall of 1633, William Holmes and his followers settled at what became Windsor, Connecticut.
I offer this tidbit so you can see the history of Connecticut is inextricably linked to beavers. The economy couldn’t have existed without them. The landscape couldn’t have been formed without them. The fish and the birds and the wildlife couldn’t have ever been sustained without them. So I bet in 400 years the region has learned a lot about this semi-aquatic neighbor. When I saw the article this weekend from the imaginatively named “Newstimes” I couldn’t wait to read what a state that had half a century to learn about beavers had gleaned.
Furry facts Beavers are nocturnal semi-aquatic rodents. They build dams to protect their homes, called “lodges,” from predators and to create fishing ponds as a food source. Beaver families can include two parents and as many as six pups, who leave the lodge after two years. The lodges are built above ground and water, but have underwater entrances.
Dirk Perrefort, Newstimes
Stunning. You hear that misunderstanding a lot but it still takes my breath away when its reported in a paper. Furry Facts Dirk??? Are furry facts the same as fuzzy logic? Just so you know, beavers are vegetarians. They don’t eat fish. They do make ‘fishing ponds’ but not for the reason you think. Since they aren’t polygamists, all families have two parents. And we call the children ‘kits’ but now I’m just being picky.
Well okay, so they had one reporter who hasn’t been outside a lot but I’m sure the rest of the state knows their beaver psychology! Let’s hear what from the hard working salt of the earth.
Several times this week, work crews have taken apart a series of dams the beavers built along a nearby stream feeding the lake, only to arrive the next morning to find the structures have been rebuilt. Nolan said they’ve used large rakes attached to poles to dislodge the dams, only to return the next day to see them rebuilt.
So the city of Danbury paid public works to pull out the dams several times in a week and you are surprised that the beavers rebuilt them? You have heard of this animal before, right? You are familiar with how the whole family pitches together to repair their livliehood when something traumatic happens to it? (Irrelevant backstory: Last night I met a grating man at the dam who demanded to know when we had piled up all that wood on the surface. “You guys did this, right?” When I said that these were beavers and building dams is what they do all by themselves without any help from us, he snapped defensively that he ‘knew that’. It’s heartfelt exchanges like this that make evening docent trips to the dam worth while…)
What explains the enduringly stubborn human belief that removing dams will magically make beavers go away? It sadly happens in every state in the union. It happened in Martinez in 2006. Could it be projection? Might it not demonstrate the character of the actors themselves? How do you respond if your effort is hampered? . If someone destroys what you made do you walk away or rebuild? Since you would give up are you assuming the beavers will too? If that’s true then there are a whole lot of ‘quitters’ in city government and public works all over the country.
Paul Rego, a wildlife biologist with the DEP, said beavers are fairly common in the state. He said they create dams to protect themselves from predators and to create a food source. Beavers eat trees and other aquatic vegetation near water courses. Rego said the local beaver family may have been around for some time, but weren’t noticed until the city began draining water from the nearby lake.
Well being that they had two strong dams I think Paul’s right. That’s the first sentence that hasn’t made me groan or giggle. (Although I can see how Dirk got the wrong idea. You said beavers create ponds for a food source, but he didn’t understand that meant a riparian food source!)
Clearly the city of Danbury is in dire need of some beaver education, stat! Since they discuss the possibility of trapping beaver to solve the problem, they win this week’s ‘whose killing beavers now’ entry. If you’d like to provide some needed education the article has the reporters email. I looked up the director of public works, the mayor, and the two council members representing that ward. Maybe you could explain how cities live with beavers and why they should? The constitution state needs your help!
