Dear Ms. Perryman,
Thank you for your email and I want to assure you that I do not take the matter of the beavers lightly. I have had extensive discussions with staff with expertise in this area along with Mayor Watson on this situation.
Please find the attached notice provided to nearby homeowners of the work that was undertaken. This notice provides background information regarding the reason that the work was undertaken and the special precautions that were taken into consideration for any possible kits.
On Friday the City’s stormwater services removed the beaver lodge from the Paul Lindsay Storm Water Management facility. This removal was done by professionals to ensure no injury to any potential beavers. During this time the beaver was not present in the lodge and did not appear to have been present in the lodge for several weeks. A beaver did make an appearance in the pond during the removal operation, but quickly move off. City staff believed that the beavers observed in the pond in recent days have been travelling to the pond from other areas (likely Poole Creek) to feed on water lilies.
i appreciate your concerns for the safety of the beaver. As this area is a storm water management facility the flood control for residents must be maintained by the City and that will mean continual removal of any attempt by beaver to build a lodge in the future.
Sincerely, Shad Qadri There is just so much to talk about in this email I’m like one of those ticks that just walk around on you for a half hour unable to decide where to bite first. I’m thrilled they cared just dimly enough to interrupt the long weekend and write me back. I already heard from Lory that she got a similar response, so lets hope he’s having a very busy sunday. You MUST go read the entire notice, but here’s some excitement.The City of Ottawa would like to advise homeowners surrounding the stormwater facility in Paul Lindsay Park of its plans to remove the beaver lodge from the facility within the next two weeks.After careful review and consideration, the City has concluded that the activities of beavers in the stormwater facility interfere with its functioning, creating a risk of flooding to surrounding homes and degrading water quality in the pond and receiving watercourses.
Do you understand how important this ditch is? Yes we had been offered a free flow device built by Fur Bearer Defenders but we didn’t want one of those icky things in our precious drainage ditch.
City stormwater and natural systems staff have also concluded that retrofitting of engineered stormwater facilities with “beaver deceivers” or “beaver bafflers” is neither practical nor safe, and that it would not constitute good engineering practice.
Hear that, Skip and Mike? Not good engineering practice! Solving problems is NOT what Stittsville is all about. Don’t think we’re heartless. We saw the beaver on the flag and since all that public uproar we read something about why they’re useful. But they aren’t useful in drainage ditches.
The City does not take this action lightly. The city values beavers and wetlands greatly, not only for the many ecosystem functions that they provide, but also for their contributions to biodiversity and for their own sake. Ottawa has the largest rural area of any major city in Canada. Approximately 20 per cent of Ottawa is covered by wetlands, much of which is protected as “provincially significant.”
These wetlands both support and benefit from a thriving beaver population. However, engineered stormwater facilities are not designed to function as wetlands, and they do not provide suitable habitat for beavers. Nor can wetlands and beavers provide the same level of environmental and property protections within urban and suburban environments as do properly engineered and maintained stormwater facilities.
Let’s just review for a second. We like beavers, just not these beavers. What we did wasn’t sneaky, we told 10 people first. We’ve heard of flow devices but they aren’t safe for our uniquely unique culverts which have to process WATER – unlike other culverts why those tricks might be successful. And we didn’t hurt the beavers so stop saying that
This removal was done by professionals to ensure no injury to any potential beavers. During this time the beaver was not present in the lodge and did not appear to have been present in the lodge for several weeks. A beaver did make an appearance in the pond during the removal operation, but quickly move off. City staff believed that the beavers observed in the pond in recent days have been traveling to the pond from other areas (likely Poole Creek) to feed on water lilies.
Well, that’s a relief. The removal was done by professionals! Professional ‘what’ I wonder? Professional beaver lodge removers? And what made the lodge appear uninhabited? The fact that it was so clean? Remarkable how that happens! You say a beaver showed up while the professionals were ripping out his home? Funny coincidence! Obviously no one is living in the lodge. That must be why those sticks were laid there the next day.
So let me get this straight – the city warned every single resident of the property but not the people who advocated for the beavers or actually cared about them. They never sent this release to Anita or to the Press or announced it in a city council meeting. Honestly when I read his email all I could think of was this priceless scene from Douglas Adams’ unforgettable masterpiece.
“But Mr Dent, the plans have been available in the local planning office for the last nine months.”
“Oh yes, well as soon as I heard I went straight round to see them, yesterday afternoon. You hadn’t exactly gone out of your way to call attention to them, had you? I mean, like actually telling anybody or anything.”
“But the plans were on display …”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying “Beware of the Leopard!”
Oh and because they care so much about beavers up there happy Canada Day from Google!
For a bit of cheer to cleanse the pallate my very cool cousin who is now working as a ranger for the Oregon State Parks just sent this picture – that’s J.R. Beaver, who is the mascot for the Jr ranger program! I’m thinking J.R. wants to come to the beaver festival!
This is the mascot of the Junior Ranger Program. J.R. helps the children through their duties and delivers information about natural resources to them. J.R. has been pretty busy in other ways, too. The Beaver has been sighted in the last year at county fairs and expos, local schools and parades. Call your local park office about the possibility of a J.R. appearance in your neck of the woods
