My problem is that I am not smart enough to figure out why Newport would write about the beaver problems after hiring a trapper, put photos of the dead beavers in the news, or run the entire story all over again two days later on the evening news.
Do you have any idea?

Beavers becoming pests in Newport, Minnesota

Andy Shoemaker has been trapping for decades, and a couple weeks ago, he got a call from the city of Newport. The city found it while clearing a house off flood plain property they’d purchased, the trees all along the public trail on top of the river dike. So, it’s a legal liability.

“I got one out of here that I’m sure was at least 70 pounds and probably two others that were 60,” Shoemaker said. He said Newport is one of ten stops just today to check traps and that the problems seem to be growing 

That being said, the population is very healthy… Less than a quarter mile up, there’s a whole separate colony of beavers, there’s a whole other one.

Obviously if a solution isn’t working what you need to do is do it MORE. Like the large families of Catholic parents practicing the rhythm method, Newport just needs to try doing their non-solution HARDER.

That should work, right?

I can’t understand why they are running this story again in a town of 3000. There can’t be much push back or they wouldn’t show photos of the dead beavers. There is obviously a problem, and no one on gods green earth can think of a single other thing to do with those trees to protect them. Certainly not spend the half hour public works uses to complain on camera to actually wrap them with wire. That’s just silly.

There are plenty of other species that would consider that a better idea. Here’s just one  example from today’s news.

Wood Turtles In The Adirondack

Unlike the painted and snapping turtles, the wood turtle does not prefer to reside in the quiet waters of ponds, marshes, and the weedy shores of lakes. Rather, this reptile is more attracted to large, sluggish brooks, alder-choked streams and meandering rivers, especially those that flow through wooded areas. Because the wood turtle is not as well adapted for absorbing oxygen from water as other turtles, it must seek out those aquatic settings in which there is a high concentration of this dissolved gas. Sections of water in which a series of small, swirling cataracts and periodic waterfalls allow the air to mix with water forming a solution rich in oxygen are ideal. Even the waterfalls on the spillway on a beaver dam can create favorable conditions downstream for the wood turtle.

Here’s some more: