Remember the beavers in Amherst New York that were chewing down memorial trees? They city voted to kill them (of course) and brought in the DEC who accidentally reported in front of a news camera that conibear traps drown the beaver. (I’m quite sure that his second day of ranger school he was told to never, never say that even if its true.) As a result tons of concerned folks poured into the city meeting and saved the day. Volunteers would wrap the trees and beavers wouldn’t be killed.

For Now.

Apparently it turns out that those selfish beavers still want to feed their families throughout the frozen winter and they think your ornamental birch would help nicely, thank you very much. Having a tree removed from your front yard apparently makes reasonable home owners postal because this lovely woman can’t see how her lawn’s rights aren’t worth an animals life. Go figure.

Never mind that there are volunteers that would have wrapped that tree for you if you picked up the phone and asked. I’m guessing you have WIVB on speed dial so its much easier to call them and whine about the damage than it is to bother and prevent it.

I’ve already heard from one of the volunteers this morning reminding the highway superintendent that they can help protect trees and that spending time wiping out beaver dams is not a very good use of public funds. Sharon and Owen Brown of Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife went out and toured the area personally, telling folks what steps to take. I guess they must have known that beavers cut down trees but they never thought they’d cut down THEIR trees.

You never think it will happen to you.

‘All I did was doubt that

You would eat my tree

and it happened to me“

Amherst no longer killing pesky beavers

This weekend I received a phone call from Amherst New York where they were getting ready for their own city council meeting about the plan to trap beavers gnawing memorial trees. She wanted advice for how to present their opposition and how to offer reasonable solutions. Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife was on the case as well and had been talking to the council and reporters. Well today there’s good news:

Amherst to stop trapping, drowning beavers

The Town of Amherst will no longer trap and drown nuisance beavers in response to the public outcry against what one animal rights organization called “tax-funded torture.”

At the board’s meeting Monday, representatives with the Animal Advocates of Western New York and Animal Allies of Western New York criticized the town’s “inhumane” treatment of beavers and said they would be glad to work with the town to find non-lethal methods for dealing with the tree-taking dam builders.

Whoohoo! Great work all! I was told the meeting was a 3:00 pm and hard for anyone employed to attend, but obviously they made it work. I remember how excited we all felt after the November 7th meeting, lo these many years ago, and I’m a little jealous of the enthusiasm they must be enjoying right now! They even had their own nay-sayers to play the comic villain of the melodrama:

Some Amherst residents who live along the water, however, say they didn’t have any issue with beaver trapping. Lenora Canna, a North Forest Road resident whose property backs up to Ellicott Creek, said she had three trees worth hundreds of dollars taken down by beavers since she moved into her home 17 years ago.

She asked the town for help last year in getting rid of the beavers damaging her private property and the town refused, she said. So she began wrapping her trees in barbed wire and hired a trapper with her own money. He placed a trap out in her backyard and caught a large 55-pound beaver within a couple weeks, she said. Damage has been mitigated since then.

Canna said she’s sorry the town is ending its own trapping practices. Beavers are active all year long, and have damaged both her trees and bushes, she said.

“They are a nuisance,” she said. “They are a glorified rat as far as I can see.”

Boo! Hiss! Throw popcorn! I love the scene where the villian ties the beaver to the railroad tracks and then it gets rescued just in time! Ohhhh wait, wrong movie! Still, what a great end to a fantastic tale (tail?) and it all started because of a very interesting verbal slip from the DNR employee who went on camera accidentally mentioned that trapping was humane because the beavers ‘drown’.

Obviously he never got the memo that said in bold letters “Always lie to animal rights groups by saying that conibear traps INSTANTLY CRUSH the beavers so they feel no pain’. Maybe he was sick that day. Maybe he had just stepped out. Maybe he is a Worth A Dam secret supporter. Whatever the reason once he said ‘drown’ – for an animal that can hold its breath for 15 minutes – the jig (as they say) was up!

With these changes, she said, “people can come to the park and think of the beauty and peace of the park and not think of the beavers struggling to get to the surface and drowning.”

Once again, a thundering round of applause and a very deep bow for Amherst and for Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife! Congratulations from all your friends in Martinez!