I guess beaver ambivalence in Massachusetts is a step forward?
New ‘neighbor’ sparks worry, excitement in Ponkapoag
A new neighbor has moved into the Ponkapoag section of Canton, and it’s either a reason for celebration or a cause for alarm — or possibly both.
In an email to the Mass. Water Resources Authority, Kodzis wrote, “It seems some beavers have done some work to plug up the brook and it is now flooding. My concern is that the flooding will get to a level where the new sewer access manholes will be covered with water. There also seems to be some erosion of the new access road as the brook has been redirected. I think it deserves a walk-through since beavers can be very destructive.”
“It was a privilege to have found it,” he said, “but I also realize that it does bring its problems.”
Yes, unlike humans, pets, and freeways, which never cause concern, beavers can bring problems. They’re completely unique in that way. And since you live in Massachusetts there couldn’t possibly be a company an hour away called Beaver Solutions. Because obviously, beaver problems can never be solved. I guess we should be pleased that you were at least happy to be the one who found ‘it’. It could be worse. You could be him.
Mark Thomas, another Ponkapoag resident and owner of a wildlife removal business, Baystate Wildlife Management Inc., was more matter-of-fact in his assessment of beavers in the neighborhood.
“Beavers are bad news,” said Thomas, who recently spotted the beaver in question near the brook. “It’s cute and cool in the beginning, but then it really becomes bad pretty quickly.”
In addition to the flooding problems, Thomas said beavers “kill all the trees” in the area and are generally more disruptive than they are beneficial — at least when they are located too close to human development.
Thomas said that beavers, if allowed to remain, would be one more wildlife problems in a neighborhood that is already dealing with more than its share, including a recent infiltration of coyotes.
Mark sounds like a real wildlife lover doesn’t he? Like the Jane friggin’ Goodall of Ponkapoag. Beavers are bad news! I’m sure he misspoke, though, when he said beaver were bad news. Since he makes his living with wildlife removal, they must be GOOD news right? I mean, no one hires a company to get rid of a problem that doesn’t exist, right? If there was no bad news you’d never make your boat payment, right?
According to MassWildlife, “By damming streams and forming shallow ponds, beavers create wetlands. These wetlands provide habitat for a tremendous diversity of plants, invertebrates, and wildlife, such as deer, bats, otter, herons, waterfowl, songbirds, raptors, salamanders, turtles, frogs, and fish.”
The state agency suggests that humans also benefit from beavers, as these new wetlands help to control downstream flooding, improve water quality, and can also recharge groundwater.
MassWildlife, for instance, suggests a number of nonlethal solutions to address human conflicts with beavers, including tolerance, fencing, dam removal, and water level control devices, or “beaver pipes,” which allows water to flow through a dam while remaining undetected by the beaver.
Talk about ending on a positive note! This is a reporter that really did his homework! Jay Turner talked to the doubtful, the opposition, and the advocates! And ended his thoughtful piece on a positive note. As a woman who has written about beaver news in almost 3000 columns, I can firmly attest that almost never happens. I’m a little hopeful for those beavers in Ponkapoag. Aren’t you?
As for Kodzis, the man who got to the bottom of this neighborhood mystery, he is still undecided about how he feels about beavers. Personally, he said they do not bother him “one way or the other,” although he acknowledges that their presence may impact some more than others.
Nevertheless, Kodzis finds it “amazing” that there is so much wildlife right in his backyard. “And if the beavers are going to be here,” he said, “then we have to learn how to live with them.”
Now on another more pragmatic note, dentists have finally noticed that beaver teeth might turn out to be useful to human teeth!
Beavers Show Way to Improve Enamel
Beavers don’t brush their teeth, and they don’t drink fluoridated water, but a new study reports beavers do have protection against tooth decay built into the chemical structure of their teeth: iron.
This pigmented enamel, the researchers found, is both harder and more resistant to acid than regular enamel, including that treated with fluoride. This discovery is among others that could lead to a better understanding of human tooth decay, earlier detection of the disease and improving on current fluoride treatments.
Layers of well-ordered, carbonated hydroxylapatite “nanowires” are the core structure of enamel. The team led by Northwestern researcher Derk Joester, PhD, discovered in rodent teeth that it is the material surrounding the nanowires, where small amounts of an amorphous solid rich in iron and magnesium are located, that controls enamel’s acid resistance and mechanical properties.
Hmmm. It turns out a diet rich in iron is what makes beaver teeth stronger than human teeth. It also prevents tooth decay and happens to be what turns beaver teeth orange. Should we be expecting the classic Hollywood smile to be orange soon? The article ran with a nice, uncredited photo shown here. Based on that nose I’d say this was castor fiber. But I’m sure the enamel is the same.
Before I go let me wish all those beaver lovers out there a happy valentine’s day. There’s good evidence secondary dam is getting worked on so we’ll stop by under the stars to share our love with them. The primary dam is not getting worked on, so we may have to have an official renaming ceremony soon.
