Plenty of good beaver news this morning, with this from Vancouver Island. There’s a brand new beaver advocacy group in the world and the teamed up with our friends at FBD to install a flow device. I just checked out their website and was surprised to see my name – not just Worth A Dam or martinez beavers which is more expected.

Well, if you’re going to make a name for yourself, I suppose there are worse ways.

And right out of the gate they installed a pair of outstanding flow devices,

City of Port Alberni learns to coexist with beavers

Port Alberni has become the first beaver-friendly community on Vancouver Island.

The city has partnered with The Fur-Bearers (a non-profit society dedicated to protecting fur-bearing animals) and VanIsle Wetlands (a Port Alberni company that specializes in non-lethal methods of managing beaver activities) to have beaver conflict sites fitted with “flow devices” that will reduce lethal trapping while protecting local infrastructure, wildlife and the greater community.

Lesley Fox, the executive director of the Fur-Bearers, said the non-profit reached out to the city of Port Alberni about a year ago, proposing a sustainable, coexistence-focused solution to beaver conflict sites.

“Most people are surprised to know that beavers are a part of our cities,” she explained. “This is an opportunity for understanding the role of beavers, and the important role they play in keeping the water on land.”

Hurray for the Vancouver Island beavers! It’s wonderful to see good work being done so near by. Let’s meet the new kids on the beaver block, so to speak.

Chris Holtslag, the founder of VanIsle Wetlands, says beaver dams can also protect downstream spawning areas, which helps increase salmon and trout populations.

“You get better fish, bigger fish when you have slow-moving streams,” said Holtslag.

However, dams can also lead to infrastructure damage. A blocked culvert, for example, can cause flooding and damage to nearby roadways. Removing dams and beavers are short-term solutions, as new beavers will return to the sites where beavers were removed. Beavers are triggered by the sound and flow of the water to build a dam, explained Holtslag.

Hi Chris, great to meet you. I’m so glad this work is happening!

Flow devices are a solution that can protect both the animals and the infrastructure, by allowing water to continue moving as designed regardless of damming activity. These devices have now been installed in two locations on Lugrin Creek: one can be found just off of Beaver Creek Road, across the street from the Alberni Co-op, while the other is located on the Kitsuksis Dyke trail.

The two sites were “especially troublesome” with beavers, said Fox. The mouth of the culvert on Beaver Creek Road had been blocked by a four-foot dam. Holtslag installed a culvert protection fence, as well as a pond leveller: a pipe and cage system that helps to manage the height and volume of water near beaver dams. The cage at the end protects the intake from damage.

“It was a lot of work, very muddy,” said Holtslag. “I put a hole in my hip waders in the first five minutes.”

At the other site on the Kitsuksis Dyke trail, Holtslag installed a pond leveller straight through a beaver dam.

 Now that’s a familiar site! And a great look for you, Chris. Beavers will be very happy to cooperate with your efforts.

Fox said she’s not aware of any other municipality on Vancouver Island that has made this commitment to addressing conflict sites, although the Fur-Bearers have worked with other municipalities in the Lower Mainland to install flow devices.

“It’s really taking off in other places in B.C.,” she said. “This is a great success story, not only for Port Alberni, but the Island as a whole. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from local residents, who are happy to see a more long-term solution,” she added.

Fox says a shift in policies is happening at the municipal level when it comes to wildlife.

“We’re responding to a need, and it’s coming from the municipalities, for long-term, safer ways of managing wildlife conflicts,” she said. “And we hope to see more of it on the Island.”

Beavers are great teachers. They’ll make sure you know right away if anything needs tweaking or changing. Thanks Chris and Leslie for giving the beavers of Vancouver Island a fighting chance. It’s hard work to colonize a place when you first must cross a strait filled with Orcas. They worked hard to get there.

It’s the least you can do.