A truly thoughtful letter to the editor from Eric Rick Stevens of Garden Village about Lake Nipisssing (Near Ottowa, just over the lakes from Michigan) this morning.

Time to control water with nature in mind

We can’t keep controlling Lake Nipissing’s water with complete disregard for fish and wildlife. Engineers control water levels with only what’s in the best interest for property damage (docks) which is also very important. But when controlling water, they also have to start keeping fish and wildlife in mind.

Animals like beaver and muskrat have built their lodges over the summer are suddenly faced with low water levels, causing their entrances to be above water. Entrances have to be under water to protect them from predators and also keep their babies from freezing.

he practice of controlling water levels to protect only property damage is very cruel to nature. It’s sad to see a frozen baby beaver laying on the ice dead because the door to its lodge is now above the ice. I’ve also seen large turtles, maybe 100 years old, walking on the snow trying to break through ice to get back in water. This year the water is already at a very low level and still going down.

I realize controlling water isn’t easy, but we have to start controlling water keeping wildlife in mind.

Thanks for watching out for nature! But the solution puzzles me, since the lake is lowered according to how much snowfall they receive and there’s no way they could ‘plan ahead’ before the freeze. Lodges and food caches will already be set if they suddenly discover it has to drop by 4 feet to accommodate the snow. This letter and its sentiment is right, but I’m not sure how its possible to protect nature as well? I guess there could be an overflow lake that only holds water in high flow? But we know wildlife would find its way there too eventually.

It’s got to be a common puzzle though – because I know Silver Lake in the sierras where we go is drained before the snow falls so that it won’t overflow. All the hydro lakes. Surely in all the world there must be a brain smart enough to figure out how to protect property AND wildlife. right?

Honestly, I worry so much about our beavers as it is I’m grateful that we don’t have to think about the perils of snowfall too!

Time for a sweet little article from Amy Lignor on in Baret News.

The Environment Engineers

From the title of this article, you may think that this is all about conservation, organizations that promote and work on creating healthy habitats, or even companies promoting a greener, healthier planet. However, the real environment engineers we speak of are actually four-footed creatures whose mission it is to better nature’s ecosystem.

Not as mystical as, say, the wolf. Not as talked about as the Black Rhino or the long list of other species that are endangered and moving closer and closer to extinction. No, this little guy is sometimes forgotten about completely; yet, without them, the environment would be in far worse shape than it is already.

The beaver has a myriad of skills they’re born with that allow them to always be successful on their nature missions. It is no surprise that the term for an active person who gets things done is: “As busy as a beaver,” when you think about the amount of work these creatures do. Felling trees, changing waterways, building dams – the beaver not only does this to benefit themselves, mind you, but also to benefit other species…including humans.

Think about this: Dams help control both the quality and quantity of water both animals and humans utilize. The ponds, streams, and flooded areas they create are actually vibrant habitats that serve more plants and animals than you can shake a stick at. A variety of fish, insects, and birds benefit from the healthy world the beaver creates. And it is a fact that some animals choose to only live close by the beaver’s habitat.

However…like many animals the beaver has seen a horrendous drop in numbers over the centuries. Once upon a time in North America beavers could be found in almost every pond or stream you looked at. The statistics for the population were once out of this world, with some studies even stating that there may have been over 100 million+ of the creatures at one time. But during the early 20^th century the beaver was suddenly looked at for their fur and not the part they played in a healthy environment. Thus, trapping became monumental and almost lent to the beaver’s complete extinction. Over time, as people grew wiser to the issues, reintroductions of the animal into various habitats brought the number back up to approximately 12 million. Big number, yes, but certainly not when you take the past into account.

Hey Amy, who says beavers aren’t MYSTICAL? They’re plenty dam mystical, I can assure you. In addition to which you are off on their expiration date by several hundred years. But other than THESE niggling details it’s a pretty nice read. Thanks for the appreciation. We need reminders from every corner of how important beavers are to the planet we call home.