I just came across this fairly positive column about beavers from Michigan, (which, to be honest, is not exactly beaver-lovin’ central.)
Beavers and Dams
Beaver benefits include raising water tables that keep wells flowing. They provide habitat for many wildlife like fish, ducks, and deer and many less noticed animals. During spring high water dams help reduce spring flooding along rivers and it is then when beavers search real estate for new homes and food. Maybe one will come your way and bring activities that improve nature niches in your area.
A great many creatures benefit from the temporary residence of a beaver family. Beavers move in and move out but leave a life giving legacy for others that last for decades. We most notice water that floods roads or drowns trees we might desire survive. Beavers do not recognize our legal title to property so we remove them when their activities do not meet our approval.
The article was written by Ranger Steve Mueller of the nearby Howard Christensen Nature Center. The facility and woods belong to the local intermediate school but closed in February when the school lost the funding to keep it open. It was lovingly adopted by a feisty woman who started her own non profit to effectively reopen the center. Now its the HCNC run by Lily’s Pad.
Lily’s Frog Pad reopens Howard Christensen Nature Center
After retiring as the chief financial officer from the A&B Packing Company in Benton Harbor last year, all Cindy Perski, 54, of Kent City, wanted to do was find someplace to unwind. Instead she has become the president of Lily’s Frog Pad Inc., which as of April 1 took over the day-to-day operations of the Howard Christensen Nature Center, 16190 Red Pine Drive, Kent City.
She sounds like a woman with a mission! With Ranger Steve on hand to help I’m wondering if a Beaver Festival might be in their future? Well, Martinez wishes them all the luck in the world!
Just remember, Michigan had a great program about beavers a while back, when Leonard Houston, Sharon Brown, Mike Callahan and yours truly appeared on Kevin Hile’s ‘Michigan Menangerie’ radio show! I’m up first. Call me sentimental, but I like to think that maybe Ranger Mueller listened to this a while back.
