Less than 100 miles from Beaver Solutions in Massachusetts, the historic town of Medfield has learned something about beaver management. Something. Who was it that said “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing?“.
I mean, besides me?
Increased beaver population wreaking havoc in Medfield
A string of beaver dams has caused flooding in 28 acres of Medfield forestland over the past few months, backing millions of gallons of water up into the Fork Factory Brook and Rocky Woods Reservations.
We have a number of concerns from the loss of public ways, to mosquito concerns, to flooding areas, and residents downstream,” said Selectmen chairman Richard DeSorgher.
The avoidable problem is flooding on both sides of Fork Factory Reservation. If the water level continues to rise two to three more feet, then the integrity of the pavement on Hartford Street, a main commuter road, will be compromised said Town Administrator Mike Sullivan.
The Trustees of Reservations, owners of the Fork Factory Brook and Rocky Woods Reservations, are attempting to take a non-violent approach to the beaver infestation.
Okay, so far so good, right? Considering this is Massachusetts, home of the big whiners about beavers, and the alarming headline from the hyperbole department, that’s not a bad start. But keep reading, It gets very confusing very fast.
Rather than attempting to halt the creatures from doing their work, they aim to find ways to slow them down but mostly intend on “allowing the natural changes to take place, with some intervention,” said Mike Francis, superintendent of the Trustees. The transition from wooded area to wetland is not uncommon, and is often instigated by beavers, he said.
“Beavers are a keystone species. A lot of other species rely on beavers to create the habitat that they need. When beavers move in, you see a lot of changes, quickly,” he said. “I think people have started to see those changes there and will continue to. You will see new wild life and new species moving in as a result of the new habitat created there.”
The preferred and most humane method of dealing with the overpopulation of beavers is to use long 10-inch wide pipes to avert the water through or around the beaver dam allowing the brook to flow as it had before.
The idea is that the beaver eventually becomes discouraged by the lowering water level and moves somewhere else. Two of these water-diverting pipes, commonly known as “beaver deceivers,” were installed two weeks ago doubling the amount of covert pipes since early summer in the Fork Factory Brook Reservation.
Francis said that the culverts are monitored and maintained regularly, and that the water levels have decreased as planned. The Trustees are working closely and cooperatively with town officials to make the best decision for the community.
The issue that the two groups face is whether to install culverts at every dam hoping that the pipes prove affective [sic] in the long term, or to take advantage of the short trapping season this winter.
“We still feel trapping is the long term solution,” said Sullivan. “The long term for the beavers is to kill them unfortunately because otherwise they keep multiplying.
Wait, so you just put pipes through the dam because and didn’t bother about putting fencing around the pipes? Because I guess you think that that good-for-nothing Mike Callahan just makes up busy work to charge folks more and you know better? And you think this will make the beavers leave because they hate the water draining away? Um, sit down for a moment and take a deep breath. You’re right that beavers hate their water draining. But you know they have way to stop that, right? It’s called ‘plugging the pipe‘. And they have a nearly unlimited supply of plugging materials right there in the creek. It’s called ‘mud‘.
Send the photographer out to get a photo of what those pipes look like in 5 days.
This article could hardly be more wrong. Aside from the spelling errors and mistaking the word culvert for the word pipe. I think the reporter is every bit as confused as the trustees. Funny that he got the misleading numbers from Fish and Game exactly right. I guess they’re probably printed on the newsroom wall, (or the cocktail napkins). I can’t help it. I’ll print the last part with corrections.
The mammal’s population has increased from 20,000 to 75,000 in Massachusetts in the last seven years, according to the Department of Fish and Game. The population spike is due to the passing of a law that shortens beaver trapping season to the early winter months. The population spike is due to the passing of a law that outlaws kill traps except for in specified circumstances.
“We really want to just be installing these water flow devices,” said Francis. “Only as a last resort, when the other options have proven unsuccessful, then we will really adhere to a permitting process to go about trapping the beavers.” (We hate installing pipes and would much rather kill them but we didn’t do the paperwork fast enough.)
Sullivan said the culverts (pipes) will be monitored and hopes they do as they claim to. He does, however, have his doubts.
“If they leave, they’ve got to go someplace,” he said.
Can you go somewhere else please? Because you’re making my head hurt. I can’t decide where to START with this story. Especially because Mike Francis delivered that nice paragraph about ‘keystone species’ and made me think he’s trying to do the right thing. And then two paragraphs later said we can’t wait for them to leave. Obviously you don’t really BELIEVE that beavers will bring new wildlife to your beautiful historic brook. Other wise you wouldn’t want them to leave. And you don’t really BELIEVE that they’ll leave because you decorated their dam with a pipe. That’s why you want to kill them. This is beaver kabuki.
I almost trust Sullivan more at the end of the article because he can see these silly pipes aren’t going to solve the problem.
If two pipes thrown into a dam solved the problem why even bother installing them? Heck, if your beavers are going to be that accommodating just leave pipes on the bank and I’m sure they’ll install them themselves, before they leave the key under the mat and check out.
Oh and Happy Halloween Everyone!
