Ottawa is the capital of Canada and just a few miles over the border from Vermont. The Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre is a major defender of wildlife in the region and has been one for 25 years. The co-founder and president is Donna Dubreuil, who I first friended during some nasty beaver operations in 2011. Since then I have worked to funnel beaver information their way, and Worth A Dam was the subject of an earlier newsletter. She understands that saving beavers saves many species and is a great supporter of our ecosystem engineer. Recently she was kind enough to give a really beautiful endorsement for the upcoming newsletter I’m trying to put together for our 10th anniversary.
Now the center is wrapping trees and installing flow devices. They recently worked with a private land owner, the city of Ottawa and Mike Callahan to install three flow devices on some 31 acres if flooded property.
The story is a MUST READ for its sheer tenacity and unbridled success in the face of fairly daunting odds, septic tanks, stubborn officials, and busy beavers. The Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre is a VERY wonderful education and rehab facility and you should really think about supporting their work before you settle down with your morning coffee and enjoy great story. It might take a second to load but be patient! It’s worth it.
An illustrated talk about Castor Canadensis, better known as the Canadian beaver, will launch the six-week Nature in the City series Tuesday at the Wolf Performance Hall in downtown London. Learn about this iconic symbol of history and industry that is both admired and scorned. (QMI Agency)
The eighth incarnation of the hugely popular Nature in the City speaker series kicks off on Tuesday at the Central Library’s Wolf Performance Hall in downtown London. Nature London and the London Public Library are co-sponsors.
Through six illustrated talks, Londoners again have an opportunity to learn about interesting aspects of our urban habitats. However, too often we simply see streets, bricks and mortar within the city limits there is a surprising diversity of spaces, plants, and animals.
Tuesday’s presentation will be on the theme of urban beavers. Since these animals are largely nocturnal, we see more evidence of beavers’ presence than the animals themselves.While many admire this industrious emblem of Canada, others decry North America’s largest rodent. Outdoor educator Tom Purdy will talk about how these adaptable animals cope within London.
While I have made every possible human effort to establish first contact with Tom, I’ve had about as much luck as SETI so far. The good news is that I contacted Donna Dubreuil of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre and she put me in touch with ‘boots on the ground’ in his area, so to speak. This morning, she sent this:
London Free Press: Gillespies’ article this morning is on Tom Purdy’s lecture tomorrow. In the past, Gillespie has been known to be anti-beaver (largely from info he received from a local trapper.) Gillespie quotes Purdy saying that trapping is the last resort when dealing with beaver problems. He states that beaver deceivers and baffles allow us to peacefully coexist with this amazing animal. The article also references Stanton Drain…
And then she sent the article which contains this. (God, I love having ‘boots on the ground…)
Although some local environmentalists opposed moving the beavers, those animals were moved to the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Rosseau, near Parry Sound, for the winter and will be transferred to the Munsee-Delaware First Nation reserve this spring. Beavers can ignite strong emotions. I learned that about two years ago when I wrote a column about a licensed trapper who has removed beavers — in lethal fashion — for both private landowners and the City of London for nearly 20 years.
After writing about the trapper, I received a number of angry letters and e-mails, including one from a young former Londoner who, borrowing a page from my description of the lethal beaver traps, wrote that she’d like to see me “trap yourself and find out how it feels to have your vertebrae crushed slowly and painfully while you slip into an irreversible state of unconsciousness.”
Well, that is fairly colorful. Do beavers provoke strong emotions? To be honest, for me ‘beavers‘ don’t provoke nearly as strong emotions as ‘stubborn ignorance’, ‘willful dishonesty’ and ‘puposeful cruelty’ do. But, hey that’s just me. The article also says this:
Although Purdy acknowledges that intervention is warranted in some situations, he says in most cases we can coexist with the flat-tailed chewer. “(Trapping) should be a last resort,” he says. “There are lots of other strategies that should be tried first.”
Purdy points out that beaver dams, which can often cause damaging flooding, can be circumvented by “beaver baffles” or “beaver deceivers.” These devices feature underwater pipes that alleviate flooding while still preserving the dam, which beavers use to maintain a safe watery route to food.
Tom! Buddy! Old pal! Ever think about starting a beaver festival in London?
The amazing case of the Stittswell beavers in Ottawa, Canada brought a host of new friends and supporters. I didn’t realize at the time just how many. This arrived over the weekend from the president and co-founder of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Center.
Dear Heidi I wanted to thank you and your amazing team for the work you do on behalf of beavers. It is not only an inspiration but your website provides an exceptional forum for supporting and promoting the value of wetlands and beavers. So often people working on wildlife issues feel isolated and alone, particularly in challenging the status quo, so the value of Worth A Dam simply cannot be over estimated. Our Centre has been in operation for over 20 years but it has only been inthe last eight years or so, with increased development in the region, that we have become involved in beaver issues. We have worked with individuals quite successfully on beaver solutions and have attempted to get the City ofOttawa to adopt more progressive practices, particularly with respect to storm water ponds. As you can attest, it is not easy changing mindsets within government but we are determined to do so while recognizing it will be a long battle. As you know, most recently we have been involved with Anita Utas, a local resident, in challenging the City’s plan to trap beavers in a Stittsville storm water pond. Anita is an amazing advocate for beavers and we hope to continue working with her and to involve her in our school program wherever possible. Most of our Centre’s efforts are directed to providing education on urban wildlife through area schools but we also have a growing community outreachprogram, giving presentations to a wide range of groups on wildlife issues, writing a weekly ‘Living with Wildlife’ column in regional newspapers ( website version that features the Stittsville beavers) a website (www.wildlifeinfo.ca) that provides detailed conflict prevention information, and we do extensive work with other environmental and animal protection organizations on specific habitat and wildlife issues. Since learning about Worth a Dam, we have been very pleased to have been able to direct a number of people to your website. Like the proverbial ripples in a beaver pond, it is spreading the message and doing much good.We can’t thank you enough for the dedicated and talented campaign you have undertaken. We wanted you to know that it’s positive impact and influence isbeing felt throughout the country.
Donna DuBreuil
Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre
Donna! That’s the best letter EVER! Coming from a woman who started a wildlife rehab center with her husband more than 20 years ago after finding a baby squirrel, we take your appreciation very, very seriously. The facility helped injured and orphaned wildlife for many years, trained volunteers, encouraged humane solutions and made a massive difference. When regulations changed in the country they stopped being able to do animal rehab, and made the decision to go full time into education. I am awed by their dedication and commitment to teaching children to appreciate wildlife and making sure adults know how (and why!) to live with it.
Well, the next time I’m feeling like our flailing efforts to save beavers and teach folk about their importance to the watershed don’t make a whit of difference, I will reread Donna’s words and keep trying a little longer. Thank you, Donna, for taking the time to write a beautiful letter, giving me permission to post it, and making us feel like all our hard work really is Worth A Dam!
