She and others worked REALLY hard to get rid of trapping and save some beavers in Cornwall Ontario, which sits right above New York State. They protested, talked to the media, and generally made an obstacle of themselves and guess what happened? Always remember what Gandhi said

First they ignore you

Then they laugh at you

Then they fight with you

Then you win.

Posted by Mike Callahan on the Beaver Management Forum. Photos courtesy of Rebecca Sorrell.

Great Beaver News from Ontario!

I returned home today from a fabulous trip north of the border to Cornwall, Ontario. It was a fantastic week full of fun, good conversations, and lots of hot, hard and rewarding work installing flow devices.

As you may recall from recent BMF posts, The Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals based in Vancouver, offered the financial support and expertise to install the first flow devices in the city of Cornwall, Ontario. They also kindly paid me to assist them with the flow device installations.

I’d like to give big kudos to Adrian Nelson of FBD. He really impressed me with his ability to work with local officials, obtain all the right materials and tools, design the proper flow device for each of four sites, and teach the local volunteers how to build and install the devices. He was so good that my expertise was barely needed. I agreed completely with his plan for all four sites.

Adrian is quickly becoming North America’s west coast flow device expert!

A major highlight of my trip to Ontario was meeting the inspirational leader of the campaign to save Cornwall’s beavers from continued trapping. Her name is Rebecca Sorrell and she just joined our Beaver Management Forum. Welcome Rebecca! Never doubt that one determined and passionate person can be the catalyst for positive change. She has rallied many other good people in Cornwall and together they are making the city change its trap first policy.

Rebecca and many in her large group of passionate volunteers were actively involved with the flow device installations and are taking responsibility for monitoring and maintaining them to ensure long-term success. In addition, they plan on installing more flow devices themselves if the city has beaver conflicts elsewhere! They are a dedicated bunch, led by a special and inspirational person, and with our Forum’s support and assistance I am sure they will succeed!

Donna, Gary and Kate, our Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Center beaver friends made the trip to Cornwall and were also very helpful and a delight to spend time with. Hopefully our work in Cornwall will inspire / embarrass the politicians in the Capital city of Ottawa to finally embrace flow devices. Good luck to these dedicated beaver friends as they continue their struggle in their nation’s Capital.

There was some good local media coverage in Cornwall which is so important to educate the public. Hopefully Rebecca can post the links and maybe a few pictures of the installs here for everyone to see.

Finally, it was a pleasure and honor to work with all these good folks as we all continue to spread the word about the importance of beavers and the effectiveness of flow devices.

A hearty congratulations to Rebecca and friends, Adrian and Furbearer Defenders, and Mike who drove across several states to get there! I hope your hard work reminds everyone that people can make a difference, that even tricky problems have humane solutions, and that beavers are worth a dam or two!