Because the beaver isn't just an animal; it's an ecosystem!

Tag: Unexpected Wildlife Refuge

Better in Jersey

Beavers April 3, 2013

Oh Dam! Mantua woman wants back yard beaver homes repaired

MANTUA — Jennifer Forsyth has a huge dam problem. Literally.

She first noticed a beaver dam in her back yard, which backs up to the Chestnut Branch of Mantua Creek, about a year ago. The wetlands on her property teem with wildlife. Forsyth and her husband have spotted river otters and wood ducks, usually a rare sight in Gloucester County, as well as the occasional bald eagle.

What a nice beginning! This may need to be number nine on the positive beaver articles tally for 2013. It features our good friend Sarah Summerville of the Unexpected Wildlife Refuge, and a DEP worker who clearly has got the memo that beaver make habitat for wildlife.

“Generally, beavers do benefit a whole host of other wildlife species,” said Andrew Burnett, a biologist with the Department of Environmental Protection. “Beavers are one of the few animals that can actually change the environment. You have a stream running by, and when the beavers build a dam, you have a pond.”

Yes you do, Andrew, And by the way that pond might be your only pond on that stream come this summer, and all the wildlife will depend on it even more than they already do. Never mind that the reporter can’t seem to differentiate between the words DAM and LODGE and that Sarah appears to imply that flow devices operate as a kind of birth control for beavers. They’re smart folks and I’m sure they’ll get it all sorted out eventually.

“They think they didn’t build it well enough, so they’ll build it back stronger the next time,” said Barry Bengel, chairman of the Mantua Township Environmental Commission. “They think if it disappears, it needs to be rebuilt.”

“They’re natural engineers,” said Sarah Summerville, director of Unexpected Wildlife Refuge in Newfield, who consulted with Forsyth when she first noticed the dam. “They seem to approach it as a challenge.”

Forsyth wants to work with the township to find a more permanent solution.  “I think if we worked smartly together, we could all be happy.”

Yes. You can. And Martinez is proof of that. Good work!

Farther East a friend from the Tay beavers group this morning suggested the idea that we promote Beavers Without Borders, which I liked so very much I had to play with.

Considering I am operating at a considerable graphic handicap without photo shop I am rather proud of getting it together. Setting the inversions right and still getting the outline made me think of this classic scene.

Unexpected Wisdom

Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Earth Day, Friends of Martinez Beavers February 6, 2013

Busy, Busy Beavers – Haddonfield Patch

Two beavers enjoying an early morning swim in Crows Woods in Haddonfield. Credit Vinny & Sal Calla

“They’ve raised the water level near Evans Pond by 18 inches,” Brees told the borough’s Board of Commissioners during a meeting Monday.

The solution: a 15-foot plastic tube to filter water past the dam and back into the pond. Materials cost about $700 and Summerville said it would make an ideal project for a local Eagle Scout. Jacobs said Tavistock is willing to pay for the materials in what he described as a win-win situation.

The Unexpected Wildlife Refuge began as the home of Cavit and Hope Buyukmihci of Beaversprite fame. It is now a licensed non-profit under the deft administration of Sarah Summerville who has been keeping a close eye on neighboring beavers in New Jersey. Case in point: The Tavistock Golf course described in this article.

In this instance, the exclusive club is Tavistock Country Club and the municipal entity it’s appealing to for help is the borough of Haddonfield.  Greg Jacobs, the assistant superintendent at Tavistock, urged borough officials this week to help him take action to illeviate flooding on his 16th green because of water backing up from up to five dams the busy beavers have made since recently reappearing in the waterways near Haddonfield’s Crows Woods.

It’s nice to come across a beaver story that has a local advocate offering solutions and education already. We don’t need to worry about the beavers in Tavistock. Sarah’s got this one covered!

Summerville, an official from the Unexpected Wildlife Refuge, Home of the Beaver Defenders in Newfield, explained the system would bypass the dam that is closest to the golf course and not injure the beavers. She said state law prohibits relocating beavers and they can only be trapped if a municipality plans to euthanize them.  She also stressed that beavers may appear to be a nuisance, but they actually play an important role in maintaining waterways.

Go Sarah!

Oh and just learned from facebook that our own Greta Mart who gave the beavers generous coverage at the Gazette was just accepted at the UCB graduate school of journalism, which also enrolled Richard Parks which used to give the beavers generous Coverage at the Gazette. Coincidence? David Ferry who wrote the beaver article for the Atlantic was also in the program. Just sayin’.


Annie Get Your Gun

Beavers elsewhere, Who's Killing Beavers Now? May 21, 2011