If you’re like me, you can see right away what’s wrong with this headline. Of all the neighbors I’ve had in my life, with their noisy parties, weed-smoking teenagers and squealing tires, beavers by far have been my favorite.
Beavers: Good environmental stewards, but lousy neighbors
EVERETT — In the Lake Chaplain watershed, beavers help ward off the impact of climate change and make streams more suitable for salmon.
But in the guardian of Everett’s water supply system, the creatures’ love of blocking running water is problematic.
The beavers stuff culverts with sticks, blocking water flow and fish passage. They build dams along the city’s service roads, flooding them. The wild, semi-aquatic rodents leave their mark well beyond Everett’s boundaries.
All over Snohomish County, beavers clash with the human-built environment when they set up shop on private properties or next to roads, causing flooding and damage to homes.
I’m so old that I can remember when Snohomish county was famous for resolving beaver conflicts by installing flow devices and protecting culverts. Now they just whisk the animals away and hope it will last for a few pages on the calendar. Jake Jacobsen used work for public works in Snohomish. He went on to collaborate with Skip Lisle and Michael Pollock and was my guiding light during my time on the subcommittee telling me how to deal with our beavers.
Well now the Tulalip tribe just takes them away.
Since 2014, wildlife biologists working with the Tulalip Tribes have moved beavers from areas in the Snohomish River watershed, where they’re considered nuisances, to new homes in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.
Last month, the national forest signed an agreement with the tribes to expand that work to the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River watershed — a critical habitat for endangered fish like Chinook, steelhead and bull trout, Tulalip chairwoman Teri Gobin said.
Just to be clear, I’m not saying the tribe does anything wrong or isn’t careful about the beavers. I’m just saying that the fact that new beavers come back year after year means that you are better off actually SOLVING the problem than simply moving it.
And beavers making a difference in the greenbelt in residential areas is GOOD news for cities. Increasing biodiversity, reducing erosion, improving water quality and a creating social cohesion for residents.
In the Snohomish watershed, the tribes have relocated close to 200 beavers.
The animals don’t always stick around permanently — but that’s not the tribes’ main focus.
Even if beavers abandon their new homes, they usually build a dam first, benefiting the surrounding habitat and hydrology. And the next beaver family might build on what’s already there.
The relocated beavers can create over 61,000 gallons of new surface water storage along a 328-foot stretch of stream, according to Benjamin Dittbrenner, who completed a dissertation based on the project for Northeastern University in 2019. The groundwater table can nearly double in size, as well.
Yes, Ben took over for Jake when the new boss decided flow devices were a mistake. That was 200 beavers ago. Let’s say 40-50 beaver families in 6 years.
In the Lake Chaplain watershed, the city of Everett has taken a different approach with persistent beaver residents.
“We have a lot of really great habitat and we normally welcome them,” senior environmental specialist Anna Thelen said. “But we do need to keep some roads clear of water for employees, trucks and what not.”
So staff do their best to mitigate the negative impacts beaver damming has without entirely removing the structures. If the beavers build a dam along a service road, staff will make a notch so water can get through.
“Sometimes (the beavers) are OK with the compromised water level, so they don’t feel the need to put the sticks back,” Thelen said.
It’s a delicate balance — and sometimes staff end up notching the same dam again and again. The work has gone on for years, and the city just received another five-year permit to continue.
Now THAT is work I admire. A commitment to coexistence. Deal with the beavers you have and prevent the issues that might arise. I feel the influence of years of Jake in this policy.
“They are determined little guys,” Thelen said.“… And we’d like to encourage them to stay.”
