Maine has a complicated relationship with beavers. On the one hand it is a state that considers itself “ourdoorsy” and values wildlife in all its facets. On the other hand it considers itself “outdoorsy” which means it reveres pastimes like fishing, hunting, and trapping.
So you can imagine where that leaves beavers.
But more and more often I am running into beaver fans in the pine tree state. Last year Skip Lisle gave a weekend of presentations on the value of beavers and the use of flow devices to manage problems. Karen Corker of Maine’s Wildwatch has written some very smart articles in their defense. And now some completely new voices are speaking about why they be allowed to should stick around.
Here’s what to do when a beaver family moves to your property
When it comes to looking for a new home, beavers are not ones to ask permission before setting up housekeeping in the ponds or streams of Maine’s small landowners.
“Whether it’s good or bad having [beavers] on your property is completely in the eye if the beholder,” according to Griffin Dill with University of Maine Cooperative Extension. “You need to ask yourself if you can tolerate them or if their presence is causing actual harm to your property.”
“There is constant change with the comings and goings of beavers in and out of an area,” he said. “They are responsible for creating large patchworks of wetland habitats that benefit a whole host of other wildlife and they are a really important part of the ecosystem.”
That sort of ecosystem design can be an upside for landowners, according to Shawn Haskell, Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife regional biologist based in Ashland.
Haskell said he and fellow biologists have spent some time recently in the field looking for the Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus), which has experienced a population decline in recent years and is not all that common in Maine.
“This bird likes really thick stands of young spruce near wetlands where they can forage,” Haskell said. “That is a really unique habitat and invariably when you find it it’s an old beaver flow [and] the beavers could be long gone but they have created that perfect habitat for the rusty blackbirds.”
Nice opening! Hey speaking of Rusty blackbirds, our own fearless Mr. Cohn snapped this yesterday at the Tulocay beaver pond, which is no longer easy to get to because of the construction. Let’s hope the beavers stick around.
That can be a real boon for property owners, Haskell said.
“As a landowner, you might say, ‘jeez, they just flooded 10 acres of my land and that means I have lost a bunch of trees,’” Haskell said. “But I’ll tell you what, for that landowner that does not mind, they now have have something special and different [with] blackbird habitat.”
Glass half full! I’m starting to like Mr. Haskell. I might need to introduce myself and make friends.
Overall, Dill said, beavers tend to be good neighbors until they decide to help themselves to an ornamental tree buffett.
“If they are causing harm it’s usually because they are doing one of two things — eating the prized ornamental trees someone took the time to plant or causing flooding,” Dill said. “But if they are just swimming around and minding their own business they can be a joy to watch and really interesting to observe.”
Wow. I’m going to take a stand and call this a positive beaver article. It isn’t exactly glowing but it has all the needed elements: a description of why beavers matter and a guide for how to solve problems besides just killing. Even though the comments section is filled with ravenous beaver-bashing from back woods types, this is a pretty sweet breath of fresh air.
Dill suggests wrapping the trees’ trunk with galvanized metal fencing or chicken wire to prevent the beavers from chewing the bark. Larger landowners, like paper companies, often call in help when beavers block culverts which then overflow and wash out roads. Haskell said.
“Some people just want the beavers gone from their property,” Haskell said. “At IF&W we have [animal damage control] agents who we train and license to trap and remove the beavers.”
“Basically we work with the neighbors to solve any issues and we are lucky in Maine in that in cases where one person wants the beaver but a neighbor wants it gone, they work it out,” Haskell said.
I’ve learned over the years to lower my standards of beaver husbandry. I don’t need an article not to mention trapping, I just want it to be clear there are other ways to solve problems and good reasons to try. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, do you?
Love them or hate them, Haskell said it is impossible not to admire their work ethic and construction skills.
“My wife and I spent a good part of a Sunday recently pulling apart one of their dams,” Haskell said. “We pulled out rocks, sticks, mud and logs — it is amazing what they can do.”
Yes it is. They can turn a shabby urban stream into a wildlife preserve and make a whole community care about them, spawning the largest wildlife festival in Northern California.
I’m sold.
