Madison had a well attended beaver meeting yesterday. Sure, not 200 people like Martinez, but a couple dozen turning out in 40 degree drizzle is nothing to sneeze at. And they didn’t sneeze. they just brought in Kathlean Wolf from the Wild Warner Park volunteer group to remind them why beavers must die.
Beavers bring together concerned residents, city officials at Madison’s Warner Park
MADISON (WKOW) — Madison’s beaver debate was center stage at Warner Park Tuesday night. That’s where a couple dozen people, mostly residents of the neighborhood, met to talk about why the city was trapping and killing some of the beavers that live at the lagoon.
The traps were recently removed from the water after two were taken by people upset with the practice. Officials explained that they’ve been working for several years to control the number of beavers with the amount of damage they cause, including a dozen recently-destroyed trees, and more.
“People are very upset, rightly so, about the beavers being killed. Beavers are really intelligent, really dynamic, they’re ecologically very important. So it is really hard to think that we would want to go ahead and trap them. There’s not really any other alternative that works financially, logistically. We can’t send them elsewhere because right now there’s no where to send them. Which is a good thing, means the population of beaver here and in surrounding states is healthy enough that no one is sending out a call for beavers. But, it unfortunately means that we can’t have an ever-increasing population of beavers in this pond or the area,” said Wolf.
I think I’m getting more impatient in my old age. There is so much that’s right going on here, but now I’m annoyed. So Kathlean of “Wild Warner Park” thinks beavers might be cute and good for the environment but thinks the population will get too big and ruin everything. (She would prefer a “Mild Warner Park“?) And she thinks an-ever-increasing beaver population is leading to all those trees getting eaten.
If I were at that meeting I’d invite everyone to look at a map. Because Mendota lake is connected by water ways all the way out to lake Michigan, which means it is a ‘dispersal highway’. It probably always has been and probably always will be. Which means juvenile beavers on their way from their childhood home to whatever new home they settle in eventually will swim through and get hungry. And think, heyy those trees look tasty. The Madison park district didn’t bother to wrap them, so ‘fast food’.
And if there are resident beavers in the area those beavers will leave a ‘get out’ sign in the form of a glare and a scent mark, and the teenager will move along. But if you folk all practiced your craft and and killed them already, then they’ll stay, and eat more trees. Until you kill those beavers and the whole thing starts all over again.
You are making yourself an ‘endless stream’ of beavers.
Hey, I have an idea WWP and MP. You have this whole volunteer organization why not use them to wrap trees and plant willow cuttings. And get some students groups involved to monitor the wildlife and set up some trail cams to actually see which of those lodges are being lived in. Worth A Dam would be happy to help with advice and guidance, and hey if you actually need to install a culvert fence or something we might even be able to help with funding.
Or you could just make excuses, worry, lie and complain some more. Your call.
Searlas Mc Gearold is a beaver buddy from southern New Jersey who has been posting on the Beaver Management Forum some amazing footage of the beaver colonies he’s been following there. I thought this especially worthy of sharing since it starts with a little pair nose touch and has such a nice close visit. I’m thinking this is the male checking out the family plot, and Searlas will be getting some lovely kit footage this summer. Enjoy, and thanks Searlas!
