More smart voices in Vermont. Beaver policy in that state is marching forward and it’s probably no accident that it’s the home state of our hero Skip Lisle. who turned things around in Martinez. When the message gets to more people there are more spokesmen to carry it. Check out this letter to the editor:

Letter to the editor: Beavers do the job in Monkton

Our beavers were the talk of the town … the money we invested came back to us 10 times by preventing catastrophic flooding. Yet beavers are still trapped in Monkton.

The recent tragic flooding in Vermont is a reminder of what Mother Nature can do. The destruction and losses to so many families and businesses are devastating, to say the least.

We have talked a lot about our beavers in the last year but even more in the last few months and weeks. So much heartbreak, but so much has been learned. Mother Nature has a way of balancing things out.

Let’s talk good things for just a minute. Seems like local wildlife groups, local town selectboards and just plain citizens are realizing the importance of beavers to our communities’ roadways and wetlands, and the environment. Countless towns are getting on board with doing preventive actions and trying to limit recreational trapping on town properties in communities that chose to rely on beavers to protect infrastructure. 

I am dumbfounded still as to why this is so controversial and pushed back on so hard by trappers. If a community wants to protect its environment, it should be allowed to. Smart management of beavers in certain areas can save communities tens of thousands of dollars. This is a good thing for everyone. I don’t get why anyone, even a trapper, would want to interfere with that for the sake of tradition and sport.

Great message, The one point I would disagree with is the reference to trappers in this process as if they were a driving force in this argument. I think that’s a mistake. The debate isn’t between conservationists and trapppers: it’s between forces that want to protect our natural resources and  and forces that would rather exploit it for personal gain.

I think trappers are just a means to an end to protect that ignorance.

Our town of Monkton has worked at installing beaver deceivers with Skip Lisle the last few years to prevent flooding in several areas. Well, we held our breath this past storm. We expected them to perform well but we’re amazed at how well they actually did perform.

Because we have low-lying wetlands, our flooding took a while to get here, but when it arrived, we were ready. Several areas that only last year flooded from a strong thunderstorm were now in a constant flow to balance out water levels through  dams and away from roads. We also had one of our major culverts remain free and clear of debris thanks to culvert fencing installed by Skip. This prevented mass backups into local farm areas. We did have to close one road for 12 hours overnight for safety reasons, but it was free and clear of flooding by the morning.

Just remember beavers are team players. The more of ,them we leave on the landscape the better they can do their job. If there are 15 dams in a stream maintained by 20 beavers they can do more to slow flooding than if there is just one or two.

Our beavers were the talk of the town for all positive reasons but are still under constant threat for none. The money we invested came back to us 10 times by preventing catastrophic flooding. Yet beavers are still trapped in Monkton. I was told by trappers last year my work would fail. They caused a lot of doubt and even tried  to stop me. I’m glad I kept going.

Hopefully, all the hard-working beavers out there will be able to get back to work and rebuild their dams and we humans will continue to realize the value of working with them.

Bev Soychak Beaver believer

I am glad you kept at it Bev, But I’m still thinking the force you were fighting isn’t “trappers” like some bad guys in a novel. The trappers are pawns in a much sneaker crime that is being constantly committed in the name of progress and development. Like all pawns they are ignorant of their use and go ab0ut their business as if they were self determined. Thinking they’re doing this for themselves and never realizing whose battles their really fighting.

The battle we are facing isn’t with the trappers. It’s with the forces that protect and temporarily benefit from them and has been for hundreds of years.

I say go straight into the lions den and start fighting those forces.