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

In the way



IN THE WAY — Fishermen recently put their boat in the water at Delta Lake State Park boat launch with a beaver house obstructing their operations. State Department of Enviornmental Conservation officials said when this happens, residents need to call the DEC to get a special permit to either destroy the structure or the beaver which made a home in that location. (Sentinel photo by John Clifford)


Oh the humanity! Poor fishermen have their carbon producing motor vehicles inconvenienced when trying to launch and load! What is that selfish beaver thinking? Doesn’t he know that the Lake Delta, which is in a NY State Park, is there for people not wildlife? I suppose he’s hoping to feed his family all during the freeze season. The nerve!

DELTA LAKE — Leave it to beaver.

Since last month, New York state’s official animal has been making a home at the Lake Delta boat launch, getting in the way of recreationists trying to launch or dock their vessels.

Who you going to call when beavers become a nuisance? The state Department of Environmental Conservation. DEC Spokesman Stephen Litwhiler said the DEC got a call from Park Manager Laura Tully last month reporting the beaver structure, which was proper protocol.

“In a situation like at Lake Delta, the beaver is just plain in the way,” Litwhiler said. “But if they’re on the lake shore, people may have ornamental trees they want to protect from becoming beaver food. It’s not an issue off in the middle of the woods, but it is an issue on someone’s property.”

First of all, if there’s that nice a lodge in the lake we’re not talking about one beaver. We’re talking about a family and since its winter the female is probably pregnant and expecting more kits in the spring. And if you destroy their home you expose them to all kinds of dangers.  You’re from the Department of Environmental Conservation for goodness sake. Don’t you know anything useful about beaver management in New York?

To keep beavers at bay, for instance if a dam or lodge were to be constructed on some farmland, then the farmer is advised to lower the water level on their property to help solve the problem, Litwhiler said. If local residents feel they need to protect their sacred birch trees, then they should wrap them with either wire or hardware cloth, he said.

That’s it, Stephen? “Lower your water level to discourage beavers” says the DEC! Does the NYPD also tell people to throw away their valuables to discourage burglary? You must be a smart man, and the state of New York must know that killing beavers impacts wetlands which impacts wildlife, which is why beavers have a nanospan of protection. I assume you know that LOWERING THE WATER LEVEL does that too, right? Delta lake is a 45 minute drive from Beavers: Wildlife and Wetlands. You must have heard of flow devices right?

Well I wrote Sharon and gave her all the appropriate contact info so I’m hopeful that these Delta lake beavers have a sporting chance anyway. In the meantime, the city of Seattle is on the phone Martinez, and they’d like their weather back.

When that I was and a little tiny boy,
With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
A foolish thing was but a toy,
For the rain it raineth every day.

Twelfth Night

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