Beavers

Oh yes, definately a beaver. Walked closer to pond & used binoculars to make sure it wasn't somebody's dog. Big flat tail, big teeth. No dam though...at least not yet. Was feeding the horses & it slapped the water with its tail.
Its a deep pond, surprised we are just now seeing it.

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WILLIE NELSON'S public statement regarding being caught with a bag of Marijuana recently:.....
"It's a good thing I had a bag of Marijuana instead of a bag of spinach. I'd be dead by now."

Most of what people today know of Beavers was taught to them by Walt Disney. Add that to a desire by most people to preserve the environment and we get the mistaken belief that we can adopt a " live and let live" attitude. Becides the hundreds of trees the Beaver kill to build their dams and homes and the trees they feed on, they are responsable for flooding many valuable acres of forest. I discouraged trapping of Beavers. I enjoyed seeing them progress on their dam building. I was even thankful for all the small trees and brush they cut down. But when they girdled the 100 White Birch I had planted a decade earlier, 200 yards from the stream, I began to see them for what they were. Once they had killed every tree in a huge area, they moved to another area, my neighbors woods. It was mostly aspen and poplar, and not my property, so I began to enjoy them again. Until the dam became 200 yards across and holding back 5 feet of water, flooding my stand of mature oak and maple. The demand for most animal pelts is way down, therefore few people trap Beaver. As more people settle in rural areas (Homesteaders) and the Beaver population explodes, I think more people will abandon their "Disney" visions of wildlife. It doesn't matter if its Land Fill, Beaver, Wolves, Red Squirels or Adult Book Stores, its generally "NIMBY" Not in my back yard.

We own wet lands and have always had beaver there. What we've learned through research and info from the DEC, is that they move on every five years to build a new ---- and to find a new source of wood and food. The young ones that are old enough to be on their own often stay behind and start their own ---- or fix the old one. Where we live you can only hunt them early fall or late spring and only if they are being a problem. You have to get a permit and if there is a dispute between neighbors about beavers on your property causing a flooding problem on theirs the DEC refuses to get involved. This has caused a problem for us every year. We love the beaver, we love all of the wildlife that is in our wet lands but every year this guy breaks the ---- and shoots the beaver. When he breaks the ---- it wipes out all nests that the geese, ducks and other birds and waterfowl have made. That means all the babies to. As long as there is water outback the beaver will always be welcome.

On our 123 acre farm (which we purchased 5 years ago) there was a large beaver population down in the woods along a stream. during a dry spell we had a neighbor bring his bulldozer over and clear it for another hayfield. The dam was built strong enough that he was able to drive across it (it was about 10 feet tall) with his CAT d4! Thats an 11 foot wide dam! They had flooded about 6 acres (which we had paid good money for) and had destroyed all useable trees in about another surrounding 6 acres (which we weren't able to cut and use for ourselves). All in all about 12 acres useless to us (which happened to cost us $15,000 to buy).

Beavers will take an area of woods and will cut down/kill all large trees and then will keep the area in a perpetual cutover stage, constantly cutting down the larger trees. When a new sprout reaches about 3" diameter, they will cut it and it'll resprout, providing a constant food supply. The beaver pond is actually a benefit to a farm, if you don't count the surounding tree damage. It catches all soil runoff, provides a watering hole for livestock, and is usually stocked with fish(through birds dropping eggs) and waterfowl. The pond we cleared is the BEST topsoil on our farm, because for many years all of the soil erosion upstream was caught here. Also, with the creek running through the middle of the field, the water table is close to the surface, making four cuttings of hay possible WITHOUT irrigation because of no summer drying out (too wet natured for pasture though).

Beavers are good for the environment, no doubt about it, but they aren't good if you have paid money for land and want it to be productive. My philosophy has always been every bit of land used for some purpose, either growing crops, pasture, trees, or ponds for livestock watering. If I have paid for a piece of land I want to maximize its potential, not let it stay "perpetually cut over" or swampland. If govt. wants to "preserve or Protect" beaver habitat "lowlands," they should pay the owner for the loss of earning potential (I'm not advocating govt. getting into the land buying business, they are already too good at taking it!).

If you want to keep your beavers, fine, just realize that you will probably never be able to use that piece of land forever.....
Nathan

these are most recent just as freeze up is taking place



across the main pond. This is a small riverlet flow that has been constant for decades. Dams come and go along the flow to back up several small 'ponds'. This biggest one is maybe 10 acres. Has lots of baitfish minnow, attracts ducks, geese, and other waterfowl, and is a potential water source for the garden in periods of drought. Plus winter recreation for xcountry skiing.



frozen under the ice is the beavers winter food supply of alder branches. That is their primary fodder since it's readily available nearer than the poplar. The poplar big branches they gnaw into lenghts for dam support.



closeup of tag or speckled alder (also called black alder). One of the beavers main food sources here.

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The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man.

You could always contact your local DNR agency & as well.

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~Be the change you wish to see in the world.

Not to be off the main topic question--but do beavers build dams in fresh water? My neighbor has one in her pond and she is tickled to death. She says she has no fear since they don't build dams in fresh water. Is this true?

yes

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The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man.

I was having a major beaver problem...flooding, destroying valuable timber...all because someone trapped out the otter on the stream...(trespassing to do it I might add, placing their carcasses in a bag and tossing them into my woods)...

Flooded the township road, destroyed 14 acres of ash...so I shot a couple of them...I didn't rejoice...a cougar came in and got the carcasses I left on the bank...and liked the flavor...cuz I haven't seen a beaver since. I tore out 6 ft of the dam down about 5 feet below the water's level and replaced about 3 feet with rock...so there's a waterfall there now.

Oh yeah...I saw a pair of otter late this summer.

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I hope you get what you want...and that you actually want what you get!

Beaver build dams whenever water is moving whether it's freshwater or saltwater. A friend had a water discharge into a beaver pond that was about 4' off the ground. The beaver must have spent hour upon hour trying to build up sticks and mud to reach that running water. When I first saw it I thought it was a boat landing.

If the flow through a beaver pond isn't too great you (not the beaver) can control the water level with a Clemson Leveler. That allows you to enjoy the benefits of the pond and limit the flooding damage.

Properly managed by keeping their population in balance with the food supply you can keep a beaver pond active for 30 years or more.

As soon as I see a new dam being built I have torn it down as it flooded my bottom land too much not good.

We lose several nice trees each year. They cut the bark all the way around the base and the tree dies. See a beaver BANG see several BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG problem solved.

I had a bow hunting spot near by the city, was on the out side of an airport.
A small drainage ditch ran thru the area, and the re was a family of beavers living there.
They had dammed up the ditch.
When I arrived , I would go down and remove several sticks, to get the water running again. Then sit and watch the beavers come out and repair the damage.
County came out with a dozier and remover the dam, trapped out the beavers as they were causing problems with the drainage of the runways.
Fun to watch, but can be very destructive.