Like many lakes with a river outlet, our lake up north has a healthy beaver population. This year is no exception. While up north this spring, I pulled out my binoculars and studied our local beavers, watching them work steadily for what seemed like hours on end. Beavers are busy - working on average of 12 hours a day. The two biggest difficulties lake owners face are destruction of trees and rising lake levels. I was surprised to learn that an average beaver can destroy roughly 400 trees a year. Usually they target aspen, but cottonwood, willow, black cherry and even pine trees are favored by beavers depending on food source availability. Yet beavers are an important part of our ecosystem providing valuable wetlands for wildlife. So what can lake associations do? First, they should do their homework. On our lake, we protected the older, prized trees with wire mesh "armor" which has proven effective. As for the ongoing blocking of the outflow culvert, we usually welcome the beaver's dam as it keeps our lake level constant. When there is an overly high lake level in the spring, its just a matter of pulling apart the beaver blockage for a few days. They quickly rebuild it and things seem to equal out in the long run. For ongoing issues, a beaver pipe us another good solution. Just google "Clemson beaver pond leveler" for an inexpensive contraption to maintain waterflow through a beaver dam.
For some interesting information on beaver and tips on humane solutions to beaver problems visit: www.beavers-beavers.com And if nothing else, you have to admire their industriousness.
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