Speaker: Laura J. Simon, Urban Wildlife
Program, The Fund for Animals
Abstract:
Once exterminated from large parts of this country, the beaver has made an amazing comeback. However, the beaver’s return to its former range is accompanied by a rising number of complaints caused by beaver-created impoundments. Highway departments, homeowners and city officials find themselves confronting costly damage to septic systems, road infrastructures and property as a result of the beaver’s engineering ingenuity. The traditional response has been to trap and remove beavers, yet this solution is often short-term due to the perpetual immigration of beavers from the surrounding habitat. In addition, public attitude surveys reflect a growing public desire for more humane solutions and rank animal suffering as a major determinant of which wildlife management practices are considered acceptable. To meet this growing need, The Fund for Animals established a program in 1999 to help towns and homeowners resolve beaver problems through the use of water flow control devices (WFCDs) which present a relatively new, innovative concept. WFCDs are designed to control the water level, thereby preventing flooding, while allowing the beavers to remain in their habitat. This presentation will describe the social and ecological context for current beaver problems, describe how WFCDs function, give installation and maintenance tips, and present updated results of a survey assessing the effectiveness of these devices in alleviating beaver flooding problems in Connecticut.
Biography: