Saving Beavers on the Sunshine Coast!

These last two Wednesdays I had the pleasure to join the Fur Bearer Defenders crew in going to the Sunshine Coast to help build and install a few 'beaver flow devices' (see Wikipedia entry and description here.)

It's a pretty neat concept: instead of tearing down the beaver dam, or trapping and killing the resident beavers when a dam becomes an inconvenience for humans, flow devices can be installed which maintain the water levels of their ponds, and barely disrupts the beaver family.

There are a number of designs and ways to install these devices. In this instance a culvert had been blocked decades ago by sediment build-up (and a pretty impressive amount, as we discovered! About half a meter deep, and a couple meters out from the end of the culvert!)

The device prevents culverts from being re-blocked, so water can continue to drain. It's a pretty simple solution that costs very little, but has been very effective in numerous areas in allowing us to live peacefully with beavers with minimal disruption to either.

Check out our two galleries below, and contact the Fur Bearers if you'd be interested in installing one of these in your community!



Direct link to Gallery #1.


Direct link to Gallery #2.

UPDATE: Story on the build in the Coast Reporter: http://www.coastreporter.net/article/20130819/SECHELT0101/308199998/-1/sechelt/volunteer-help-saves-beavers-and-highway

Second story: http://www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress/2013/08/20/did-you-know-the-cavalry-is-in-vancouver/

Dave Shishkoff

Victoria: http://TheVictoriaVegan.com
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