Why don’t I have Beavers?
Why don’t I have beavers?
Beavers are accomplished at finding beaver habitat. They search by swimming up and down networked rivers and creeks, and will even risk traveling on land to get around barriers. If there are no beavers in your waterway, there is likely an issue with the habitat or an issue with the local beaver population.
If the stream goes dry in the fall, is deeply eroded, or doesn’t have the right vegetation, beavers might pass over it in search of something better. If none of these issues are present, there is likely a nearby population sink limiting the number of new beavers looking for habitat.
What is a population sink? Population sinks occur when beavers are killed at a high rate — typically by recreational trappers or by landowners and municipalities facing coexistence issues.
Can I fix a population sink? It can be tricky to find a population sink. Start by asking your community for any news of beaver sightings or stories of coexist struggles. Call up your local municipality, local government wildlife authority, and stream restoration organizations to ask about beavers. Sinks caused by coexistence issues can often be fixed by proposing alternatives like pond levelers, culvert protection systems, or tree wrapping.
Many beavers are happy to live in deep rivers that don’t require damming and only move into new areas as their population grows and existing habitats fill up. A regularly trapped population may not have enough beavers to expand into new areas.
Sinks caused by recreational trappers are more difficult to prevent. Particularly on large navigable rivers, trappers can gain access to the banks by boat and legally set traps below the ordinary high waterline without permission of the property owner. In either case, population sinks can only be stopped through conversations with others in your community and collaborative coexistence solutions.