Beaver Deceivers: Protecting Wildlife and our Landscape
In the speckled, morning sunlight reflecting off a series of ponds a shadow moves just below the surface of a busy beaver tucking into her home after a long night of hard work. Chain of Ponds is an ecological relic of what the whole of the Northern United States looked like before the beaver trapping boom of early European Settlers.
Beavers are the key to this uniquely spectacular space, building dams that create deep pools of water which are known to create critical breeding habitats for frogs and fish, diverse nesting and feeding grounds for birds, essential plant life needed for the health of moose and deer, water for porcupines and foxes to drink, and, in some cases, save swaths of forest and protect wildlife in wildfires.
Beavers, often seen as a nuisance to those who do not understand them, are unfortunately often known for more for their flooding of old wetlands that humans have built on. This can be seen on the old train tracks that crosses through Chain of Ponds, which has flooded at times due to the beavers' handiwork.
In previous ownership, the solution was to use explosives on the beaver dams and trap the furry creatures. Determined not to follow in those traditions, we were connected with Skip Lisle, the inventor of the Beaver Deceiver. Partnering with Mike Weeks of DNCR, and passionate volunteers and supporters, such as Marianne Borowski of NH Rail Trail Coalition, USVLT hired Skip to install three Beaver Deceivers along the tracks.
These contraptions allow us to control the maximum water level of the ponds while allowing the resident beavers to continue to build as they see fit and continue to live peacefully in their homes. Beaver Deceivers are built with a beaver's brain in mind, protecting them from beaver's tampering through an intricate sunken cage system that prevents the creation of whirlpools that inspire beavers to build.
If you walk through Chain of Ponds or along DNCR's tracks and see the contraptions, you can smile knowing that they keep our beavers safe. USVLT enthusiastically continues to look for creative ways for our community to live alongside the wildlife that we serve and have promised to protect.
Story written by Kate Shambaugh, Conservation Director
