Fences Make Good Neighbors

Yesterday, after the latest attempts by the beavers to stem the flow of water through the culverts, I did some clearing of the pipes, as seen in yesterday's post.

As with the original problem, I contacted Mike Callahan and the folks at the Beaver Management Forum, and after speaking with Mike, we agreed that fencing around the outflow would do the trick. Here's the end result.

I have no doubt that they will do their best to stem the flow at the active pipe. However, the damming should be on the outside and easy to manage. The winter meld and spring rains, always present problems, but as summer progresses and the pond levels out, things usually quiet down.

Let's keep our fingers crossed. 

They're Baaaaaaaak!

The heavy winter and wet spring of 2010 caused significant leakage in the dam and heavy flow through the culvert.   (For those of you who are new here, it is the sound and feel of running water that simulates the instinct to dam.)

Three years ago, we stymied their efforts to dam the culvert pipes by clearing them and installing a culvert protection cage.  This allowed the ponds to level and controlled the flow through the culvert.

For three years they weren't bothered by the relatively slow and distant outflow, but this winter's snow has caused another dramatic rise in the pond height with a similar impact on beaver activity.  Only now, they are damming the INSIDE of the culvert pipes.

So the struggle for peaceful co-existence is on once again. This is something we have to stay on top of until we come up with a solution.  More rain means more damming.  Dropping pond level will stop the damming.

Right now, the last two of the four culvert pipes are clean. Here I am doing my reverse beaver imitation on the first pipe along with some closing commentary from one of the beavers.

Sherwood Beaver Update - May 6, 2012

Well so far the culvert protection fence is working better than anticipated.  Clearing the culverts dropped the level of the basin anywhere from 1-2 feet as witnessed by this clump of grass.

The low water level in the basin has revealed at least a half dozen leaks along 150 feet of dam.  These leaks were what filled the basin and prompted the beavers to originally block the culverts. 

The sound of running water from at least three of the leaks, is sufficiently fast and loud enough to alert the beavers.  However, they are doing nothing about them, probably because there is no way for them to effectively deal with them.

We expected the beavers to begin damming around the fence, but it the half dozen leaks are resulting in a significant outflow, both in volume and sound. This is what currently has their attention.

You may remember that right after the installation, they make a pretty good attempt to block the outflow, but seemed to give up.  I cleared that first attempt and began watching their reaction.  This animation shows three days worth of activity at the culvert. I'll continue the watch in the coming days.

My Bushnell Trophy Camera arrived yesterday.  I've been working with it to determine the best settings and to get a feel for the range and triggering sensitivity.
Right now my house cats are the subjects of my studies, but within a few days, I'll see if I can position it to catch the beavers in action around the outflow of the culvert.

Sherwood Beaver Update - May 3, 2012

Over the past year, the beavers have responded rapidly and forcefully each time we attempted to clear the culverts. However, the culvert protection cage we installed last week, seems to have given them reason to pause. This abbreviated video shows what they beavers have done in response to our latest actions.  A longer version with additional background information can be viewed here.