Herberts Millpond Beavers
To those of us familiar with Herberts Millpond at Canyonville, we know it's a great place to take the kids fishing. Bass, Crappie and Bluegill thrive in the pond and can be caught year round.
The pond is also host once a year to Free Fishing Day, a locally sponsored event at which competitors are awarded prizes for their catch.
The abandoned log pond is home to many waterfowl, Canadian Geese, Mallard Ducks and Coots all congregate here to feed and rest. Wood Ducks raise their young here in nest boxes hung in tree's around the pond.
Herberts pond is visited daily by Blue Herons, Belted Kingfishers and Osprey, looking for a fish dinner. Redwing Blackbirds nest in the cattails, and a variety of songbirds make their homes in the willows and trees surrounding the pond.
A small family of three Beavers also chose to make the pond their home and in doing so created a problem. The Beavers burrow into the bank to build their dens and in doing so, they threaten the structural integrity of the dike, endangering homes below the level of the pond. A decision was made to remove the Beavers.
The Beaver Advocacy Committee, the Douglas County Board of Commissioners, Marilyn Kittleman and the Roseburg branch of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife joined in collaborative effort to trans locate the Beavers.
Herbert the Mill Pond Beaver
The professional live trapping services of Jerry Wilson, The Relocater, were contracted and on the nights of October 10 and 11 all three Beavers were live trapped and transported to a new home. The release site was chosen by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, as a stream which Historically sustained Beavers but was now devoid of them.
Beavers play an important and cost effective role in maintaining and enhancing riparian and aquatic ecosystems for multiple uses. The benefits from beaver activity in an aquatic ecosystem, primarily through dam construction, include;
- 1. Elevation of water tables that enhance riparian vegetation development to trap eroded silt from adjacent lands,
- 2. Reduction of stream water velocity and increase of sediment deposition to reduce stream bank and channel erosion,
- 3. Improvement of water quality as riparian vegetation intercepts nutrient and chemical contamination in runoff water,
- 4. Improvement of water storage and stabilization of stream flows throughout the summer and droughts,
- 5. Protection of downstream croplands and urban developments from floods by upstream storage structures,
- 6. Enhancement of fish habitat in streams by increasing water depth and production of aquatic invertebrates,
- 7. Improvement of habitat for waterfowl, Big Game, game and non game birds,and other wildlife through vegetative development, and
- 8. increase in forage production,shelter,and water for domestic livestock.
Millie being moved
However Beavers can be a nuisance,especially when they come in contact with humans, in the lower levels of our watersheds where agriculture and urban development prevail, Beavers dam culverts, flood roads and fields, eat crops and fruit trees as well as expensive ornamentals.
The Beaver Advocacy Committee, formed January, 2007, within South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership, a local non profit dedicated to building a sustainable economy through ecological restoration. Husband and wife, Leonard and Lois Houston work together with directors Stan Petrowski and Steve Egbert, state and federal agencies, pubiic and private stakeholders to educate and inform of the benefits of harmonious existance with Beavers through non lethal management techniques.
Pondee pondering his paddle
It is the goal of the Beaver Advocacy Committee to assist in the re introduction of the Oregon State animal to its rightful place in our aquatic ecosystems. As natures hydrologist and engineer the Beaver has the capability to offset the staggering cost of publicly funded engineering projects, we call this “Beavers versus Dollars”.
Almost one half of the threatened or endangered species of North America rely upon wetlands, Beavers create special wetlands called flowages by building dams across small streams. These ponds provide habitat for numerous other species including; Trumpeter Swans, Sandhill Cranes,River Otters, Coho Salmon,and Cutthroat Trout.
Salmonid and trout fry find refuge from flood and predators, as well as abundant food supplies in Beaver ponds and may reach twice the size of juveniles not reared in Beaver ponds.
Water is our most precious resource, Beavers are the ancient and natural mechanism of watershed management.
If you have problem Beavers or would like to learn more about this amazing Keystone Species, you can contact the Beaver Advocacy Committee via email at Beavers@surcp.org or call Leonard or Lois at 541-839-6192.