Human-wildlife conflict – Beavers

Beavers can be beneficial to an area, but there are ways to manage their presence on your property if they become a nuisance.

Beavers are the largest rodents in Alberta and can live anywhere with enough trees and a steady water supply. They are mainly active at night, doing most of their work and eating after dark. Beavers do not have many predators and can live up to 10 years.

To build their homes, beavers cut down trees to make dams. These dams flood the area, creating a habitat for the beavers and other animals. The dams are usually built near places with flowing water. They are made from trees, branches, plants, rocks and mud, and help store water while slowly releasing pressure.

Beavers also build lodges in the ponds created by the dams. These lodges give them shelter throughout the year, with 2 underwater entrances. Beavers stockpile food at the bottom of the pond to survive the winter. Their diet mainly consists of the soft inner bark of trees. Cutting down trees and building their homes helps keep their teeth from growing too long since beaver teeth never stop growing.

Beavers have 2 types of homes: lodges and bank dens. A lodge is an island in the water, while a bank den is a hole in the side of a riverbank. Both types of homes protect beavers from predators, provide places to rest and eat, and keep them warm in the winter. They also offer a safe place for young beavers.

Did you know? Beavers are not to blame for "beaver fever" (giardiasis), caused by the parasite Giardia lamblia. It spreads through contaminated water, with common carriers being people, pets and livestock, not beavers.

Coexisting with beavers

Beavers help the ecosystem in many ways. They create wetlands that provide food, shelter and resting places for other animals. Beaver ponds slow down water flow, which helps prevent soil from washing away and lets dirt settle. These ponds also help humans by reducing flooding and drought, and by improving water quality and availability.

Coexisting with beavers benefits our landscapes and our communities. However, in developing and maintaining their habitat, beavers may remove and damage trees in the area. Their presence may also block watercourses with dams that may cause excessive flooding.

Landowners and land managers are encouraged to maintain beaver populations, while limiting the occurrence of damage or flooding by proactively and reactively implementing beneficial management practices to enhance landscapes and coexistence with beavers.

Beneficial management practices

Beneficial management practices are tools that can be applied to a landscape to support beavers and the benefits they provide.

  • Pond leveller

    A pond leveller is often a flexible pipe that is installed through a beaver dam. It allows water to flow downstream from an upstream beaver pond. A cage is submerged in the beaver pond at the end of the pipe to prevent beavers from plugging the pipe and stopping the water flow.

  • Culvert protector

    A culvert protector is often a wire structure built around a culvert to prevent beavers from plugging the culvert and restricting water flow. Culvert protectors can be designed to allow beavers and other wildlife to pass through the culvert.

  • Beaver dam analogue

    Beaver dam analogues are man-made structures that mimic beaver dams. They are typically built using natural materials and installed in areas to support riparian habitat restoration or encourage beneficial beaver activity.

  • Dam notching, breaching or removal

    Dam notching and breaching involve removing a portion of a dam to drain a beaver pond partially or completely. Beneficial management practices involve removing the least amount of the dam possible to alleviate flooding without disturbed the entire dam or ecosystem.

    In some cases, the removal of beaver dams may be permitted. Dam removal involves completely removing the dam from bank to bank. Consult your local municipal, provincial and federal government policies and procedures regarding beaver dam removal.

  • Tree protection or wrapping

    Trees and shrubs vulnerable to being cut and removed by beavers can be protected by wrapping the base with mesh wire or galvanized metal fencing, to a height of at least one metre.

  • Supplemental feeding and dam building woody material

    Supplemental feeding and dam building woody material is when beavers are supplied with woody material that can be used for food or as building material to divert their attention away from areas that may be prone to tree damage or removal by beavers.

  • Relocation and lethal removal

    Beavers may be hunted and trapped without a licence and during all seasons on privately owned land by the owner or occupant of the land, or by a resident with written permission from the owner or occupant of the land. Additionally, beavers may be trapped under a Fur Management Licence during an open trapping season or by someone who holds a Damage Control Licence (this can be issued from any Fish and Wildlife Office). A Damage Control Licence authorizes the removal of beavers outside of normal trapping seasons.

    It is against the law to disturb or remove a dam (if a lodge is nearby), den or lodge without a Damage Control Licence on both private property and Crown Land.

    In some cases, federal approval may be required to relocate or remove a beaver, lodge or dam. Learn more about dam removal and use of co-existence tools: Code of practice: Beaver dam breaching and removal

Resources

Contact

Connect with a Fish and Wildlife office near you:

Fish and Wildlife Officers are generally only able to respond to incidents where there is a concern for public safety.

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