Transformation

[Boll Weevil]

This past weekend I took a moment to reflect on a years-long project to reclaim a bottom that had been ravaged by beavers, flooded for years, and a haven for gigantic cottonmouths. After busting dams, draining, letting the ground dry out enough to clear, burning brushpiles, and cleaning everything up it was really satisfying to snap the last picture shown below. Looking back on everything, sorghum in the foreground and turnip greens in the background is a far cry from where the project started!

 

[Tree Spud]

Nice work! I have a similar issue with a location where the beavers keeping damning a stream that floods one end of my property.

I can remove the damn twice a year and they keep rebuilding. Would like to learn more how you plan to keep them from re-building, and if they do, provide ongoing draining to minimize the flooding.

 

[j-bird]

Wow...that is a significant change. Any red-tape issues to have to deal with? I have seen a neighbors place get flooded due to beaver activity.....it was a long and expensive process for him to finally clear the damns and get rid of the beaver.

 

[wiscwhip]

Ummmm...the pic in the top right...NO...NO...NO...JUST NO!!!!

 

[Boll Weevil]

Would like to learn more how you plan to keep them from re-building, and if they do, provide ongoing draining to minimize the flooding.

Learned way more about beaver behavior than I ever imagined but the one component they need to cause headaches is easy, safe access to woody building material. I actually found an aerial image from way back in 1947 and the entire bottom was tillable ground with a grassy waterway. At some point, likely as the property shifted hands and land use changed, that unmanaged waterway became woody and the beavers took it from there.

With cooperation from a "downstream" neighbor we simultaneously knocked the beaver population back by trapping and removing dams while the above-activity was taking place. But really key to making the area unattractive to the bucktoothed engineers was restoring grassy vs. woody riparian buffers and managing through mowing and/or burning. Simply stated if there's nothing to build with, they can't establish dams.

 

[Boll Weevil]

Any red-tape issues to have to deal with?

No red tape but I'll tell'ya what, it really takes a solid plan and persistence to rid a waterway (what I discovered was really a network of waterways) of the very determined pests. Also discovered (in retrospect) there are no shortcuts and a project like this one just takes time. Draining, drying out soil, getting the wood on the ground, letting it dry before burning...and burning...and burning. Ma'Nature in many ways, very much determines the final outcome.

Just took time but was absolutely worth it.

 

[j-bird]

No red tape but I'll tell'ya what, it really takes a solid plan and persistence to rid a waterway (what I discovered was really a network of waterways) of the determined pests. Also discovered there were no shortcuts and a project like this one just takes time. Draining, drying out soil, getting the wood on the ground, letting it dry before burning...and burning...and burning.

Just took time but was absolutely worth it.

The issue my neighbor had was the area was planted in timber (they own a sawmill) so getting rid of the building material was not an option. Heavy equipment, blasting, to remove the damns and then a year round effort to trap them (thru licensed pest control agent) was the way they got it done. I knew IN had beavers, but had never seen one near our area before. Not sure where they came from, but they went six feet under is where they went! I figure it will just be a matter of time and they will show up again.....

Glad to see you got some usable ground back......I will admit that upper left pic looks like a duck hunters dream, but to each their own.

 

[Knehrke]

I myself am partial to swamps, both from a duck hunting perspective and as a sanctuary for big bucks. But it looks like you accomplished your goal and the end result is a good looking piece of pretty.

 

[Tree Spud]

Learned way more about beaver behavior than I ever imagined but the one component they need to cause headaches is easy, safe access to woody building material. I actually found an aerial image from way back in 1947 and the entire bottom was tillable ground with a grassy waterway. At some point, likely as the property shifted hands and land use changed, that unmanaged waterway became woody and the beavers took it from there.

With cooperation from a "downstream" neighbor we simultaneously knocked the beaver population back by trapping and removing dams while the above-activity was taking place. But really key to making the area unattractive to the bucktoothed engineers was restoring grassy vs. woody riparian buffers and managing through mowing and/or burning. Simply stated if there's nothing to build with, they can't establish dams.

Boll ... how far back from the water edge did you create the grass buffer?

Do you have any water pinch points where they could re-establish a dam? If so, how are you dealing with that?

 

[Boll Weevil]

Boll ... how far back from the water edge did you create the grass buffer?

Based on observation in my area (could be different elsewhere depending on things like predators and/or terrain) a beaver won't venture more than maybe 10-15ft from the safety of water to cut anything down. Once they get a little dam built enough to back up water to extend upstream and outward, they work their way up a little piece and repeat...never working more than a safe distance from the water's edge. As the water creeps out into the timber they use building materials that are right on the edge or even IN the water. If you can get 10, 15, 20 ft of buffer with no building material the area becomes unattractive to them.

Do you have any water pinch points where they could re-establish a dam? If so, how are you dealing with that?

This particular bottom has very little gradient so I put in a waterway to manage surfacewater runoff and groundwater from spring seeps. Most of the water now doesn't even go where the original path was that the beavers took advantage of (it's completely dry) and it takes a super significant rain event for there to be anything at all actually flowing...it just sits in the waterway. If you can on your place, look hard at what the water WANTS to do because of gradient and use it to your advantage. In my case, and wouldn't be surprised if the farmers from the 1940s recognized it as well, a managed waterway keeps the field dry while not giving the beavers any chance cause problems.

Happy to answer more questions as I learned quite bit during the process and maybe can help you avoid some issues. If you can, rather than just cutting the dam next time, sneak a piece of pipe in there to start the draining/drying process. They'll come build right back over it but don't have enough sense to know the water is silently sliding out through the dam. While the water level is receding you can develop the rest of your plan.