Beaver Relocation

[Thomasc19]

Throwing out a crazy scenario to see if anyone has any experience

I don't have a pond on my property, but a border of the property is a small stream. I'm getting into trapping this year and have located a ton of beaver habitat on public land within a 30 minute drive from the property. Would it be a bad idea / even legal to relocate a couple beaver to my stream? I've always wanted to be able to have a pond with ducks on the property as it is all hardwoods / fields. Not to mention the diversity of habitat a marsh would bring to the immediate area. No buildings would be a threat if the beavers created a super dam and flooded water as high as they could

I know to be careful with what you wish for, but what are your thoughts?

Attached pics are of the stream

 

[Catscratch]

Hmmmm. I like your idea! My experience with beavers is that if they like a spot they will find it, if they aren't there already then they probably don't want to be there. With that said why not try?

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Is that a trout stream? If so, I don't think it would be a good idea for a beaver dam since they can mess with fish migration and screw up the trout stream by slowing it down and warming it.

If that isn't a trout stream, I agree that a beaver dam would be a nice addition. I doubt that you could just live trap a beaver and get it to stay where you want it to, but it is worth a shot. I think they would die if you relocated one there in the fall though since it wouldn't have time to build a dam, lodge and stockpile food until winter arrives.

 

[Electrodigical]

You could make your own, without the damn beavers.

 

[swat1018]

If your stream was suitable, they would be there. If they aren't there now, they won't stay. I've been trapping my whole life and have caught hundreds, I would enjoy watching you "relocate" them! Eat your Wheaties....

 

[Buckly]

The pictures you have show a nice babbling brook. I would enjoy that for what it is. Beaver have an entirely different habitat. Lowlands, marsh, cattail ,willow and poplar.

 

[Mortenson]

The pictures you have show a nice babbling brook. I would enjoy that for what it is. Beaver have an entirely different habitat. Lowlands, marsh, cattail ,willow and poplar.

That's what I was thinking. That is beautiful. Don't mess with perfection.

 

[KY wild]

I am sure all beavers are different, maybe if you try several one will take. Around my area if someone sees a beaver they kill it with a gun or a trap it and kill it, probably more than any other species except maybe a coyote. My point beavers are incredible important animals for North America a true keystone species, so I am just glad someone wants to help it and not kill it. Good Luck

 

[buckdeer1]

They will kill alot of your trees and cause some damage.I have never seen them wheres theres that much rock

 

[SD51555]

Looks like they'd have trouble sourcing mud for the dam.

 

[Electrodigical]

Looks like they'd have trouble sourcing mud for the dam.

His photos look exactly where I "am" (hunt). So much so I double checked the location it looked so familiar. My only experience with beavers is seeing them in man made ponds with man made dams. Then the beavers, not happy with the 25+ acre pond and surrounding wetland, do beaver things. Dam up the overflow and outlets, flooding the whole area and wiping out the road. Over and over again. Actually I've never seen a beaver in a natural, or beaver made pond, always man made ones, and always screwing them up. Always make me think "How the heck did they find this? The next body of water is XX miles away!" Which certainly aligns with "If your stream was suitable, they would be there."

 

[KY wild]

Beavers do make their own ponds around here

 

[Tree Spud]

Beavers look great on the National Geographic "pretty nature" shows, but are extremely destructive to your property.

Once you stop a stream flow, and create the pond, all the sediment that normally flows through gets deposited. That sediment backs up into the stream and forces water where you didn't think it would go. You would also raise the water level & moisture in the soil, so what was growing there previously, will probably die off as the ground gets too wet. Water overflows create lots of erosion and flooding.

Once the main damn is built, they will move upstream to create more damns, once again diverting water to areas you might not want it in.

Beavers are working on their dens, damn, and repairing/plugging overflows constantly, so they are in need of a lot of wooded material. They will chew and drop 25" diameter trees even though they cannot move the wood. Any good shrubs that create good cover will be eaten to the ground for damn material.

We have them on our property and are constantly battling with them.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I tried to get a permit from the WI DNR and USFWS to build a pond on my property several years ago - it was essentially the intersection of two drainages on field edges. The USFWS offered to build a dam there and pay for most of it to improve water retention and wildlife habitat. Part of that area was already a wetland though, so when the DNR came out to review the project they said a dam isn't allowed and I gave up on the idea.

A year later, a beaver moved in and constructed a beaver dam within 20 feet of the stakes placed by the USFWS to mark their proposed dam location. I even emailed the USFWS guy and told him to come back out to check out the free dam that was built. It made a 3/4 acre duck pond that was a great duck spot - it looked just like the USFWS guy said it would. Then the stupid beavers had little beavers and they kept making the dam higher and cutting down more trees. Eventually the water backed up several hundred yards and I had to shoot all the beavers before it flooded any upstream neighbors or the highway.

I've seen some beaver dams on trout streams, but none that are as rock as the one shown in your picture.

 

[Tree Spud]

I tried to get a permit from the WI DNR and USFWS to build a pond on my property several years ago - it was essentially the intersection of two drainages on field edges. The USFWS offered to build a dam there and pay for most of it to improve water retention and wildlife habitat. Part of that area was already a wetland though, so when the DNR came out to review the project they said a dam isn't allowed and I gave up on the idea.

A year later, a beaver moved in and constructed a beaver dam within 20 feet of the stakes placed by the USFWS to mark their proposed dam location. I even emailed the USFWS guy and told him to come back out to check out the free dam that was built. It made a 3/4 acre duck pond that was a great duck spot - it looked just like the USFWS guy said it would. Then the stupid beavers had little beavers and they kept making the dam higher and cutting down more trees. Eventually the water backed up several hundred yards and I had to shoot all the beavers before it flooded any upstream neighbors or the highway.

I've seen some beaver dams on trout streams, but none that are as rock as the one shown in your picture.

I tried the same thing with the DNR/NRCS. These were drainage dikes built on the lower ag field. Said we could not build a pond within 500' of waterway.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Beavers do good work and bad work. I appreciate their efforts on one my properties. I have a legitimate duck swamp because of them. I had to rip out a dam they started on another property because it was going to compromise a road, so the good with the bad