Beavers & Us…Aggressive Colonists

Apr 12, 2013

On Monday April 22, a workshop on Beavers & Us will be held at the Civitan Hall in Perth from 9am – 4pm. The program is sponsored by the Stewardship Councils of: Renfrew, Lanark, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington, and Hastings, and is being held to exchange information about:

• Beaver effects on water tables

• Landowner/CA management partnerships

• Natural history of beavers

• Personal management experiences

• Baffling beavers

• Spotting beaver dams from satellites

The cost is $10, which includes lunch & coffee. Please reserve your lunch by April 15 by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Among the presenters are:

• C.J. Westbrook, Researcher, Hydrology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, who will be discussing the effects of beaver activity on groundwater far from the beaver ponds.

• Rudy Dyck, Director of Watershed Stewardship Services with the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority, who will be presenting on the cooperative responses to beavers by conservation authorities, municipalities and landowners

• Mike Richardson, Central Frontenac Public Works Supervisor, presenting on municipalities’ concerns with beavers. Ontario’s road crews defend against flooding every spring and fall. The municipalities need to have landowners take a role in the management of the beaver situation.

• Landowner Cliff Maclean on the roles of beavers in a constructed wetland. On his Ducks Unlimited-improved site, Cliff has had success with a beaver baffler design, which has solved the problem of beavers damming the outflow from his wetland.

• Don Cuddy, landowner and retired Regional Ecologist on "Matching Wits with the Beavers – My Relationship with Beavers on 300 Acres of Mississippi Drainage".

• Jean Thie, Remote Sensing Specialist, will show results from his remote imagery search across most of Canada to characterize beaver dams, and

• Michael Runtz, Naturalist, Photographer and Author on “Dam Builders: the Natural History of Beavers and their Ponds”. Runtz will give an overview of beaver natural history as well as the rich diversity of life their habitats support - ranging from ponds to dead trees and meadows. Learn the sophisticated modifications of the beaver and their ability to transform entire landscapes to suit their needs.

For more information call 613-335-3589