Halifax has been chosen to receive funding and support as part of a 2023 Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center project, Welcoming Beavers Home: Two towns tackle beaver conflicts to enhance wetlands and river ecology. Learn more about the project and coming events below.
Did you know?
How Big were Ice Age Beavers?
In Ice Age Halifax, giant beavers lived among the woolly mammoths and short-faced bears, oh yes, so did modern beavers. They were aquatic, but they did not cut down trees or make dams and lodges. They weighed as much as 275 pounds and were about the size of a black bear.
Beavers: Habitat Heroes or Nuisance Neighbors?
Beavers are built for the water and they can’t live without it. That is why they are so dedicated to building dams to keep it in place. As beavers move upstream and down creating new ponds, the areas they leave behind become meadows and shrub lands. These are all important habitats for many plants and animals, from moose to mink. This makes beavers a “keystone” species—one that is essential for other species to thrive.
Guess which other species changes the landscape to suit its needs? We do! When beavers’ plans conflict with ours, they can cause us a lot of trouble. They clog culverts, cut down favorite trees, and flood fields and cropland.
Because beavers are so important, the Halifax Beaver Working Group is looking for solutions for these problems that work for people and beavers. Along the way, we are bringing you opportunities to learn more about the beavers in our midst. Here’s what’s coming up in 2023!
Programs and Events
A Beaver Year: Presentation and Field Trip
This was fun! Hope you were there!
Saturday, July 29 from 1-4
Join Bonnyvale Environmental Education Center naturalist Patti Smith to learn about the seasons of beavers’ lives. Patti has spent fifteen years studying a beaver colony and will share photos, videos, and stories about the beavers and other animals she has met along the way. The presentation will be followed by a field trip to a local beaver pond.
Halifax’s Wild Waterways: A Look Into the Past
This event was filmed by BCTV and the video will be posted here when it becomes available. Email if you’d like to be notified when it’s ready.
September 23 at 1 pm
at the Halifax Community Hall
Engineer and river scientist Dr. Denise Burchsted studies natural river systems—the way rivers behaved before Europeans arrived. What she has learned will surprise you, and yes, beavers were an important part of the picture. What was the landscape and riverscape of Halifax like in the days before the fur trade? Dr. Burchsted has mapped the town and will share her conception of what Halifax was like.
Beavers at work: a field outing
Sunday, October 15 from 4-6
We visited a beaver meadow to admire the qualities described by Dr. Burchsted. Then we visited Dew and Bebe and admired their lodge. A black bear came up over the dam while we were there.
BEEC Naturalist Patti Smith will lead a walk to the beaver ponds and meadows made by the beavers she studies. Explore a beaver meadow and wetlands and look for signs of beavers and other wildlife. Pay a visit to Dew and her family and see their lodge.
The walk will be about a mile, round trip. To really experience the beaver meadow, wear rubber boots or be prepared to get wet feet. Fully experiencing the beaver meadow will be optional. The walk is a gentle descent and then a gentle climb to return.
Deceiving Beavers— In the field with Skip Lisle
Sunday November 5, 2-4
Meet at the Todd residence, 273 Hatch School Road
Skip Lisle has devoted his career to solving beaver conflicts. He has installed his pipe and fence systems across the country. They save taxpayer $, road crews frustration, and keep beavers and their wetlands in place. One of these was installed on Hatch School Road a year ago. It saved a culvert and allowed the beavers to stay in place and create a beautiful pond upstream. Learn how Skip builds them and how they work. Then we will take a walk to explore the beaver pond.
As part of this project, funding has been provided to install another Beaver Deceiver at a conflict site on Stage Road. Stay tuned for updates.
Learn more about Skip and his work.
A Community Conversation
Stay tuned for details
Do you need a chance to complain about your neighborhood beavers? You’re welcome to come to this event and do just that, as long as you are also interested in learning about the range of solutions available to solve conflicts. Hear from beaver experts, road experts, and your friends and neighbors in this community problem-solving event.