Managing beaver

August 31 - September 2.

Dakota and I headed back up to the trapline to get some more work done in preparation for trapping season. We we were sick of working on bridges so we decided we'd run the pipeline section of the trapline route. I wanted to make sure the porcupine's hadn't eaten any of the marten boxes and that they were all still okay. On South Trail, two boxes had already been chewed on but both were still useable and it didn't appear they were being chewed on any longer. This is where the plastic boxes show their value, even though they are expensive. Earlier, I had a tree fall on another tree that held a box, knocking it down on South Trail too, so I wanted to make sure a similar fate hadn't happened on the pipeline route.

One section of the Pipeline Trail.

I haven't mentioned it yet, but directly to the right of the cabin is a big old willow floodplain. The beavers have this area covered with dams and at one point were quite distant from the cabin, at least their house and main watercourse was. When the flash floods came, they must have taken out the beaver house because it is no longer there. The beaver then moved further down the floodplain, breaking their original dam and letting it run down nearer the cabin. They then dammed the three creeks that lead out of the floodplain, one, maybe 15-yards from the cabin. Dakota and I have been breaking this dam each day we've been here for the last couple of trips. And each night the beavers have put it back in. Quite often we sneak down and watch them work, they are remarkable but destructive creatures.

To the right of the cabin is a creek that's been dammed by the beaver. Unless kept under control,
they could flood the cabin. They will be removed before the end of October and the ice freezes over.

Dakota giving us his best redneck pose.