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  • From: Toby Hemenway <toby@patternliteracy.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Creek remediation
  • Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:21:36 -0800

The famous (in permaculture circles) Bullock brothers (Orcas Island, Washington State, US) developed beaver "trouble" when the wetland they restored evolved to a high level of biodiversity. The beavers probably hadn't been there for a century, or since the wetland had been drained. The Bullocks had planted fruit and nut trees near the water, and when the beavers returned they chewed down a number of them. The Bullocks were pretty unhappy, but they just took it as a lesson not to plant food-producing plants near the water. There are plenty of species that coppice nicely when beavers fell them. I suppose if a commercial orchardist were hit by beavers, they might not be so sanguine. But since the Bullocks in a very real sense called in the beavers, they weren't about to harm them.

The wetland also attracted muskrats, which ate the cattails that the Bullocks also likes to eat. But before long the habitat evolved to where otters and eagles were eating the muskrats, and the cattails once again came back in force. So we all figure the beavers will get balanced back into the system before too long.

Factoid: Estimated population of beavers in the US Pacific Northwest in 1600: 400 Million (based on the number of pelts shipped to Europe). Population by 1900: 9 million, when the fur-trapping industry collapsed.

Toby
http://patternliteracy.com



roxann wrote:
LOL. No. the water backs up into the pastures and then the tractors bog down while mowing hay. as far as i know, it's all because of their cows and hay. to them, the beavers are cutting in on their livlihoods and the soggy ground is useless. plus, they hate losing a few trees to them each year.
Roxann, NW AR
http://blog.ancientearthwisdom.com


-------Original Message-------
From: Lawrence F. London, Jr. <lflj@intrex.net>
Subject: Re: [permaculture] Creek remediation
Sent: 18 Dec '07 08:37
J Kolenovsky wrote:
> Why are the farmers shooting them? Are they bored with nothing to do,
> except, run around bare footed?
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