KENT, Conn.— It might not be nice to fool Mother Nature, but, apparently, it’s okay to deceive a beaver.
The Inland Wetlands Commission recently allowed work to proceed on expanding a “beaver deceiver” system at 463 Segar Mountain Road to prevent flooding of properties near North Spectacle Pond.
Maria Grace, presenting for both the Northwestern Connecticut Land Conservancy and the Kent Land Trust (the agencies that filed a joint application) reported that there has been significant beaver activity at the inlet to the pond for at least a decade.
A pond leveler—also known as a beaver deceiver—was installed in the water in 2014 by Beaver Solutions, but now the furry little engineers have figured out that if they dam the other side of the culvert, they can raise the water level in their pond.
“We have to do something about it because it floods neighboring properties,” Grace said, adding that the pipe to carry water past the culvert would be a minimum of 20 feet in length.
“I met with Mike Callahan (the founder of Beaver Solutions) on site,” she reported. “They installed the system in 2014, and it is working well. But now the beavers have come to realize that if they dam the culvert under the driveway they can raise the water level. It’s fascinating.”
She said she was “very relieved” that Callahan had not recommend trapping the animals. “It’s the best ecological and humane solution,” she said.
A beaver deceiver — also known as a flow device or pond leveler — is a non-lethal fencing and piping system used to prevent beavers from clogging waterways and culverts. It maintains a stable water level to stop flooding while allowing beavers to stay in their habitat.
Beavers are instinctively triggered to build or repair dams by the sound and feeling of running water. A beaver deceiver tricks them in two ways: through exclusion fencing and pond-leveling pipes.
A sturdy fence, often shaped like a trapezoid or cattle-pen, is built around the entrance of a culvert or pipe. It spreads the intake of water over a wide area, eliminating a localized current and the trickling sounds that prompt beavers to build.
At the same time, perforated or solid pipes are laid at a specific height. Water flows through the pipe to maintain a safe, manageable level, preventing spillover that would otherwise encourage the beavers to pile on more mud and sticks.
Beavers were completely extirpated from Connecticut by the mid-1800s through unregulated trapping and deforestation. It has been increasingly recognized in the 20th and 21st centuries, however, that they are literally nature’s engineers, altering and improving the environment by creating wetland habitats that boost biodiversity, filter pollutants and store water. Their dams mitigate droughts, recharge groundwater, sequester carbon and act as natural firebreaks during wildfires.
Conservationists reintroduced the species to Connecticut in 1914 in the Yale Forest at Union, Conn. The Castor couple were apparently as busy as beavers because, with the assistance of protective trapping regulations and re-location programs by wildlife biologists, beavers have made a massive comeback. The current beaver population is higher than at any time in the last three centuries, according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
As with many wildlife restoration programs, though, beavers and the wildlife agency are the victims of their own success. Along with ecological benefits presented by a thriving beaver population, the state agency now receives an ever-increasing number of beaver complaints. While extolling the virtues of beavers and preaching tolerance, DEEP also offers technical assistance with control, informing landowners of options such as fencing and piping. Occasionally, when there is a threat to public safety or health, trapping is advised.
The Inland Wetland Commission was not slated to meet again and act on the application until after Beaver Solutions was scheduled to do the work. Members asked if the North Spectacle Pond situation constituted an emergency. Grace noted that if there are strong spring storms, flooding could occur. It was agreed that this should be addressed as an emergency due to the danger of flooding.
“We know the whole process, and it has been shown that it works,” said member Paul Yagid. “More than likely, we would approve this at the next meeting anyhow and by acting early we might prevent an emergency.”
