When I was a kid and we were on vacation in the Maine woods, my parents would sometimes take us out driving at night in hopes of seeing some deer.

Imagine that.

Now they’re everywhere, eating our gardens, bringing ticks to our yards and causing hazards to motorists. What was once rare and beautiful has become commonplace—in many cases, even a nuisance.

Our relationship with beavers has followed a similar trajectory. Once plentiful, their numbers dwindled to zero in the late 1800s in Connecticut, the result of trapping and loss of forested habitat as the state was cleared for agriculture and industry.

In the 1950s, a gradual reintroduction began, and by 1961 numbers had risen enough to allow a small trapping season. With no significant natural predators (wolves, also extirpated, have not been reintroduced), they’ve continued to proliferate. The sight of a beaver lodge was cause for excitement when I was growing up; now I have one in my backyard.

As both human and beaver populations grow along the shoreline—particularly after the pandemic, with many former urban dwellers moving into the area—proximity becomes an issue, and tolerance levels can become strained. It may feel as though we are literally competing for habitat with North America’s largest rodent, who arrives in stealth and reengineers our backyards without consent.

But in our mutual quest to control the landscape, who’s encroaching on whom?

Time for a Truce

It’s a chicken and egg question.

As property owners, we expect control over our land. Native wildlife, however, has always held the original deed to the land, even if we think we moved in first. Furthermore, wetlands are dynamic things that naturally change over time, with or without the accelerating influence of beavers. So as much as we may try to assert dominance, nature will play a role.

It’s her prerogative.

Perhaps it’s time to call a truce. Rather than battling these interlopers, consider adopting an attitude of gratitude. Because to have these big, tail-slapping herbivores move into your back 40 is to be gifted with your own private nature preserve. As the saying goes from the 1989 film Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” There’s no more apt motto for beavers. Where they go, a world of flora and fauna follows.

As a keystone species—an animal upon which its entire ecosystem depends—the beaver is responsible for some of our most valuable habitat. By converting simple waterways into complex, open-pond environments, they inadvertently create habitat for myriad other creatures, dramatically increasing freshwater biodiversity as compared to unaltered wetlands.

Many species have, in fact, evolved to adapt to this specific type of wetland.

Moreover, beaver ponds successionally develop into meadows and forested wetlands, unique and richly diverse habitats in their own right. It’s no wonder these animals are being employed in habitat restoration and the “rewildling” of damaged wetlands for climate resilience.

A Spectacular Show

The beaver “flowage,” or flooded area, teems with choruses of breeding amphibians in the spring and, in summer, with insects that feed everything higher up the food chain. Standing trees that don’t survive flooding provide nesting habitat for all kinds of birds, from red-winged blackbirds to herons to eagles. Felled trees become basking platforms for turtles, who move into the protected waters of the emerging shrubs and grasses along with aquatic mammals like minks, otters, and muskrats, and all manner of waterfowl.

And the beavers themselves are generally unabashed in going about their business in plain sight, usually in the evening. Any adjacent landowner with a pair of binoculars has a front row seat to a spectacular, endless, and always-changing show.

In fact, when it comes to dealing with beavers, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) says the first step to consider is “tolerance.”

“In many instances, people experience relatively insignificant beaver damage, such as the cutting of trees around a pond or lake or the flooding of an existing wetland area. The beavers are simply doing what is natural and tolerating that activity is part of coexisting with wildlife,” DEEP says on its website. “The Wildlife Division encourages landowners to develop a tolerance and appreciation of beavers and the benefits they provide for wildlife and humans alike.”

Granted, coexisting with beavers is not always possible.

The flooding caused by their dams can wreak havoc with yards, agricultural fields, basements, septic systems and leaching fields, roads and more. Beavers don’t consult landowners about which trees they cut, and some left damaged but still standing may pose a hazard.

When beavers present an irreconcilable problem, there are few deterrents that will reliably discourage or drive them away.

Breaking dams, a common tactic, is not only ineffective—they are usually quickly rebuilt—but potentially damaging to other wildlife, especially in spring. The released flood water scours the lower stream or riverbed, destroying or burying everything from fish eggs to turtles in its path.

Dam destruction is also a regulated wetland activity under the jurisdiction of the Inland Wetland Commission.

Relocating the animals is only a temporary fix; more will inevitably show up.

How to Mitigate Problems

Trapping is the only guaranteed method of beaver removal and is the main tool the DEEP uses to maintain a balance between a growing animal population and increasing human land use demands. The agency’s stated goal, “to minimize the problems beavers cause while also realizing the benefits of the wetlands these animals create and enhance,” captures the complexity of the challenge.

There are, however, ways to mitigate beaver problems so that coexistence is possible. Water level control devices (WLCDs), which are placed through the dam to drain water, can be installed to maintain flowage levels to satisfy the needs of both human and animal residents.

“Plastic perforated pipes, wooden boxes with mesh bottoms, perforated aluminum culverts, and culverts made from layers of mesh are all types of WLCDs,” the DEEP says. “A WLCD minimizes the sound and motion of running water. Ideally, beavers can continue their activities but should not be able to plug the device. Therefore, water can still pass through the device, resulting in a lower water level.

“The proper installation and maintenance of WLCDs are critical to their success,” DEEP continues. “It is important that entrances to the lodge remain under water and a minimum water depth be maintained to provide sufficient habitat for the beavers if the wetland freezes during winter. Also, landowners must still be willing to tolerate some flooding, especially during storm events.”

Trees can be wrapped in fencing to prevent chewing.

“The most effective way to protect trees and shrubs from being cut by beavers is to place heavy-gauge fencing with a mesh opening of no more than two- by four inches around the base of the plant, six inches away from the trunk and extending to a height of four feet...Chicken wire will not deter the powerful chewing of beavers,” according to DEEP.

DEEP’s website portal.ct.gov/DEEP contains a host of good resources to help.

A Magnificent Transformation

It’s no surprise that, given the dense network of wetlands characteristic of the shoreline area, beaver activity is showing up in even the most minor tributaries, many of which run uncomfortably close to buildings and roads.

With beavers doing so well here, it’s natural to wonder whether mitigation efforts are worth it.

Yet one has only to take a stroll along the Madison Land Conservation Trust’s Papermill and Summer Hill trails to witness the magnificent transformation these animals can bestow, given the chance.

Hikers and fishermen who meander along what were once unremarkable, wooded section of the Hammonasset River watershed now have expansive views of lush, flourishing waterscapes filled with sunlight and teeming with life.

As I write this, it’s International Beaver Day.

And why not have a day to honor the beaver?

Not only are these animals an iconic part of North American history and culture, they’ve given us a lot more to celebrate than Punxatawney Phil has.

So, if you notice the water levels rising near your home, don’t immediately shriek in alarm.

Jump for joy, because you’ve been granted a free upgrade to waterfront property, an opportunity to support biodiversity and climate resilience in our area, and the privilege of witnessing one of nature’s most wonderful transformations in action—right at your doorstep.

Pamela Meier is the founder and director of The Turtle’s Back, Inc., a non-profit wildlife rehabilitation organization specializing in native turtles, and former founder and director of The POND Project, an environmental education program for middle schoolers. More information about her work is available at www.theturtlesback.org.