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The
reason for Massachusetts' burgeoning beaver population, which has caused
humans so many difficulties with flooding, especially on Chebacco Lake
in Hamilton, is one not readily agreed upon.
A recent report from
the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies insists the
state's 1996 law restricting the methods of trapping beavers has been
followed by an explosion in their population and an increase in related
damage to roads and personal property.
Based on the
projections included in the report, "Potential Costs of Losing Hunting
and Trapping as Wildlife Management Tools," the problems will get worse
unless trappers regain wider access to trapping devices.
However, Cheryl
Jacobson, coordinator of the Living with Wildlife program for the
Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has a
different perspective.
Calling the report
incomplete and misleading, she noted, "Beaver populations were
increasing before the 1996 law and studies indicate that beaver
populations, if left untouched, will eventually regulate themselves
because beavers are territorial and will not grow beyond available
territory. Trapping is a Band-Aid solution."
Jacobson further
believes specially designed water-flow devices, some of which have been
installed in Hamilton and Wenham, "work to alleviate beaver-related
damage and provide assistance to landowners in a cost-effective and
long-term manner."
David Lash, former
president of the Chebacco Lake Association (CLA) in Hamilton, feels
Jacobson's perspective is more accurate, but doesn't dismiss the value
of some trapping, specifically with cages instead of kill traps.
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"[Beaver population
growth] feels like a larger issue than just a matter of not trapping,"
said Lash. "But you do have to thin the herd, so to speak. If
populations aren't thinned by man, we can end up with all kinds of
severe issues."
The CLA, according to
Lash, has reluctantly accepted trapping in an outlet brook where
beavers have, in the
past few years, dammed Chebacco Lake and caused severe flooding and
health problems for lakeside homeowners.
"It's the only
effective short-term management solution we know of," said Lash, who
explained the CLA has been allowed to enlist the help of trappers using
cages because of the ecologically valuable alewife fish that spawn in
the outlet brook.
Certain water-flow
devices, referred to by Jacobson, may discourage beavers from doing
their work, but have been found to hinder alewife spawning, thus
prompting a trapping alternative to the problem. The Chebacco Woods
Trails Association has installed two of the so-called "beaver deceiver"
contraptions between Beck's Pond and Chebacco Lake, and Lash is a bit
leery of that strategy.
"While it's a
non-trapping solution, alewife have been known to spawn in Beck's Pond,"
said Lash, "which means we have a less than perfect solution there
because it further shrinks adequate spawning areas for the alewife."
The
International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies report concluded
the 1996 no-trapping law in Massachusetts caused the beaver population
to explode, thus creating economic hardships.
Massachusetts
municipalities spent $500,000 to repair road and infrastructure damaged
by beavers in 2004, said the report, and IAFWA officials said that
expenditure was "minor" compared to the costs associated with
beaver-related personal property damage, contamination of public water
supplies, flooding of private property and costs associated with
removing nuisance beavers.
Lash, however, sees
the economic impact from a broader perspective.
"To me, beavers are
more than just a nuisance. In terms of the larger economy of New
England, beavers don't have as great an impact as alewife," he said. "We
should be giving far more attention to alewife because it helps sustain
our marine fisheries industry."
At this time, noted
Lash, there are beavers at Chebacco Lake's outlet brook, but they are
not causing the severe problems encountered earlier. Still, he said
added, the CLA is currently initiating contact with a trapper to use a
cage that will help keep the population in check.
The use of cage
traps, according to Lash, does not require a permit from the Board of
Health. Any property owner is allowed to enlist the aid of a cage
trapper during the appropriate season.
"We haven't had a
big problem lately because there have been far fewer beavers," said
Lash. "But if we were to ignore the situation, within a year we'd have a
large colony and be back with same problems as we had a year ago."
J.J. Bowman,
of the State House News Service, contributed to this story. |
