{"id":4745,"date":"2014-12-11T07:37:36","date_gmt":"2014-12-11T14:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/?p=4745"},"modified":"2014-12-12T18:22:36","modified_gmt":"2014-12-13T01:22:36","slug":"lake-elmo-beavers-cute-yes-but-something-of-a-nuisance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2014\/12\/lake-elmo-beavers-cute-yes-but-something-of-a-nuisance\/","title":{"rendered":"Lake Elmo beavers: Cute, yes, but something of a nuisance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t<div id=\"slides-4745\" class=\"navis-slideshow\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"slide-nav\">\n\n\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" class=\"prev\"><\/a>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"#\" class=\"next\"><\/a>\n\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"slides_container\"><div id=\"4745-slide1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver9.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver9.jpg\" \/><\/a><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>It might look like the middle of the wilderness, but this beaver was photographed after a recent snowfall on the west side of Lake Elmo in the Heights. Photographer John Warner has been taking pictures of this beaver and two others this fall.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver15.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver15.jpg\" \/><\/a><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>An adult beaver and two kits swim in open water.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide3\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/aTerriWalters.jpg*771*511\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/aTerriWalters.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Terri Walters manages Lake Elmo State Park for the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Just to her right is the beaver lodge.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide4\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver5.jpg*771*429\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver5.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Note the leathery palm and long claws.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide5\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver11.jpg*771*526\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver11.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>A beaver stands on its hind legs to get at snow-covered branches.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide6\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/DavePauli-771x637.jpg*771*637\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/DavePauli.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Dave Pauli, with the Humane Society of the United States, has seen just about everything beaver-related, but he was still impressed with the \"artwork\" of this chewed-up willow tree.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver1.jpg*771*534\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver1.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>A beaver swims in the background, its handiwork apparent in the foreground.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide8\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/aMuskratBeaver.jpg*771*582\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/aMuskratBeaver.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>A beaver swims past a muskrat on a limb. It is not uncommon for muskrats to  take up residence in a beaver lodge, NDO or no NDO.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide9\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver3.jpg*771*512\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver3.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>A busy beaver.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide10\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver6.jpg*771*512\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver6.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>A beaver emerges from open water, hanging on to shore ice.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide11\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver16.jpg*771*512\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver16.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>This beaver apparently was snoozing while floating peacefully in Lake Elmo.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide12\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver8.jpg*771*512\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver8.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>A beaver nibbles on a Russian olive tree.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide13\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver4.jpg*771*512\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver4.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>A beaver paddles along, carrying a small branch.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide14\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver10.jpg*771*512\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver10.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Another wintry scene.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide15\" data-src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver14.jpg*771*499\" data-href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver14.jpg\" \/><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Floating beaver, gnawed stick.<\/p><\/div><div id=\"4745-slide16\"><a href=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver7.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver7.jpg\" \/><\/a><h6>John Warner <a href=\"#\" class=\"slide-permalink\">permalink<\/a><\/h6><p>Just look at that tail.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><script>jQuery( document ).ready( function() { loadSlideshow( 4745, 'https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/2014\/12\/lake-elmo-beavers-cute-yes-but-something-of-a-nuisance\/', 16 ) } );<\/script>\n<p>Three or four beavers\u2014one or two adults and two kits\u2014have built themselves a home on the shores of Lake Elmo in the Heights.<\/p>\n<p>Their bank den is on the west side of the 64-acre reservoir, near the boat launch and right alongside a culvert that feeds the lake with water from the Billings Bench Water Association canal. A bank den is similar to a lodge but incorporates the bank surface into the structure.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Only three beavers at a time have been spotted so far, but Dave Pauli, with the Humane Society of the United States,\u00a0said beavers mate for life, so there is most likely another adult in the den.<\/p>\n<p>Terri Walters, who manages Lake Elmo State Park, of which the reservoir is part, for the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the beavers apparently migrated to Lake Elmo from the nearby irrigation canal sometime this fall.<\/p>\n<p>The beavers have already felled two small cottonwood trees, a willow and a Russian olive, and they have been working their way through a willow stump thick with dozens of shoots, including a few large ones. They have stacked the top of their lodge with branches, which they will feed on throughout the winter.<\/p>\n<p>Walters said she had to wrap 10 other trees with wire so they beavers wouldn\u2019t gnaw on them.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4762\"  class=\"wp-caption module image alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 336px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"addboard wp-image-4762 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver2.jpg\" alt=\"Tree\" width=\"336\" height=\"329\" srcset=\"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver2.jpg 336w, https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/Beaver2-60x60.jpg 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 336px) 100vw, 336px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">John Warner<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A beaver waddles past a gnawed-on tree.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cIf they\u2019d just eat Russian olives\u201d\u2014an invasive species that tends to crowd out other species of trees\u2014\u201cI\u2019d have been good with that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She hopes they have enough food for the winter and that they leave in the spring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m hoping that they\u2019ll relocate on their own when the canal opens up again,\u201d she said. The canal is dry in the winter and won\u2019t carry water again next spring, during irrigation season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re such wonderful animals,\u201d Walters said. \u201cThey\u2019re just a challenge right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She has gotten some advice from Pauli, who offered to live-trap and relocate the beavers, but Walters said she was told FWP now frowns on that practice, to avoid liability if the beavers cause damage elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Pauli said that shouldn\u2019t be a problem, since he has often found places willing to take them, including, in recent years, the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and a wildlife rehabilitation center.<\/p>\n<p><div class=\"well\"><div class=\"dfad dfad_pos_1 dfad_first\" id=\"_ad_652\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/goo.gl\/mjhWkW\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/lastbestnews.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/201703_capeair_variable.jpg\" alt=\"CapreAir_Variable\" width=\"510\" height=\"180\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18069\" \/><\/a><\/div><\/div>It might be possible to \u201cencourage\u201d the beavers to leave next spring, Pauli said, but his fear is that they would try to live in the BBWA canal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe ditch riders pretty much have carte blanche to take them out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Pauli also said he&#8217;d like to work with FWP on a plan that would allow the beavers to stay at the lake. The adults could be spayed and neutered, and the kits could be as well if they stayed on. Lake Elmo State Park is often visited by groups of schoolchildren, Pauli said, so it would be good learning experience to have a family of beavers living where they are so easily accessible.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a pretty cool situation,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Photographer John Warner has been taking pictures of the beavers this fall. Make sure you look at the gallery of his photos attached to the top photograph. And for more of his photos, visit <a href=\"http:\/\/johnwarnerphoto.com\/\">johnwarnerphoto.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three or four beavers\u2014one or two adults and two kits\u2014have built themselves a home on the shores of Lake Elmo in the Heights. Their bank den is on the west side of the 64-acre reservoir, near the boat launch and right alongside a culvert that feeds the lake with water from the Billings Bench Water [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,14],"tags":[1776,1777,125,1774,1775],"class_list":["post-4745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-billings","category-news","tag-dave-pauli","tag-humane-society-of-the-united-states","tag-john-warner","tag-lake-elmo-state-park","tag-terri-walters","prominence-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4745\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/montana-mint.com\/lastbestnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}