By Joshua Dyer, Crawford Park District Naturalist
A friend of mine asked me to walk his property and to give my opinion about the animal sign he was noticing. I looked around and saw peeled sticks laying on the ground and floating in the water; felled trees from ½- 4” were lying around with the telltale “punji stake” look. Yep, he had beaver on his property. That was about 9 years ago. Today, beaver can be found throughout Crawford County, albeit in isolated pockets. In Ohio, they are found in almost every county with an estimated population of around 27,000. This is a great success story, considering the dubious end that almost befell the beaver. Without going into the history of the fur trade, just know that men fought and died for hundreds of years to trap beaver, putting them on the brink of extinction.
Now that we have the beaver back, they are sure to raise some eyebrows. Some eyebrow-raising will be to this effect: Oh, look, those beavers are just so busy making that lodge, and the little ones are sooo cute! Why on earth would anyone want to harm them? Other raised eyebrows will be followed by: Those beaver are making a mess of my woods. They backed water up into the field and the farmer can’t get in to plant. They’re also chewing on my timber I was planning on selling. They even have –insert road name—flooded.
While beavers and people may not get along in some situations, beavers are a noted keystone species. Keystone species are those that have a large ecological impact, determining what kind and how many other organisms can live in an environment. As beavers alter the landscape, they provide new habitats. A once forested small stream will change into an open meadow-type area with a wetland in it. This attracts numerous other organisms, different than those that would only live in the forest. This interspersion of habitats is great for species diversity, plant and animal alike.
So how do you know if beavers are present near you? Beavers need food, and to acquire food they must chew down trees. Most trees won’t be large; they’ll be smaller trees, usually ½-4 inches. The left-behind stump will have chips of wood at its base, will have a point (hence, the punji stake-look), and be roughly 6-12” tall. There will also be small and medium sized sticks with its bark chewed off, and with the same point as seen on the stump, lying in the water. If the beaver is a resident, it will need a home. In a river, the home will usually be a burrow in the bank with an underwater entrance. If the beaver takes up residence in a still body of water, they will construct a lodge of sticks. This lodge will be at least 6’ diameter and 3’ tall. Of course they definitely get bigger. Lastly, they may create a dam. Some dams are small, but some can extend over 100’. The record length in Ohio is 1,200 feet!
For those not familiar with beaver sign, there are sights out there that can make one think there are beaver around, but they aren’t. Muskrats make a domed hut similar to beavers, but muskrat huts aren’t as big and are made from cattails instead of sticks. Log jams can also a have beaver dam appearance. Just as the muskrat hut, the tell-tale sign will be chewed and peeled sticks. Log jams are also happen-stance in construction, whereas beaver dams are neatly constructed.
As beaver numbers continue to increase, so are the chances of human-beaver conflict. As much as some may not want beavers around, they are here to stay. Decreased numbers of people trapping and proper wildlife management won’t allow for a repeat of beaver endangerment. In Crawford County, beaver and their sign have been reported from most parts of the county: Little Scioto, Olentangy, and Sandusky Rivers; Pines and 98 Reservoirs; wetlands outside of Crestline and Galion. While beaver aren’t residing in the park, a hike along the Sandusky River in Lowe-Volk can yield sights of telltale beaver activity. Be on the lookout for the sign of the beaver in a body of water near you.