Cold and clearing

Good Morning Augusta.
This morning it is partly cloudy. High of 39F. Winds less than 5 mph.
Tonight it will remain partly cloudy, then clear. Low of 18F. Winds from the
NE at 5 to 10 mph.
The readings outside right now, taken from my own weather instruments:
a relative humidity of 81% with a Dew Point of 29.6ºF.
The temperature is 34.9ºF with a wind chill of 25.2ºF.
Presently we have Northeast winds between 5.8 mph and 11.5 mph.
Our Barometric pressure is 29.61 and rising with a weather graphic
indicating sun.
We had precipitation of 0.18 inches of rain in this area overnight.
Visibility is 10.0 miles with overcast down to 6,000 feet.
Farmer's Almanac, Pest of the month article
Wild animals are part of what makes nature so magical, and watching them can
be highly enjoyable. While it's important to coexist with animals in
relative peace, they can cause countless problems when they take up
residence in our homes or gardens. In this series, our Wildlife Management
Specialist, Shawn Weeks, will educate us about some common household pests,
and share some strategies for keeping them under control without dangerous
chemicals.
This month we'll look at Castor canadensis, the North American beaver.
*Habitat and History:
The beaver is the largest of all the rodents found in North America. They
grow to lengths of 34 to 36 inches, with tails adding 12 to 18 inches.
Adults weigh in at between 30 and 65 pounds. They have webbed, clawed hind
feet, a paddle shaped tail, which is also hairless and scaled, and thick
brown fur that is insulating and waterproof. Males and females are virtually
indistinguishable in the field.
The beaver's range includes most of the forested areas in North America.
From Alaska and northern Canada, they reach as far south as Central
California and Northern Nevada, Northern Mexico, across the Gulf Coast into
Northern Florida. Beavers inhabit rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, swamps and
wetlands.
Beavers are best known for their ability to build dams, creating new
habitats to suit their needs. At the same time, they provide suitable
habitat for other varieties of animals, including insects, turtles, frogs,
salamanders, ducks, fish, mink, otters, spiders, rails, bitterns, owls, and
flycatchers. Beaver ponds also provide nesting areas for great blue herons
and cavity nesting birds such as wood ducks. These ponds also provide
fishing, canoeing, and waterfowl hunting opportunities for humans.

Beavers create a dam by cutting sticks and branches with their teeth, then
shoving them into the bottom of a stream bed. They then pack mud and other
debris on top, adding more sticks and branches as needed until the flow of
water is stopped…. creating the "pond". This pond provides the beavers with
access to food and protection. Beavers will also dam up man made ponds,
causing problems for landowners. This damming is performed instinctively in
response to the sound of running water.
Contrary to popular belief, beavers do not live in their dams. Instead they
construct teepee-shaped lodges from sticks, branches, and mud, upstream from
the dam. There is a dry chamber in the lodge which creates a place to raise
their young, a cover from the elements, and protection from predators.
Beavers are semi-aquatic mammals. They use their large, flat tails to
balance them when standing, as a rudder when swimming, and as a warning
tool, by slapping it on the water when threatened by other beavers. Fat is
also stored in the tail to use in winter for energy.
Beavers are active year round, primarily nocturnal, and are extremely
territorial. They will not tolerate beavers from outside their own colony,
which usually consists of an adult pair, two to four kits, and two to four
yearlings.
The value of beaver pelts is part of what drove European trappers and fur
traders to explore much of this land that is now the Northern U.S. and
Canada. Beaver pelts became the standard for trading between Native
Americans and trappers, traders, and settlers. Native Americans used beavers
for food, clothing, and medicine. The unrestricted taking of beavers, along
with the deforestation of North America, both caused by European
colonization, pretty much eliminated them from much of their range for a
time. Trapping and relocating efforts by some states in the early 1900s
helped the beaver population to grow and expand to its current healthy
levels.
*Diet:
Beavers feed on leaves, twigs, roots, shoots, and the outer bark of trees
and shrubs. Beavers prefer birch, aspen, ash, alder, willow, and apple
trees, but they will eat any type of tree and shrub if their preferred diet
is not available. During the summer, they will eat water lilies, pond weeds,
sedges, and grasses. During the fall, they create a food cache just outside
the lodge, storing food for the winter.
*Reproduction:
Beavers are monogamous, having only one mate during the breeding season, and
more often than not, for life. Breeding occurs in mid-winter, with a
gestation period of 100-110 days. A litter of two to five kits is born in
May or early June. Kits are well furred and have fully developed teeth at
birth. They begin to eat vegetation at two to three weeks and are fully
weaned at about six weeks. The young remain with the adults until their
second year, when they are driven from the colony, forcing them to find a
mate and establish their own colony.

*Problems, Solutions and Health Concerns:
Conflicts between humans and beavers have grown steadily over the years.
Humans have aggressively encroached on wildlife habitat, while the beaver
population has, at the same time, grown exponentially.

There are two main categories of beaver damage: flooding and tree cutting.
Beaver activity can threaten property, agricultural crops, or public health
and safety. Their main activity – dam building – can also cause problems for
natural resources, such as blocking fish from migration, and the inundation
and siltation of rare plant and animal habitats. They can also cause
roadways to become flooded by blocking off storm drainage.
There are no known repellents for beaver, and harassment techniques are not
generally effective. The continual removal of dam debris may cause a young,
non-established beaver to leave, but it is rare.
Damage from flooding caused by beaver dams can sometimes be mitigated,
though. Water level control devices may be implemented in certain situations
to reduce flooding to a tolerable level for the landowner, while still
maintaining suitable habitat for the beavers. These devices are installed
with different materials and techniques, but they all follow the same line
of thinking. They all include placing a device, such as a pipe, through the
beaver dam. This allows the dam to stay, and the water to flow. One could
also use a perforated pipe, wooden boxes with mesh bottoms or perforated
aluminum piping. Note: Landowners should consult a professional, as well as
their local wetland commission, before installing water level control
devices.
To reduce damage by beavers to storm drainage systems, try installing a
strong woven wire fence in front of culverts, ten to fifteen feet away. This
will usually cause beavers to build their dam away from the culvert,
allowing water to flow. Factors such as water depth, wetland substrate, and
topography should be considered.
The best way to protect trees and shrubs from beaver damage is to wrap heavy
duty, steel mesh fencing around the base. It must be installed at least four
feet high and at least six inches away from the trunk to be effective.
Another proven method for managing beavers is trapping. This method speaks
more to regulating beaver numbers for healthy populations, though, than it
does to water levels and tree decimation. If you remove all beavers from a
favorable beaver habitat, others will generally move in to fill the void.
The best strategy is to follow the advice above and try to live together in
relative peace.