Community Articles (listed by posting date)
General News · 4th December 2025
Autumn B.Morgan
Beaver Activity and Coexistence Strategies
Have you observed beaver activity lately? We’d love to know about it!
I am currently a student, near completion of my schooling, at the Beaver Institute! I am studying beaver biology and beaver co-existence and I feel fortunate that there are beaver families active on island.
Beavers keep our lakes and water systems replenished and healthy. Especially in the face of climate change and eutrophication; excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen. Beavers are keystone species!
Their presence and productivity:
• Increases biodiversity
• Sequesters carbon
• Filters contaminants from water systems
• Stores water and re-charges ground water
• Regulates drinking water aquifers
• Creates a buffer from wildfires
• & so much more!
With that said, beaver conflicts can happen. Beavers are currently active around the lakes doing their important work. While they are busy working to create habitat, damage to human infrastructure can result if strategies are not implemented proactively.
Luckily, there are many proven beaver co-existence techniques that we can implement to protect human infrastructure, and prevent conflicts from happening; while continuing to support beavers! Some of these techniques require minimal resources and a short amount of time to be effective; such as Tree Protection Fencing!
Co-existing with beavers will safe-guard our local ecosystems and provide climate resilience!
Some techniques include:
• Protection fencing for trees
• Pond Levellers
• Culvert protection fences
• & more.
If you'd like to see some examples of these techniques, my colleagues, my mentors (Miranda Cross, Rewilding Water and Earth and Chris Holtslag, Vanisle Wetlands), and I recently installed some of these beaver co-existence techniques at Kw'as Beaver Pond; with support from FOCI, the SRD and MoTT. Go and go and check them out! Or attend the FolkU public info session this Friday Dec 5th, 12:45pm-2:30pm on site at the Kw’as Beaver Pond!
So, if you observe beaver activity around your home, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Autumn at autumn.focigmail.com. I am keen to support beaver co-existence on the island and would be happy to send you some resources. I can also be booked in for a site assessment and consultation, with support from mentors!
Here are some resources to check out to start implementing proactive tree protection today!
Why Beavers?
https://www.beaverinstitute.org/learn-about-beavers/whybeavers/
Tree Protection:
https://www.beaverinstitute.org/get-beaver-help/tree-damage/
Have you observed beaver activity lately? We’d love to know about it!
I am currently a student, near completion of my schooling, at the Beaver Institute! I am studying beaver biology and beaver co-existence and I feel fortunate that there are beaver families active on island.
Beavers keep our lakes and water systems replenished and healthy. Especially in the face of climate change and eutrophication; excessive richness of nutrients in a lake or other body of water, frequently due to runoff from the land, which causes a dense growth of plant life and death of animal life from lack of oxygen. Beavers are keystone species!
Their presence and productivity:
• Increases biodiversity
• Sequesters carbon
• Filters contaminants from water systems
• Stores water and re-charges ground water
• Regulates drinking water aquifers
• Creates a buffer from wildfires
• & so much more!
With that said, beaver conflicts can happen. Beavers are currently active around the lakes doing their important work. While they are busy working to create habitat, damage to human infrastructure can result if strategies are not implemented proactively.
Luckily, there are many proven beaver co-existence techniques that we can implement to protect human infrastructure, and prevent conflicts from happening; while continuing to support beavers! Some of these techniques require minimal resources and a short amount of time to be effective; such as Tree Protection Fencing!
Co-existing with beavers will safe-guard our local ecosystems and provide climate resilience!
Some techniques include:
• Protection fencing for trees
• Pond Levellers
• Culvert protection fences
• & more.
If you'd like to see some examples of these techniques, my colleagues, my mentors (Miranda Cross, Rewilding Water and Earth and Chris Holtslag, Vanisle Wetlands), and I recently installed some of these beaver co-existence techniques at Kw'as Beaver Pond; with support from FOCI, the SRD and MoTT. Go and go and check them out! Or attend the FolkU public info session this Friday Dec 5th, 12:45pm-2:30pm on site at the Kw’as Beaver Pond!
So, if you observe beaver activity around your home, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Autumn at autumn.focigmail.com. I am keen to support beaver co-existence on the island and would be happy to send you some resources. I can also be booked in for a site assessment and consultation, with support from mentors!
Here are some resources to check out to start implementing proactive tree protection today!
Why Beavers?
https://www.beaverinstitute.org/learn-about-beavers/whybeavers/
Tree Protection:
https://www.beaverinstitute.org/get-beaver-help/tree-damage/
Photo credit: Silly online memes