Beaver removal project throughout area reaches final stage

Posted Jan 19, 2012 By J.P. Antonacci

EMC News - A project to breach dams along the north branch of the Rideau River in order to drain flooded farmland and prevent future flooding is entering its final stage.

A private trapper contracted by the Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) has cleared 10 km of the north branch west of Bishops Mills, removing 34 beavers and breaching 21 dams at a cost of $2,570.

That leaves $2,430 of the original $5,000 contributed by the RVCA, the municipalities of Merrickville-Wolford and North Grenville, and affected landowners to clear the final three kilometers, the large wetland east of Pioneer Road in Merrickville-Wolford.

"That was the easy 10 kilometres," commented Rudy Dyck of the RVCA. Dyck says the trapper is waiting for "a really good deep freeze" before entering the wetland, which can be difficult to access.

He is unsure of the exact figures, but thinks there are at least four dams remaining to be breached in the wetland.

The agreement to split the cost of beaver removal and dam breaching came out of a June meeting between the RVCA, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), the municipalities, and members of Drain Wolford, a citizens group concerned that piecemeal efforts to breach the large dams along the Rideau could flood private and public land.

The RVCA initially budgeted $5,000 to breach 25 dams along the Rideau in fall 2011, with the conservation authority, each municipality, and the benefitting landowners contributing $1,250 each.

Any funds left over from this initial effort will be used throughout the year "to keep that stretch of creek open so farmers can get their farmland back," Dyck said. "This isn't something that you do and then you're finished forever. It's going to require future maintenance."

Dyck said he has seen reduced water levels along some of the less-flooded areas adjacent to the creek, but expects the wetland won't see a significant drop until the spring.

The RVCA's budget for beaver management increased from $12,000 in 2011 to $18,000 in 2012. That figure includes funding for the north branch project and a similar undertaking in Otter Creek.

It is common for farmers and landowners to bust dams on small creeks wholly on their property, but the situation becomes more complicated when beavers build dams in major watercourses that run through many properties and across municipal borders, Dyck said. He thinks the current collaborative approach to the problem is "good and positive."

"If the landowners have a great deal of interest in improving drainage, and the municipalities approve it, we're certainly willing to become a partner," he said. "We try to work with landowners to solve environmental issues all the time."

Licensed trappers on open contract with the municipalities and the RVCA charge $40 per beaver removed, plus $50 per hour to breach the dams.

A delegation from Drain Wolford appeared before Merrickville and North Grenville councils last spring, complaining that flooding caused by beaver dams had already ruined 65,000 acres of arable land on their farms. They said a coordinated strategy was needed to remove the dams without flooding other homeowners in Merrickville-Wolford, North Grenville, North Augusta and Elizabethtown-Kitley.

At the time, there was some debate over whose responsibility it is to remove the dams. The RVCA contends that homeowners must work with their neighbours to manage the beaver population. Drain Wolford countered that unilateral action could inadvertently flood other properties and might even open up farmers to lawsuits from flooded landowners.

Dyck stressed that the conservation authority will step in when needed, but cannot be counted on to breach every dam and trap every beaver.

"We try to help out in the worst-hit areas. The key message is we can't do it for everybody, everywhere, all the time," he said.

jp.antonacci@metroland.com