Beaver damage, can I save my tree?

[oniac]

I have a tree about 24 inched in diameter that has just been girdled by a beaver. The bark is completely gone all the way around except for about a six inch section. What can I do to save the tree. It's roots are mostly underwater. Is there something I can apply (paint on) to give it a chance?

 

[NYCHA FORESTER]

Sounds like its toast to me......sorry for the bad news.

 

[Full Skip]

Toast was the word I was going to use too. Trapping the beaver and making a hat out of him is my advice. You don't want to lose more trees.

 

[smokechase II]

beaver fever

Some tree species will survive with only a small percentage of the cambium left intact.
Some others will survive their roots being submerged by dam building beaver guys. I'm assuming that the underwater thing you mention is related to further beaver activity.

Pretty sure that the two for one events here are a done deal. No hope regardless of species. Can't go back in time.

To prevent further beaver damage, trap and relocate or wire mess wrap the tree bases you want to save from future destruction. Don't use chicken wire, get serious about it.

Dem beavers is good eatin'. Don't get mad, get even.

 

[coveredinsap]

Uh, beavers are good for the environment. They create habitat for wildlife, both flora and fauna....trees included. It's not the beaver's fault, he's just doing his job...and you've got to break a few eggs to make an omlette.

Beavers are called a 'keystone species', and were regarded as the 'sacred center' of land by American Indians, FYI.

http://www.beaversww.org/beaver.html

If you read the article, you'll see that beavers actually create healthier woodlands.

How to protect trees from beavers:

http://www.beaversww.org/Protect Trees.html

 

[oniac]

beaver trouble

Thanks all for the replies. I hate to lose this tree. It's on the banks of the CT River and is our "rope swing tree" my kids grew up with it. The river was high for a couple of weeks which is how the beaver got to it. We aren't usually bothered by the beavers in this particular area. Any hope out there?

 

[Newfie]

coveredinsap,

you are welcome to come to Mass and take as many of the rats with you as you want.

 

[coveredinsap]

coveredinsap,

you are welcome to come to Mass and take as many of the rats with you as you want.

Huh? I don't get it. And I'm not Catholic.
Regardless...
Being a history major, you must have missed those days when they taught things like.... what happened when this country didn't practice sustainable logging, and the importance of the beaver on the forest ecosystem.....that kind of stuff.

 

[Grace Tree]

Mass a chu cetts

I think he means Massachucetts

 

[coveredinsap]

I think he means Massachucetts

LOL! Thanks, that certainly makes more sense! (Note to self: People still use 'Mass' rather than 'MA' to abbreviate 'Massachusetts'.)

 

[rebelman]

As long as the tree is not completely girdled, there is much hope. I work or play on rivers all the time, and I see many trees partially girdled like you describe that are fine. I would guess there is some compromise to the strength of the base. Yes, wrap the base of your trees in wire up to a couple feet. Yes, beavers are important for water conservation. I love beaver(s).

 

[Newfie]

Well, "carpenter extraordinaire", when in Mass we say "I'm from Mass" not Ma, are you from Cali or Ca? When we write it in an address or whatnot we use MA.

Having been a history major certainly doesn't preclude me from being knowledgable in environmental issues and sustainable forestry. Like I said, come to Mass, a state where beavers became sacrosanct in 1995 and see what good they have done for the health of the forests. Beautiful stands of hardwoods 4 feet deep in backed up beaver pond water is doing little to promote forest health. Oddly enough after the wet rats gnaw off the good bits they move on to the next tree. After sitting in the beaver created environment for a time the trees do the strangest thing, they all die and fall down.

I'm not against beavers, but I am surely against unchecked and uncontrolled beaver populations. I suppose when the local stream backs up and fills up the basement of an enviro-whacko, then maybe they will change the laws to allow for moderation.

Are you sure your Stihl dealer was the ****?

 

[coveredinsap]

That's funny....beavers were here long before man arrived and the forrests didn't seem to have been aversely affected by them over the course of thousands and thousands of years. Why do you think that is? Do you think that maybe the beavers girdle trees that they may want to die in order to maybe thin the forest or improve the habitat in some other way not readily apparent to humans?

Maybe the beavers are the original 'forresters' of mother nature. In other words, they've been tending the earths forests since back before the time humans were still trying to decide what leaf was good to wipe their arse with. Ever think of that?

To assume that as humans, we've got a handle on everything that is occurring around us is....rather foolish, IMHO.

And no, if a beaver dam flooded my basement I'd look for a solution...if at all possible, that accommodated both myself and the beavers. I certainly wouldn't immediately advocate killing it simply because it's 'in my way' or 'doing something I don't like'. Cripes already.

 

[moss]

Big brown rats: take a bow

Covered'nsap, it's a favorite pastime in Mass., everytime something starts doing well people start calling them "rats", doesn't matter if it's deer, moose, turkeys, bear, coyotes or fishers. It's a perverse habit handed down from generation to generation. Mass. has gone through a major conversion of agricultural land back to forest over the last 60 years or so. Everything's coming back strong with the forest, pretty soon they'll be calling trees rats. The other thing people forget is that before europeans landed in good old Mass the landscape was fluid, beavers dropped trees, made ponds and drowned chunks of woodland. Beavers aren't sacrosant, they're just part of the landscape, they're here to stay as long as there's woods and rivers. It has nothing to do with "enviro-wackos", it's reality. By the way, ever fish a beaver pond for native brook trout? Sweet! Next time you see an old beaver meadow with standing dead trees filled with Great Blue Heron nests you can thank Mr. or Mrs. "I'm a Rat" Beaver. Love those big brown rats! Yep I grew up in and live in Mass.

I'm sorry about the favorite tree damaged by the beaver. A tree can be taken down by wind, struck by lightning, eaten by fungus, chewed to powder by beetles etc. etc.. If the tree doesn't make it plant 6 more for your great grandchildren to swing off of. I was just looking at a Lombardi Poplar hybrid the other day that was tall!!! only ten years old. Plant a few of those by the river and you'll be swinging off one in no time.
-moss

 

[lookingtoplant]

I love beaver(s).

Most of the guys here will attest to that I think.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Do a google search on "Bridge Grafting".

 

[Newfie]

I'm certainly not advocating wholesale slaughter of the beaver population, however putting forth what was and isn't anymore isn't the solutuion to the problem. If we are going to let the beavers repopulate at astounding rates, then it is time to reintroduce the big predators to naturally check their populations.

Sap, at the moment, there are no "solutions" offered to the problem. Lengthy DNR applications with years of red tape to allow a dam to be breached or altered, to allow for beavers to be trapped and moved and of course you can't kill them either.

Beavers were here before us, so were the Indians, maybe we should give the beavers reservations with tax free casinos?

There needs to be a sensible middle ground that is predicated upon conservation, rather than preservation.

I love the fact that I have bear,moose,deer, coyote, fisher cats, bobcat,mink and beavers on my property, but it would piss me off if the beaver population grew so big that all I had left was flooded woodlands and beavers. Not so diverse in my estimation. I've seen it happen to others.

 

[coveredinsap]

...maybe we should give the beavers reservations....

I've had reservations about beaver many a time.

And would a date with an escort service qualify as a "beaver reservation"?


---------------------
"Gee Ward, you were a little hard on the beaver last night!"
--June Cleaver--

 

[Trinity Honoria]

"Nuisance" beaver trappers...

not sure if this is the thread to put this, but saw this in the news this morning:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060416/ap_on_bi_ge/beavers_mean_business

 

[Mr.]

Eliminate the predators and watch the population grow.

Most environmentalist do not appreciate the fact that we, mankind, will never understand the delicate balance that we toy with.

Fred