Beaver Coexistence In High Profile Airport Drainages

Applying coexistence measures to mitigate the potential risks of beaver habitats in high profile airport drainages.

*location and customer details redacted due to contract terms*

Summary

Drainage is extremely important for safe airport operation, and with the amount of water that falls in the Pacific Northwest, significant time and resources are dedicated to this one element. 

As we know, where there are drainage canals, eventually there will be beavers. The combination of essential drainage and continuous beaver activity has obviously led to a contentious situation for our partner. 

Humane Solutions’ services were procured in 2019 to assess the airport and neighboring ecological area’s collective beaver management issues, as the industry standard of removal and dam pulling was not proving sufficient as a long-term strategy. 

 

Scope

Humane Solutions developed an innovative beaver-coexistence strategy that utilizes our unique methods and technologies to co-exist with beavers where possible and deter them where necessary. 

At the heart of the program is establishing the zero-tolerance zones and the co-existence zones, from there we assess the population and distribution. It is important to determine your ideal relationship with beavers in your ecosystem and work backward.

Leaving beavers in their habitat and installing equipment to ensure water flow and mitigate damage is actually just as efficient and economical as it is humane, the beavers are left to build all they want, but the water flows. Beyond that, the resident beavers ensure no transient beavers move in unexpectedly, as they are highly territorial. 

The Impact

Within one season, a beaver conflict that was entirely random, widespread, and costly has become a predictable, economical, and environmentally beneficial relationship. We are proud of our partners and look forward to furthering the scope and importance of the program.