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February 3, 2010

Beavers posing problem on trail

By Debbie Wachter Morris

Eager beavers that have built dams along the Stavich Bike Trail may become angry beavers if the county stops them.

But the Lawrence County commissioners are undecided about how to remedy a problem of the animals building their structures up against a newly installed culvert pipe.

Doniele Andrus, the county�s greenways and trails coordinator, asked the commissioners Tuesday for money to hire Crit R Done, a licensed nuisance wildlife control company in Pulaski, to relocate and possibly kill some of the beavers that are causing the problem.

Improvements were made to the Union and Mahoning township sections of the Stavich trail last year, including installation of a new culvert pipe to control drainage. If the pipe keeps plugging up from the beaver dams, the trail will flood and eventually the pipe will erode, Andrus explained.

When the spring thaw arrives, the dam will wash away and fill in the culvert pipe with debris, and will block the water from flowing through it, she said.

The beavers have built dams in that locale twice and the county has removed them. However, if the beavers are not removed, she said, they will keep rebuilding the dam.

Andrus, who noted she has spoken with Wes Osborne, a trapper and owner of Crit R Done, said the planning staff wants to have the beaver colony relocated.

The animals cannot stay in the same watershed or they will find their way back to their native location, she explained.

Osborne�s intent is to trap the four �soldier� or worker beavers during the current trapping season that ends March 31. Then the rest of the colony � the grandfather, mother and young � will be moved to another watershed, with the help of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, she said.

She pointed out the cost of beaver pelts is down from $15 per fur to $2.50.

Commissioner Steve Craig asked Andrus how the planning department intends to pay for the relocation effort. She said there is no funding in the maintenance line item, so the money would have to come from the general fund.

After the meeting, she said Osborne�s cost will include a $250 fee to set up the traps, then $75 each time he gets a call that a beaver is caught in a trap.

Craig suggested Andrus put out the word to people who want to trap the animals and might do it for nothing during the season.

�People don�t eat beaver, do they? They just trap them, and ...� he asked, then added jokingly, �I say we harvest them and make them into hats.�

Andrus pointed out that to kill the soldier beavers and relocate the rest of them is the only way to get rid of the problem. That would involve trapping them under water where they would drown, she said.

To relocate them during the winter would be fatal to them anyway, she said, noting, �They would not survive the relocation.�

Craig said he is reluctant to spend money to have the beavers removed if a trapper can find some value in them. He suggested the commissioners delay making a decision on the matter until they can discuss it further.

Dennis Robbins, a New Castle resident who regularly attends the commissioners meetings, suggested they contact the Lawrence or Mercer County Federation of Sportsmen�s Clubs to find out if there are any licensed fur-takers who are interested in trapping the beavers.

�More than likely there would be people willing to go in and take them�

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