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Q:Wait — because beavers are defecating in the pools?

A: Well, yeah. They don’t crap on the land, they crap in the water. They add incredible nutrients to the water system, and these nutrients not only support lots of plants in the pond itself but also downstream. They’re also incredibly important for retaining water, which we know is becoming a scarce commodity. Studies have shown that in terms of their effect on hydrology, beaver ponds help maintain water tables. In some areas, the water table drops a metre or more during droughts. By a beaver pond, it’s only a few centimetres.

They have the most versatile tail of any animal in the world

Q:The beavers must be relieved to hear they’re finally getting some legitimate cred. But tell me about this long-held image of them being a total pest. I grew up in the Ottawa Valley and remember hearing about farmers blowing up dams because of the flooding.

A: Exactly. There’s a balance there. Certainly in some areas where beavers are flooding farmland, it’s a different situation than an area where they’re not interacting with humans. There’s always this conflict going on whenever animals come back into the urban environment, but then again don’t forget we displaced them originally.

Q:Are you allowed to blow up beaver dams anymore?

A: Yeah, if the beaver is flooding roads or flooding farmlands, the owner of the property or farmland has full licence to deal with the beavers. If the land owner is smart enough, the pond can be used to his advantage – it could be a watering hole for cattle. Now they’ve developed these incredible flow systems they call beaver baffles that can be used to control water levels so they don’t get to the flooding point.