Living with Beavers Webinar - Lake Stevens Focus
/
The orange dots indicate known site of beaver activity and intervention across Lake Stevens. The photo is of our WCC crew helping to place a pond leveling device.
In the last several years, there have been more active beaver dams and lodges within the city of Lake Stevens, and Snohomish Conservation District has helped to manage those sites through various actions.
Beavers are one of the most impactful creatures on the environment that we know of, second only to humans. In some cases, their ability to shape the landscape can cause a bit of commotion, but we encourage people to live in harmony with our industrious, buck-toothed neighbors for the greater benefits their presence provides.
Beavers provide critical habitat for wildlife, including juvenile salmon that need spaces to forage and hide from predators. They also recharge groundwater supplies, decrease the severity of downstream flooding in the winter, and increase stream flows in the summer. While some may think beavers interrupt the flow of nature, they actually have a key part to play in the ecosystem.
You can watch our July webinar recording that takes a deep dive into our resident beaver below. If you or someone you know is having a beaver-related issue (chewed trees, flooding or blocked culverts and fish passage), please reach out! We currently have funding through multiple sources for implementation projects specifically for those dealing with beavers.
To learn more about beavers and site visits, please visit here or contact Elyssa Kerr at ekerr@snohomishcd.org.
