We are thrilled to announce that beavers are back -- and this time, they found a perfect place to settle in the ponds at Grace Cole Nature Park.
After observing the pond level rising at Grace Cole Nature Park, our volunteers used a wildlife camera to confirm the presence of at least one beaver.
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| From the LFPSF wildlife camera at Grace Cole Nature Park showing one of the actual beavers living there - we now have verified there are 2. |
The last time beavers were in the news here it was a story of conflict, when "Beatrix" the Beaver began building a dam on Hillside Creek (a tributary to Brookside Creek). Unfortunately, her work threatened to flood the entrance to Brookside Elementary school's parking lot and the playfield.
The neighbors and the Foundation brought in BeaversNW, a nonprofit organization with a mission to help humans coexist with beavers. There was little to be done in that case except relocate "Beatrix" to better habitat, and she is now happily living in the upper Skagit valley.
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| The same type of beaver lives at Grace Cole. From the Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) "Living with Beavers" |
Grace Cole Nature Park, however, is seemingly ideal beaver habitat. We invited Elyssa Kerr from Beavers NW to see the site and she agreed we can just let them be. Usually, beaver ponds reach an equilibrium level, and don't need any further interventions. If the pond levels get too high, we have BeaversNW standing by to help with "pond leveling" devices.
Since beavers are mostly nocturnal, you probably won't see the beavers, but you can see their handiwork from the boardwalk viewing platform. The dam extends to the left across the outlet of the pond. The lodge is harder to see, but is a large dome of sticks across on the west shore.
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Perhaps it would be wise to let beavers colonize Boeing creek pond area and remove the human created pond.
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