Beavers once lived across most of Colorado. We had vast wetlands throughout our streambeds from the plains to the high mountains. Unfortunately, by the 1830s fur trappers had emptied our wetlands of this keystone species, forever changing Colorado's landscape and ecology. Though beavers are making a slow comeback in some areas and Colorado Parks and Wildlife considers them a priority species for conservation, many people consider them to be pests. Because they play such a critical role in creating habitat, it is best to coexist with them instead of remove them. 

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Concern #1 - Beavers Cutting Down Large Trees

Resolutions: Beavers eat the bark and leaves of many deciduous trees. They can't climb the trees to access the leaves and bark so they use their specially adapted teeth to chew through the base of the tree and bring them down. Though beavers commonly go for smaller trees, they will occasionally try to gnaw on large, old trees. This can leave the trees weak and vulnerable to falling down or to disease. The best way to prevent beavers from chewing on your trees is to use 2x4 welded wire and t-posts and place a small fence around the base of the tree. If you want to prevent beavers from setting up a dam in the area all together, running a line of hot wire low to the ground around your trees is an option to discourage them from building a dam.

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Concern #2 - There is a Dam and it's Causing too Much Flooding

Resolutions: Beavers will continue to add to their dams as the water begins to flow around them. The world's largest beaver dam is 1/2 mile long and can even be seen from space! Of course you might not want to have the next world record beaver dam on your property but want to keep it at a smaller and more manageable size. This solution will require a bit of work and getting wet, but it's a solution that has worked for many individuals and wildlife managers alike. It's called a Beaver Dam Leveler. It uses a pipe system to help create a drain straight through a beaver dam that the beavers cannot block again. The leveler will ensure that the water in the dam cannot rise higher than it's current level. Check out the external resource below to view the system in detail.  

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Concern #3 - Beavers Chewing on Homes

Resolutions: Though it's not common for beavers to do it, they will occasionally try to chew on homes or deck supports. The same preventative measures apply to this as with large trees. Installing a fence around either the entire home or just around the beams they have shown interest in will prevent them from accessing the area.  

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Concern #4 - Lack of Beavers Has Resulted in Stream Damage

Resolutions: Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) occasionally will allow permits to relocate beavers. If you own a large property and have stream beds where beavers historically existed but no longer live, reach out to CPW to see if you can qualify for a permit. There are also ways to restore the stream bed even without reintroducing beavers including building pseudo beaver dams. Be sure to check with CPW and review local laws to ensure that it is permissible for you to do this prior to starting the project. CPW should be contacted if you are interested in restoring a stream bed to help benefit beavers and other animals as there is a grant available for these projects. You can find out more in the external resources below.