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Beaver in pond at back part of 40 acres- good or bad

3K views 20 replies 16 participants last post by  Martin Looker 
#1 ·
New owner, 40 acres backing up to 500 acres of Manistee NF to the south and west of parcel. Pine river 1/2 mile in. Just explored a pond in the very back for the first time, very wet and reedy to get to it the last 50 yards... taking a look seems to be a beaver(s) living there.
Is this a good thing? Would it be somehow keeping my pond level too high? I would like it to be dry up to the pond to allow easier access instead of walking thru reeds or swamp. Pond looks to be about 1/2 acre in size.
Didn’t notice any tree damage but didn’t check too far

Let it be or manage?


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#2 ·
Hard to guess...
It's a bit of discouragement for folks approaching from public land maybe.
IF flooding becomes an issue towards the property front, which does not seem likely unless terrain allows it , then it is a problem...

Wetlands add diversity. Never a bad thing.
Beaver can eat themselves out of house and home. A study of what's going on around the pond as far as choice eats , and how far beaver have to travel to get to such might hint of how long they have been around.
Should they move on ,or be removed the pond and it's borders will change with time.
Could be good or not as good depending on your perspective.
 
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#9 ·
Yes I too thought a bit odd they’d put the pond at the very back... good comment about reeds- previous owners didn’t give me much history... my kids would love to ice skate or ice fish that pond in the winter (they did tell me it had bluegill in it)... but the flooding/overflow around it will require me to bulldoze or build up a path to the pond, and not a duck hunter but probably a great pond to learn..

Seems like mixed reviews


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#6 ·
Sounds neat. I’d leave it be.

lots of people seem to think further back is always better. Then wonder why deer always come from neighboring parcels after they’ve over-pressured theirs walking through it.
beavers move in on my stream every few years. But they dam up where it is a steep ravine. They can’t flood too much property there so no problem fo me.
 
#11 ·
Since you back up to public land I would leave it. It will help deter trespassers and line sitters.
That pond may help public land hunters more than the owner if it's close to the line.

I'd put blinds on the property line bordering public since we have a brief description of what's going on. No hunter harassment there, you own it;)
 
#12 · (Edited)
I have one on the back of mine. I fly over once and took pic and it gooes across 4 40 acras sect ions and then turns back to a creek then to a pond again/ It has beaver and otter in it plus ducks and geese nest in it. I like it. The edges of mine are all tags and they are thick. The deer flow thru these on runs that they have in them. I had an old guy trap it when I first bought the land and what I learned from him was take some beavers out but always leave a few there. That has proved to very good info for me all these years. I was told there is trout in this pond but I have never fished it. I know they are in the small reeks that feed it. I saw gill beds in it several years ago alsoThis pond holds a lot of memories for me. My son shot his first ducks and geese there and I taught him how to decoy them in our Chocolate lab made his first retrive on it. He is buried on the land where he made this. In my younger days I use to go back early in the morning and watch the beavers and the otters ply. This is the first place I ever saw them in the wild
 
#15 ·
Beavers can improve some property. let it play out. Their favorite food is young aspen about 4" diameter. Probably moved in because of the trees growing on your property are now that size. So far the Beavers I have had have done more good than bad. They did in 2 months what I had been trying to do for 3 years. Widened and Deepened my ponds. Read about them. They are a resource full animal. Easy to trap if they get out of control.
 
#16 ·
My camp has extensive beaver flooding and as others have pointed out, it can be a real positive or negative. Personally, I like the environment they create, though I wish it was on a slightly smaller scale in my case. Should you let them stay, anticipate awesome wildlife experiences that you'd be hard pressed to encounter without beaver habitat. Plus, I can attest the flooding makes a phenomenal fence and may just provide you with an excellent deterrent to trespassers. On the negative side, in addition to obvious potential for excessive flooding and tree loss, be prepared to surrender that "master of your own domain", thing. At least as it pertains to that specific area. For example, I timbered an area of mature poplar pretty close to the existing pond that regenerated almost over night into young, super thick sapling growth. The deer herd fell in love with it. And because of that, I became real fond of it as well. Unfortunately, a few years later the beaver moved on it and completely devoured it all. 100% gone. Now, that area has become a couple acres of new growth balsam and pine. For my property, that's not necessarily bad, it's just that it was a decision made without my consent. Unsolicited land management so to speak.
 
#17 ·
We have three beaver ponds on our property so I have extensive experience with them. On one hand, they are amazing little creatures and I love the habitat they create, especially funnels and natural fences created by the water. On the other hand.......:mad::mad::mad:. They are destructive SOB's! If left unchecked they would literally flood about 80% of our property.

Several years back, after a couple years of not trapping them, we noticed they were starting to dam up our fields. That being the final straw, we had a trapper come in. He took 13 off that fall and another 12 in the spring.

Doesn't matter how many are taken they always come back!
 
#18 ·
We have three beaver ponds on our property so I have extensive experience with them. On one hand, they are amazing little creatures and I love the habitat they create, especially funnels and natural fences created by the water. On the other hand.......:mad::mad::mad:. They are destructive SOB's! If left unchecked they would literally flood about 80% of our property.

Several years back, after a couple years of not trapping them, we noticed they were starting to dam up our fields. That being the final straw, we had a trapper come in. He took 13 off that fall and another 12 in the spring.

Doesn't matter how many are taken they always come back!
Wow that's a lot of Beaver! how many acres? Is there any Beaver professionals out there that can help inspect/offer advise vs let it play out? (I may have just opened this up for jokes lol)
 
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