With more trees cut down along the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, beaver presence may be more noticeable—with trees and stumps covered in gnaw marks.
While the Meewasin Valley Authority (MVA) doesn’t keep track of the exact beaver population, the conservation agency doesn’t believe there’s an influence.
“You’ll notice the beaver presence because the trees are getting cut down, and some the larger trees cut down are more obvious, so you become aware of the beavers that are present in our area,” said Jamie Harder, a resource management technician with Meewasin.
Beavers are nocturnal and their teeth never stop growing.
The MVA has a tree wrapping program, to avoid certain trees from being chewed by the rodent.
“The trees that we’ve planted, we don’t want them to be half cut and then fall on somebody. We also want to protect the ones that have been planted purposefully,” Harder said.
At the University of Saskatchewan, by Diefenbaker Place, a large beaver dam is present.
Harder recommends people give all wildlife an “appropriate amount of space.”