I’m wondering if anyone knows what beavers do once they have created their perfect ecosystem. There is a spot that used to be dry and just a small creek at one point and now they have like seven damns and have totally backed everything up to the point it’s at now (which is like a 7 acre pond/lake and wet boggy/cattails all the way around it. It’s a huge area. These beavers have never been trapped or controlled in anyway since the dawn of time. There are hundreds of “fingers” that come out from the pond that I’m guessing they used to use to go get more food since they have depleted any nearby food. There never seems to be any fresh sign anywhere and I was wondering what u guys think? It seems like they have created everything they have always wanted, do they now move on? Do they still live in their environment they have just created even tho food may now be scarce? Thoughts?...

Up here, beavers will move into an area, build dams, lodges, and feed piles, then migrate away once they have eaten available food supply.

If you're not seeing fresh sign, I'd say they are either gone or they are going a long way for food.

Jim

So they did all that work, rearranged the whole terrain, and moved on?! I wish I had a crack at them back when they were active. I should also add that it’s completed isolated and only connects to a Great Lake which they don’t have any interest in I wouldn’t think

"So they did all that work, rearranged the whole terrain, and moved on?!"

Yeah, that's what they seem to do up here. If you're dealing with a lake of any size, they may just go elsewhere on the lake.

Jim

If your laws permit make a hole in the dam about 2 feet deep and 2 feet wide. That will be large enough in 24 to 48 hrs to start dropping the level of their impoundment. If they are still there they will patch up the whole. If they do that, start scouting for where they are in that impoundment area. That will save you a lot time in initially scouting. If they don't fill it in in a couple days … start moving up stream, looking for them.

Garry-

what actor said , is right , maybe just one old beaver in there ,is water leaking through the dam

Ya the bachelor don’t usually leave much sign. May be difficult to caught as well. I’ll look for turds on the bottom along the dam. Wouldn’t waste too much time there. Trapping is more fun around sign

By creating a perfect ecosystem for themselves, they destroy another ecosystem. My area was pretty much beaver free in the 50’s and early 60’s, all the creeks , brooks, and rivers were pure enough to drink from and teamed with native brook trout. After 50 years of a beaver population explosion, they have destroyed the water quality to the point where the brook trout population has been decimated. Let alone all of the productive timber land they flood and road culverts they plug.

It's all a Big Cycle ...they're not destroying any habitat; but creating a different form of one. Where you are now in that cycle I couldnt tell unless I'd explore it myself, but there is most likely beaver still there.
In the Spring you won't find the sign you would in the late summer, fall. At this time of year the whole world is they're salad bar.

When I lived in Wisconsin I found Two separate colonies of beaver that never cut wood after building their ecosystem . They subsided on Lily roots solely. Trapping them at first was a challenge. I had success with 330's in their deep chanels and in the winter with white roots on the triggers.

No water is leaking through the dam

Good otter location

I have trapped areas like some you have mentioned. You can trap year after year and maybe pull a couple out each year which I always thought were the juveniles that were passing through. If you ever catch the 1 big male that is there he might be a big toad of a beaver.

That sounds exactly like this and this spot is where we deer hunt and I’ve heard it used to be regular boots and just hop the creek and carry on. Now it’s - near hip boots, chest waders, or a brutal walk to go all the way around. There is like 100 yards of red brush/grass/cattail stuff before u actually get to the pond. The closer u get the deeper it gets. Makes for scary walking, I’ve busted through in the winter and went up to my chest in one of those “fingers” I was talking about. Very cold and scary

330 trapper- this is an interesting observation, can anyone else agree with this or back up 330s findings? I’m not doubting u just curious if other ppl have noticed that as well. If I were to ever set them it would be through the ice cause that’s the only time I’m ever there (for deer hunting). The white roots on the trigger... would I want to put that near the lodge, in a run, or would any old spot work and they will find it? What would be a good “micro” location to put one of the “root on the trigger” set

This is what I notice here. Also I find here big older lodges with plenty of food source around that have been abandoned. My thought is there are for whatever reason beaver that have died in the lodge so the rest abandon. Speculation on my part, I sure could be wrong.

Osky

Not really sure why they do what they do but they are "DELICIOUS".

Yes they r delicious! I need to trap more so I can fill my freezer! Food for me and bait for fisher

Fried tail for breakfast.

Osky

I have observed many times what 330 said. I have trapped beaver in places where there isn't a tree in sight. After the 1st cold snap see if any sign appears.

About this time of the year here in AK beaver are hard at work making the feed piles that will get them through winter. A fresh pile of greenery underwater near a lodge is a sign there are indeed beavers there, even if you don't see another sign of them. I used to find this situation on fast streams and rivers here in AK. On the outside of bends, where the water was deep and slow, beaver build a house that is half-lodge, half-bank den. And don't attempt to dam the creek. The den may look old and half rotten, but if there is a feed pile, there are beaver there.

Osky, I speculate about that too. My speculations vary in likelihood, and they are:

Wolves or bears got the beaver.

A trapper wiped out the colony.

They were abducted by aliens that were more interested in large rodents than humans.

I wish that Dobbins fella or some other beaver guru would drop in here and share his/their wisdom.

Jim