Beaver Conflict Mitigation

Clark Fork Coalition, in partnership with National Wildlife Federation and Defenders of Wildlife, launched a pilot project in 2019 to address beaver conflicts using nonlethal resolution methods. Our program goals include: building greater tolerance for beavers on our landscape, reducing beaver conflicts, and increasing awareness through outreach and education.

Beavers provide many important ecological services including:

increased water storage
habitat diversity and complexity
sediment retention
nutrient cycling
contaminant filtration
fisheries habitat enhancement
increased groundwater recharge

While the benefits of beavers are numerous, some behaviors such as damming and tree cutting pose problems in certain areas. We are selecting demonstration sites to construct devices designed to mitigate negative effects of beavers. Culvert fencing devices prevent beavers from plugging culverts, and pond leveler or pipe devices lower water levels upstream of dams to prevent flooding. Tree fencing protects trunks from cutting, and mature trees as well as groups of saplings may be protected using this method.