AR-News: Ranch makes its peace with beaver colony

[jim robertson]

Ranch makes its peace with beaver colony

CSU wildlife students help show that the big rodents, often considered 
pests, can be useful. At MacGregor Ranch, the beavers are part of a plan to 
regenerate a stand of aging aspen

By Theo Stein
Denver Post Staff Writer

Estes Park - New scientific research is revealing how important beaver ponds 
are to a healthy, diverse environment, but the big rodents often run afoul 
of ranchers and homeowners by holding back water and chewing on trees.

Most ranchers have a simple answer for beaver problems, said rancher Eric 
Adams.

"The joke used to be 'One stick or two?"' Adams said. "The preferred way to 
deal with beavers was dynamite."

Adams, however, has declared a truce with a colony of beavers - and thanks 
to the ingenuity of some Colorado State University wildlife students - is 
reaping the rewards.


full story:
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2211589,00.html



"Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do," "You've seen one redwood, 
you've seen them all." -- Ronald Reagan

"No matter how cynical you get, it's impossible to keep up." -- Lily Tomlin