Striking a Balance: Living in Harmony with Wildlife in Urban Environments

In developed areas intervention is sometimes needed to achieve a balance between wildlife and the needs of human residents. The conservancy had held an easement on a development built around wetlands when beavers took up residence. For a while, homeowners enjoyed the wildlife and had no complaints. As the beavers increased the height of their dam, basement flooding looked imminent. The conservancy installed a “beaver deceiver” through the dam and below the water’s surface which partially drained the beaver’s lake and lowered the lake level. The beavers were "deceived” because they could not hear the trickle of running water, a sound which triggers beavers to greater dam-building activity. The conservancy continues to watch over the tenuous balance, while homeowners look out on a wetland with eagles, otters and ever-present herons.