Working with wildlife

              Once nearly eliminated in North
Carolina, beavers have returned to
most of the state's watersheds
through 50 years of restocking.
Beavers are unique in their ability to
modify the environment for their
own needs by constructing sturdy
dams of sticks, leaves, and mud.
Although beavers are negatively
viewed in some situations due to
the flooding and girdling of trees,
their presence may ultimately be
beneficial. This publication reviews
benefits of beavers and methods to
manage and enhance beaver
ponds.
Beaver Ponds Old and New
Beavers typically construct a series
of dams to raise water levels to
access food sources safely by
swimming instead of walking. Most
beavers depend on their ponds as
places to meet all living, food, and
protection needs. Beaver ponds
range in size from less than one
acre to well over 100 acres,
depending on the topography of the
bottomland and the availability of
food sources. Beavers will use and
expand a pond area until the food
supplies are exhausted, usually up
to 10 years or more.
After abandoning a pond site, beavers
move into other areas and establish
new living sites, leaving the old pond to
silt in and eventually return to its original
forested state. Beaver ponds provide a
wide array of benefits:
Number 23
North Carolina
Cooperative Extension Service
North Carolina State University
College of Agriculture & Life Sciences
College of Forest Resources
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Beaver Pond Benefits
Active Ponds
Improve downstream water quality
Provide watering holes for
agricultural and wildlife needs
Supply important breeding areas for
amphibians and fish
Provide diverse wetland habitats
Furnish feeding, brood rearing and
resting areas for waterfowl
Encourage many reptile, bat,
amphibian, fish and bird species
Abandoned Ponds
Furnish snags for cavity-nesters
and insectivores
Fallen logs supply cover for reptiles
and amphibians
Provide essential edges and forest
openings
Supply diverse moist-soil habitats
within bottomland forests
Create productive bottomland forests
Provide foraging and nesting areas
for bats, songbirds, owls, and hawks
Page 2
Enhancing Beaver Ponds
Enhance beaver pond benefits by using a
drainage system to manage the level of the
pond. Inexpensive, effective drainage systems
can be built using logs, PVC, or aluminum
irrigation pipe. The Clemson Beaver Pond
Leveler can be made with PVC pipe, mesh
wire, and an elbow joint. The Clemson Leveler
is effective because it’s intake device is
positioned beneath the water and is caged to
ensure drainage even if blocked by debris or
dam materials. The addition of an elbow and
stand pipe allows for easy water level
manipulation.
The Clemson Pond Leveler
Beaver Pond Management
¨  Break the dam on the downhill side of
the existing channel in the form of a
narrow, deep "V". The initial flow of
water through the dam will help clear
excess dam materials. Place the drain
pipe deep into the break so that at least
10' of pipe extends into the upstream
area. The final level of the pond will be
determined by the height of the
downstream end of the pipe, or the
stand pipe position height.
¨  Drive a metal stake into the end of the
cage to secure it. The 10” drain pipe is
perforated with 2” holes prior to being
encircled by galvanized weldwire fencing.
¨  Install more than one drain per dam on
larger ponds or to accommodate for high
water events.
¨  Check beaver pond drains at least once
a month to insure that the desired water
levels are maintained. Always leave at
least 1/3 to 1/2 of the pond area
undrained during drawdown, as
overdraining may cause the beavers to
seek new areas.
¨  Drain ponds to a level of 1 to 2 feet
annually to promote natural emergent
vegetation and productive moist-soil
areas.
¨  Create "greentree reservoirs" for
waterfowl by drawing beaver ponds
down during the growing season from
March to September; remove drains and
allow water to stand from November
through February when the trees are
dormant to provide feeding and resting
areas for wintering ducks.
Elbow and stand pipe (optional)
8” dia. 40 pvc pipe
Beaver Dam
Pond Side
Intake Device
1” Re-bar
6’ long
3/4” rolled pipe
(160 lb. psi)
3/4”rolled pipe coupling
1/4” x 2” eye bolt
10 inch pvc pipe
8 gauge galvanized wire
tied to eye bolt, threaded
through 1/4” hole drilled
through rolled pipe, and
wrapped to secure wire
cage to the support
circumference = 86”
27 1/2”
Intake Device
6’ - 2” x 4” 12 1/2 gauge galvanized weld wire
8” overlap
Cross Section
N.C. Cooperative Extension Service Working With Wildlife # 23 - Managing Beaver Ponds
Page 3
Habitat Enhancement Tips
¨  Introduce beneficial aquatic plants such
as duckweed and watermeal to new or
refilled beaver ponds.
¨  Broadcast Japanese millet in moist areas
at a rate of 25 pounds per acre beginning
in late June or July. Plant by July 15 in
the mountains and as late as August 14
in the coastal plain. Remove the pond
drain 45-50 days after seeding to allow
the pond to refill and flood the mature
millet for waterfowl. Fertilizer is usually
unnecessary for the first 2 years.
¨  Install wood duck boxes, with predator
guards, to supply and improve nesting
and brooding-rearing habitat in beaver
ponds. Delay pond drawdowns until after
July 1 in ponds with nesting wood ducks.
See WWW # 17 for details on erecting
wood duck boxes and WWW # 21 for
ways to encourage bats in beaver pond
habitats.
Prepared by:
Mark A. Megalos, Extension Forestry Specialist,
Edwin J. Jones, Department Extension Leader,
J. Chris Turner, Extension Associate
Beaver Pond Wildlife
Active Ponds Abandoned
Ponds
Waterfowl Small mammals
Amphibians Deer
Reptiles Bears
Bats Turkeys
Wetland bird species Grouse
Furbearers
(otters, raccoons,
beavers,etc.)
Cavity nesters
Beaver ponds make excellent
wood duck habitat.
Page 4
Other Wildlife Notes Available:
No. 1 - Endangered Species No. 14 - Snags and Downed Logs
No. 2 - Eastern Gray Squirrel No. 15 - Managing Edges for Wildlife
No. 3 - White-tailed Deer No. 16 - Building Songbird Boxes
No. 4 - Songbirds No. 17 - Woodland Wildlife Nest Boxes
No. 5 - Wild Turkey No. 18 - Low Cost Habitat Improvements
No. 6 - Wood Duck No. 19 - Pools for Amphibians
No. 7 - Cottontail Rabbit No. 20 - Hummingbirds and Butterflies
No. 8 - Bobwhite Quail No. 21 - Bats
No. 9 - Ruffed Grouse No. 22 - Owls
No. 10 - Black Bear No. 23 - Managing Beaver Ponds
No. 11 - Raccoon No. 24 - Herbaceous Plants for Wildlife
No. 12 - Mourning Dove No. 25 - SIP Wildlife Opportunities
No. 13 - Wildlife Terms
FOREST STEWARDSHIP
a cooperative program for
improving and maintaining all of the
resources on private forestland
References:
“Clemson Beaver Pond Leveler”: Clemson University, Department of Aquaculture,
Fisheries, and Wildlife, AFW Leaflet #1, Dec. 1991.
Beavers. Bromley, P. and others. Wildlife Damage Management,
N.C.Cooperative Extension Service. AG 472-4, Oct. 1994.
10-94-4M-WWW-23
Cost share assistance may be available through the Stewardship Incentive Program for
these practices. See your Wildlife Biologist, Forester, or Extension Agent for more
information about the Forest Stewardship Program.