State seeking landowners help in locating beavers

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:   ROSEBURG, Ore. – For a limited time, Douglas County residents with a problem beaver on their property can contact the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife which will trap and relocate the animal as part of a scientific study. In the wrong place, beavers can flood roads, fields, and yards, and damage trees while in the right place, they can create habitat for juvenile salmon. Since the end of May, seven beavers have been fitted with radio-tags and released into Rock Creek and Canton Creek in the North Umpqua River basin.

“We have several areas where we are relocating male and female pairs in hopes they will establish populations in the North Umpqua basin,” said ODFW researcher DeWaine Jackson. “We’re tracking them daily to determine if they survive, establish at the release site, and develop habitat structures that are beneficial to fish populations.”

This pilot study is one of several projects proposed by the ODFW Beaver Workgroup, a group of interested professionals who want to learn more about the ecological benefits beavers provide. Possible future projects include a landowners’ incentive survey, a landscape-scale genetic study, and a study of trapping effects on beaver populations.
ODFW will be trapping beavers for a limited time. Area landowners should contact DeWaine Jackson or Terry Farrell at the Roseburg ODFW office, 541-440-3353.

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