Our
goal is a balanced relationship with Lake Barcroft wildlife that
humanely minimizes wildlife nuisance/damage, and protects and
conserves our wildlife and forest resources.
Beavers
are not new to Lake Barcroft. They have had two lodges on the Lake
for many years. They have even built a small beaver dam in a cove
adjacent to the Beach 5 peninsula. Beaver activity has been minimal
on private property. Most beaver activity occurs on the island across
from the inlet of Holmes Run or on the Beach 5 peninsula. When there
is beaver activity on private property it almost always occurs on
lakefront property that does not have a seawall or has only a
partial sea wall. Like all beavers, the beavers at Lake Barcroft are
territorial. They mark their area alerting other beavers to leave the
lake. One beaver family is guarding the Tripps Run inlet and another
family guards the Holmes Run inlet.
First Strategy: Exclusion,
Prevention and Protection
The exclusion,
prevention and protection strategy will protect Lake Barcroft forest
resources and provide some trees and brush for existing beaver
families to repair lodges and feed. This strategy, while protecting
existing beaver families and lodges, will also prevent new beaver
colonies from building additional lodges/habitat on Lake Barcroft.
This strategy contemplates that property owners and the Lake Barcroft
Association (LBA) may implement components of this strategy as the
need arises, i.e. when beaver activity is noticed on the property.
However, property owners who are especially sensitive to wildlife
damage are encouraged to take a proactive approach and wrap trees
and/or erect an exclusion barrier upon notification of this plan.
Although property owners are responsible for
maintenance/protection of their property, LBA and Lake Barcroft
Watershed Improvement District (WID) will attempt to provide an
“early warning” of beaver activity whenever beaver damage
is noted on lakefront property. However, the LBA and WID will assume
no liability or responsibility for the lack of notification of
individual property owners of beaver activity.
v Properties with sea walls: These properties will generally not have
a problem with beavers, but if the property owner has an important
and/or valuable tree, wrapping the tree will protect it from damage.
Many properties with sea walls have already erected fencing to
exclude the Canada geese from the breadth of their property. This
same fencing is also effective in excluding beavers.
v Properties without
sea walls:
Most of these properties have dense brush and tree growth on sloping
terrain. To the extent practicable, barriers may be considered across
the breadth of the property to exclude the beaver.
This barrier must be approved in advance by the Architectural
Review Committee and should appropriately balance the goal of beaver
exclusion with the concern for Lakefront esthetics. Large or
important/valuable trees that grow between the lake and the barrier
should be individually wrapped for protection. When wrapping is not
possible, the tree may be coated with a mixture of paint (matching
tree color) and fine sand.
v LBA Support: The LBA will
provide guidance to property owners who wish to construct beaver
exclusion barriers on their property or wrap trees for protection.
The Lake Barcroft Architectural Review Committee will develop sample
specifications to simplify and expedite the review process.
If the existing or
new beaver families attempt to build new lodges, these lodges will be
taken down as soon as they are noticed encouraging the beaver to
leave the lake. Property owners should advise LBA or the WID when
they see evidence of new beaver construction activity. The LBA will
obtain any necessary permits required to remove the new beaver
lodges. The WID upon request of LBA will carryout the lodge
demolition, making a reasonable effort to assure the safety of the
affected beavers.
Second Strategy: Harassment
The harassment strategy is intended
to encourage the existing beavers to leave the lake. This strategy
will be initiated if unacceptable tree damage is found to occur after
taking all measures to exclude the beavers and protect valuable and
important trees.
v Demolish/disturb
existing lodges: After making reasonable effort to determine that the
lodge is empty, the existing lodges will be taken down. This will be
done with appropriate safeguards for the beavers’ safety.
v The WID and LBA
will watch for other lodge building activity. These new lodges will
also be taken down.
v The LBA will
obtain any necessary permits required to remove the existing beaver
lodges.
Trapping: Although trapping
of beavers has been carried out on the Lake in previous years, this
has proved ineffective and is an inhumane method of wildlife conflict
resolution. More than half of the currently damaged trees on the lake
were damaged when trapping was used to eliminate the beaver. Also,
the Commonwealth of Virginia now requires that all trapped beavers
must be killed on the spot or die in the trapping procedure. Steel
jaw leg-hold traps are too dangerous to be used in populated areas
and the other methods are particularly brutal, leaving the beaver to
struggle for hours in a snare, possibly witnessed by children or
drawn into the water to drown. Beavers can stay under water for up to
12 minutes struggling to free themselves from the trap until they
finally succumb. Therefore, the LBA will not allow trapping of
beavers on Lake Barcroft common property including the Lake. Also,
the LBA discourages trapping of beavers on private property within
Lake Barcroft because it is inhumane, ultimately ineffective and
contrary to our strategy of taking advantage of the territorial
behavior of the existing beavers that will protect the lake from new
beaver intrusion.
Wildlife is part of our common heritage. All Lake Barcroft residents benefit from common ownership, while at the same time assuming a shared responsibility for the wildlife’s well being. The LBA and WID recognize that beavers are a natural component of the environment and they contribute to the quality and diversity of a natural habitat.