Environmental Quality

A Comprehensive Plan for Beaver Management at Lake Barcroft

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.

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

• 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.
• The WID and LBA will watch for other lodge building activity. These new lodges will also be taken down.
• 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.