Are you interested in a sustainable solution to managing human-beaver conflicts? Learn about RRCA's recent beaver baffle project below.

The RRCA’s three Conservation Areas provide opportunities for human visitors to step into nature, and they also serve as ideal habitat for hundreds of different animal species. While this rich wildlife diversity provides excellent opportunities for nature education and outreach, one species in particular – the beaver – has caused human-animal conflicts at these public green spaces.  

At several sites within the Conservation Areas, beavers regularly construct and maintain dams which raise water levels upstream. While these beaver dams are a natural component of the area’s ecosystems and help create and maintain desirable wetland habitat and hydrology, they can sometimes lead to flooding.

In several sites at the RRCA’s three Conservation Areas, the impacts of beaver activity have negatively affected visitor experience by causing regular flooding of nature trails. Trapping and dam breaching, in several of these situations, has been found to be an ineffectual approach, as other beavers will quickly take over and repair the dam. 

To foster and demonstrate a more harmonious co-existence between beavers and the tens of thousands of visitors who visit the RRCA’s Conservation Areas each year, the RRCA has installed a number of beaver baffles at its Conservation Areas.

Beaver baffles are a simple and efficient way to resolve human-beaver conflicts at the Conservation Areas while also maintaining appropriate wetland conditions. This process involves making a notch in a beaver dam and laying down a pipe connected to a cage upstream of the dam. The beavers then repair the notch while leaving the pipe in place. The pipe ensures that an appropriate amount of water flows through the dam and the cage prevents the beavers from blocking the pipe’s intake while also diffusing the pull of the water’s flow that typically triggers the beavers’ damming instincts – effectively “baffling” them.  

Contact us today to learn if beaver baffles may be a solution to your beaver issues.