Busy Beavers

Day 120: You know what they say: "busy as a beaver," and the ones in Ohop Valley have been busy indeed. You might think that this would be cause for concern at the Nisqually Land Trust. After all, we've gone to some expense to plant trees here, but the fact of the matter is that this is what we were planning for in the long term: that the restoration of habitat would draw wildlife into this former agricultural area. Obviously, it's working. I first noticed a beaver dam upstream of this location two years ago while mapping out a potential nature walk. I'd been seeing evidence of beaver activity for several years, mostly in the form of sapling harvesting. Some larger trees had been gnawed but not toppled, but still nothing over three inches in diameter. While on patrol a few days ago, I counted half a dozen downed trees at least five inches in diameter. I have to admit I don't know a lot about beavers' habits, except that they use branches and small trunks to build their dams. Other than a means to keep their teeth from growing too long, why does a beaver take down a tree too large to drag home? Inquiring minds want to know.