Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation’s Nature Preserves and Natural Resources Division will soon begin wildlife management projects that will focus on the reduction and removal of the beaver populations at Beatty Park and Park Road Park. The purpose of these projects is to prevent further damage to the numerous trees that surround the lakes, to protect the trees surrounding Lake Pointe Hall (Beatty), and to improve public safety. The projects will begin as early as March 2012.
Staff will address the issue by laying wire fencing around shoreline trees to prevent further damage caused by beavers. In Beatty Park, more than 50 trees have already been protected. As a last resort, the County will hire a wildlife damage control agent to set up traps to control the beaver, and captured beavers will be put down.
Beatty Park
A recent survey of the trees within 50 feet of the shoreline surrounding the lake at Beatty Park yielded 196 hardwood trees (4 inches in diameter or larger) that had mild to fatal damage from beavers removing the bark. Scores of trees were chewed so severely that they have fallen or will fall within the next few weeks. Additionally, innumerable smaller shrubs and saplings were cut down along many sections of the shoreline, which places the banks in danger of eroding due to loss of vegetation.
Park Road Park
Park Road Park does not have the same level of activity, but there is currently significant damage to many of the shoreline shrubs and small trees. As such, the department wants to proactively address the issue before it gets out of control. Additionally, the beaver lodge is located on a critical slope and removal will be necessary to ensure the long-term soil stability of the earthen structure.
The North American beaver is our largest rodent species, with adults reaching up to 4 feet long and weighing as much as 60 pounds. They can live for up to 20 years and live throughout most of the United States. Their primary food source is cambium, the soft tissue just below the bark of many hardwood tree species.
Beavers are important members of our wildlife because they help build wetlands, reduce stream erosion, increase biodiversity and, ultimately, help create forests. Depending on the location and size of the population, beavers are typically allowed to do their work unmolested in many of our nature preserves and in some of our parks. However, the extensive damage, concern for public safety and the threat of building damage requires the removal of these specific groups of beaver in Beatty Park and Park Road Park.
For more information, contact the Nature Preserves and Natural Resources Division at 704.432.4531.
