Once nearly eliminated in North Carolina, beavers have returned to most of the state's watersheds through 50 years of restocking. Beavers are unique in their ability to modify the environment for their own needs by constructing sturdy dams of sticks, leaves, and mud. Although beavers are negatively viewed in some situations due to the flooding and girdling of trees, their presence may ultimately be beneficial. This publication reviews benefits of beavers and methods to manage and enhance beaver ponds. Beaver Ponds Old and New Beavers typically construct a series of dams to raise water levels to access food sources safely by swimming instead of walking.
Most beavers depend on their ponds as places to meet all living, food, and protection needs.
Beaver ponds range in size from less than one acre to well over 100 acres, depending on the topography of the bottomland and the availability of food sources. Beavers will use and expand a pond area until the food supplies are exhausted, usually up to 10 years or more. After abandoning a pond site, beavers move into other areas and establish new living sites, leaving the old pond to silt in and eventually return to its original forested state. Provide foraging and nesting areas for bats, songbirds, owls, and hawks Enhancing Beaver Ponds Enhance beaver pond benefits by using a drainage system to manage the level of the pond. Inexpensive, effective drainage systems can be built using logs, PVC, or aluminum irrigation pipe.