Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-08-26
BEAVERS A Menace
There Are 10000 in the Adir'
Ondack Region
Drs'r"y Valuable Trccs-tcnscr>n-
tton Commission Fa,ors Revival
81 Trapping with suitable
RrstrtctiOns

ucally extinct IN New York state. To-
day their numbers are so great and their
activity so extensive as to make the
matter of their proper control serious
problem
Inhab,ting the North Woods in num-
pe's estimated at "A round million at the
coming OF the white man I'm 1909 the
beaver came to occupy so important a
position commercially that it was repre-
sented on the seal of New Netherlands
and upon that of the Colony as well as
upon the seals of both New Amsterdam
and New York. The struggle for control
or the new world fur trade that oc-
CURED in the Adirondack region in the
foreDart of the seventeenth century
marked the beginning of the end for the
beaver in that district Up to that time
the little animal had lived on neighbor-
~ terms with the Indians. In fact, the
red men appeared to entertain a super
stitious regard for the beaver-even as
sociating it with the creation of the
world-which may have been responsible,
In part at least for the beavers prac-
teal immunity from pursuit.
This all changed. however, according
to the Conservatlonist. which points out
that a few years after the establishment
of fur trading posts In Canada and the
-. ~
sa, =. ,coe , ~ ioif '''.u s,.e,.
run with trappors, both red and white,
and the slaughter thus inaucurated did
not cease until the beaver had all dis
appeared entirely from the Adirondack.
In 1925 the late Harry V. Radford, who
made special study Of the beaver. esti-
mated there could not have been more
' ,e' NV VS.
'e" "'"''' " '"e
o''iaV" ..S''"'
was w ,.'". Sea' ''". we -
,s va" vi,
s.u Ut" Nv -, -
""o" ','e .,,, :,
~" '''' 'e'" e",,'S .,,t.,
Ne no Upe" 'e""'' W ~
Wv ''"'' o,''ae" oee'e' IS"
,,Ss, - ' .ta,'a,s -, ~
t'oli,t ,oo, .',,i Zoo D.. 49,
.sIs u, '". - ~. s,o,.,, $500
I >, "oa -, -.
poSts anu FI'V' ,o' III" p"'
~, i'Ov 49, ,,oro 40
oiiSei N"''o.' ~, N ~ .m''
CIV co., ,a to,
I anu ,.,ea,,,,,or
.ne N''io'ueoNs' a.t ~ ~. 49, ca,n
Wy n"'o e-''. "
NH Gus 80 $780,,
.,,u, ,o,-
.'e'' VI on" 'N .,'..
I'i' any, ,,,,.h ,,h,oh
i'o' anu .''o ~ sc.
oul,o 'I.e.' u"nne ' a.os.ue,r.,
Gnu ~ 80, ,,tH.,o an,,nai.
can fell and trim n tree with It's teeth
as neatly as a man could do It with an
axe. Trees less than a foot In diameter
seem to be preferred. but beavers dc
not hesitate to attack trees of much
greater size, and If they feel inclined
they can lay waste quite an area Of wood
land in short time.
When laying up their winters supply
they gather freshly cut green twigs
sticks. poles and logs of wood. which
they weight down with mud and stones
on the bottom of ponds and streams
near their houses, to be used for fooc
during tho shut-,n period.
Their well-known dams built pr
uari,v for the object Of creating pond.
deep enough for them to swim In anc
where they NAV dive out of sight fol
nrotac,ior whom uocessarv The dam,
serve the additional purpose of provid
ING sufficient water depth for anchorin,
the winter supply Of food. and they als'
haok nm tho water into the woods wher
the beavers are carrying on their log
u,ng onerations thus permitting then
to float out their logs instead of drag
o,,y tho,r over tha land
"rnterestiur. from the standpoint o
,ri,,,I ipstinct" saws the Conserya
,iorists ",s tho enpineerinr feats an,
go hohi,. of tho hs.var undouhtedl
,ro tho fact remains that with in