Gunnison news-champion., 1924-02-08
PUTTING BEAVERS To WORK
SAVES UNCLE SAM BIG Sun
Miami, (FloridaJ Herald

hIAfnl. luFlNA) Herald
Because Of his dam building procli-
vitIes which provide much farm Lam
Of Colorado with thousands Of acrs
feet Of water, the beaver has been of
:icially accorded high rank as "eon.
server Of water" by the United Stat
Forest Service. The busy beaver ha
won official recognition for his indus
Try and has been given Il place as I
major economic factor in the state
farming.
Formerly the beaver got little cred
Il for his painstaking and thorough ef-
forts in constructing the strong and
wcll-built water holders.
Lately. however. thru research car
ried on by the United States forestry
service. definite status has been given
the little animal as a conserver OF
water that can be used in the normal
ly dry period Of late summer and eariy
fall TO irrigate farm land which other.
wise might be nonproductive.
A scheme has been worked out and
is actually in operation whereby bea-
vcrs are transferred from parts OF
the state where they abound to otie
sctions where they are unknown and
need is felt for their work as dam
builders.
In order to obtain definite data O
survey Of the beavers activitis was
conducted in the Cochetopa National
Forest, in the San Luis valley, western
Colorado.
Fred Agee, national forest supervis-
or, under whose survey the survey was
carried on, declared it was established
that beaver dams in the Cocnetopa
forest impounded total Of s27.34
acre-feet of water capable Of iTrigat-
ing 5000 acres of land.
This survey was carried out on Sill
Yer Creek, Agee said, where in a dis
tance Of five and three-quar rters miles
a total of i6 beaver dams We're dis
covered.
THE i6 dams impounded from one
forticth to five and one-half feet OF
water each. We did not take into ac-
count numerous small dams constructs
ed in willow flats, or the many ramifi-
cations which We're auxiliary to the
main dams. The average distance be-
tween dams was ten chains, although
they generally occurred in groups"
Agee said that n total of 10000
Colorado statute inches Of water would
probably be available every q hours
from the beaver dams in Silver creek.
"lf an equal number of concrete
dams were constructed in the same
places" he said, "the cost would be
approximately $4,000"
Agee declared the beaver dams as
constructed of sticks, mud and rocks
he said. "are thoroly built, and are
extremely hard to pull apart, and such
is the industry of the animal that a
rent made in one is quickly repaired
by the animal"
Agee said the beaver is q cheap liv-
ing animal, never touching meat IN
summer; roots and aquatic plants
form his bill of fare, while in winter
he eats the bark of trees that he has
felled. His favorite food is aspen and
willow. The animals live in colonies
resulting in enormous constructive
work.
The beaver cannot be trapped under
the law, according to Mr.. Agee, unless
they are discovered operating in ir.
ngation bitches.
The forest service, however, in ord.
er to carry out its plan of transferring
the animals to new territory where
their industry can be turned to the
benefit Of humanity, is permitted tc
trap beavers, using an immense wirt
netting.
Beavers" Mr.. Agee said, have
been known to cut down trees eighteen
inches in diameter. When the tree i.
felled the branches are first stripped
then the animals sharp teeth are bro,
into play, and the tree trunk is GU,
into lengths Of about three feet, which
with the branches, are carried dowr
stream where the dams are construct
ed to the animals winter home undel
the bank"