FRASER — The town of Fraser is locked in an epic battle with beavers on the Fraser River.
Dams have caused flooding on portions of the Fraser River Trail, closing it for longer than three weeks.
Other municipalities would just exterminate the creatures for damaging a town asset such as the Fraser River Trail, said Town Manager Jeff Durbin. But, according to Durbin, “we take a more friendly approach in this community.”
The town isn’t in the business of beaver brutality, he said, and doesn’t necessarily want to remove all of the beavers from that particular section of the river.
What the town is planning to do is to “strategically remove” the beavers causing the biggest problems.
This process involves bringing in trappers to capture the beavers alive and relocate them, according to Durbin.
The process of live trapping and relocating the beavers also requires the approval of Colorado Parks and Wildlife to ensure that where the beavers are relocated can sustain the animals.
The town will also be looking at how to address the problem over the long term, Durbin said.
While the beavers on the Fraser River have begun to damage town infrastructure through their incessant damming of the river in numerous spots, the town doesn’t believe the beavers are all bad.
The woody debris from beaver dams creates a perfect place to cultivate insect hatches, ultimately making for better fishing, which adds to the work both the town and Colorado Parks and Wildlife have completed to create a better fishery.
