Leave it to a beaver's plight to rally Tiny Township residents.
Julia Aronov led the charge in support of the Canadian symbol by bringing the issue to council at a recent meeting.
“We had this situation with the beaver living in Hull's Creek,” she said. “He had been left alone for six months and in the fall his dam started to be destroyed.
“As the township was doing it, it really affected the area negatively. We have a lot of animals in there and pollinating insects in the area. For next year, I highly doubt the area is going to bloom the way it bloomed this year because it's been gutted.”
She said she wanted the township to figure out a way to work with wildlife, instead of constantly destroying something that is inconvenient.
“They don't have a choice for where they're going to live,” said Aronov. “I think this is something the township needs to look at, especially when the local community is willing to find eco-friendly and wildlife-friendly solutions.”
But engineering manager Jean-Francois Robitaille defended the township’s actions.
“We do have to remove them just to keep the water flowing,” he said, adding beaver dams on this particular water course haven't been dealt with since the '60s, leading to a chunk of Tiny Beaches Road South being washed out.
“There's a reason we get rid of them. We have nothing against beavers. We're digging up their dams with an excavator. We're not affecting their lodges, just the dams they create to flood some areas where they can fish and live.”
Deputy Mayor Steffen Walma, who is the municipal representative on the local environmental association's board, appreciated Aronov’s efforts.
“Thank you for providing some solutions as well,” he said, referring to the list of options the fellow Tiny resident had included in her deputation package to council. “I think it's something we can definitely look at.”
Some of the ideas in the documents Aronov sent in included culvert guards or grills, culvert fences, or wire mesh culvert extensions.
“We have tried some of these measures in the past but are open to other options,” said Robitaille.
A decision around the matter will be made at the January committee of the whole meeting.
