Early Fall Beaver Dam Removal 1 of 4 Musky Bay

Here is another municipal drain full of beaver dams. There are a total of 4 so I will work my way upstream over the next few days. The weather is cooling down.....

[@2sillygrams]

Well done! Thanks for the sound of rushing water! It's so relaxing! 😊

[@geneplumley4136]

Of course! Your welcome. Thanks for watching Cheryl.

[@donna-marieosullivan6590]

Your channel and MStech86 are the best on KZbin for dam removals by hand. Really impressive.

[@geneplumley4136]

Thanks, Donna. It's a lot of fun. I am working on the next video now. I got rained on good! Thanks for all the comments. 🦫 🌊

[@QueenQaraAnna]

Great job. It's satisfying watching these videos and listening to the sound of water flowing.

[@geneplumley4136]

Thanks for watching Qara

[@southernbiscuits1275]

I was amazed at how dedicated you are at doing a complete job as perfectly as you can. You don't see that much anymore. Great work! Glad I subscribed!!

[@geneplumley4136]

Thanks, Southern Biscuits. I get commissioned to remove most of these beaver dams. I try to remove it as much as I can. It's not always possible, though. It depends on the location. They are all a little different. Some I just do to help private land owners. (Un paid) I don't do quite as good of a job on those, 😆. Thanks for watching.

[@janestender6048]

Greetings from Denmark. Love your content. You are det backdrop for my workingdays. They get pretty hectic and you bring preace and calm. Thanks!!

[@geneplumley4136]

Hi Jane. Thanks so much. You are very welcome. You just made my day. I can't wait until spring so I can get out there. We have a few feet of snow here currently. 🥶 🧊 🦫 🇨🇦

[@janestender6048]

@@geneplumley4136 Yah I hear you. Denmark is hit by winter as well. I can't wati for spring to show up.. 🙂 Take care.

[@Avelina-q2l]

Gene you have great nice job,ipray to god take care of you ,godbless ,take care❤

[@geneplumley4136]

Thank you, Avelina. 🙏

[@mariagdaws6083]

Lots of sticks and hard work Thanks for sharing ❤️🦘🦘🦘❤️

[@geneplumley4136]

Hello mariagdaws. I miss summer, lol. Thanks for watching 👍 🦫 🦫 🦫 🥶

[@linato1855]

Hi Maria! I found you here too….Take care❣️

[@rongregor75]

e EXCELENT Technique...Stay Safe and Carry On...

[@geneplumley4136]

Thanks! Will do.

[@fredrussell1823]

Still watching from Texas

[@geneplumley4136]

Thanks Fred, much appreciated.

[@lisavilanova1184]

Great video and excellent job!

[@geneplumley4136]

Thanks Lisa

[@racinewithlotsoftips2518]

Thank you for sharing

[@geneplumley4136]

Of course, thanks for watching. 👍

[@bdeal3499]

ROO ROO YOUR LITTLE BOOT BACK UP THE RIVER,OYES I LIKE TO WATCH YOU WORK.

[@geneplumley4136]

🛶🚣‍♂️🚣‍♀️🚣👀👍💪 Thanks B Deal.

[@lynnduncan6139]

Amazing job! Beautifully done, and impressive drop in water!

[@geneplumley4136]

Thank you Lynn.

[@enriquetaalderete7639]

Great job

[@geneplumley4136]

Thanks for watching Enriqueta Alderete!

[@bobjoncas2814]

lookin' good, nice work

[@geneplumley4136]

Thanks for watching Bob

[@camel1945]

This is super work thanks!!

[@geneplumley4136]

Of course. Your welcome, thanks for all the comments.

[@Sarahbetterlatethannever]

The sound of the water rushing is so peaceful. Have you ever been busted by an angry beaver after tearing down a dam? 🙏🏼❤️

[@geneplumley4136]

It is peaceful. Funny enough though. When you are there, it is so loud you usually can't hear someone talking next to you. Not after but they are pretty active when I first get there. If you look through my playlist you will see one called "Beavers" They come out to see what i am doing and slap their tails to alert other beavers, I am there.

[@Spanosmusic]

Beavers don't get angry about that, (damaging their lodge is another story), they just go back to work and they do so love their work which also keeps them out of other kind of trouble.

[@evelynloftus7471]

I can't believe how high up the boat is since the water dropped I rewound to c the difference f it drops any further u'll have to paddle ur own canoe fab job

[@geneplumley4136]

Hi Evelyn, Thanks. Yes it dropped quite a bit. I have had to walk out a couple times before. Almost had my boat float away before too, 😆. Thanks for watching.

[@beckyirvin2504]

Aerodynamicist if you toss the trunk end of those longer leafy branches they will go farther.

[@geneplumley4136]

I will try, 😉

[@excession3076]

Good job, nice to see you removing so many sticks/branches before you open the dam. Looks so much more professional and a job well done. Hope they pay you well. Whereabouts are you based? I'm watching from the UK so have no idea.

[@geneplumley4136]

Thanks. I try to remove the whole dam. It is easier to remove the bulk of the sticks before the water is running. I am in Ontario Canada. How are the beavers over there? Thanks for watching.

[@excession3076]

@@geneplumley4136 We got rid of beavers in the 16C, now some idiots are trying to reintroduce them. OK, so that's a bit harsh and I dare say there are some small select areas where they could do some good. But, the UK, England in particular, is a very overcrowded country and farmland/farmers are constantly under attack from the green lobby. And I can envisage in the future some poor farmer watching his crops/fields getting completely ruined and having somebody tell him that he and the food he is producing is much less important than some overgrown water rats. (In Europe as a whole, farmers seem to be under attack.)

[@geneplumley4136]

@@excession3076 lol. They can sure cause problems haha. Honestly though. I wouldn't want to live somewhere without them. You figure with what is going on in the world people would recognize the importance of producing/protecting your own food as a country. Farming is hard enough. Too bad it is like that these days.

[@Spanosmusic]

@@excession3076 The only reason you think that way is because you don't know what an important role beavers play in OUR ecosystem. It wasn't enough that the British and Europeans decimated their own beaver populations they had to destroy the natural water system in North America by decimating that beaver population as well. Only in recent years has the negative impact of a lack of beavers become apparent. The recent drought in the UK and Europe and the ongoing drought in the western United States and Australia are no joke. More and more farmers and ranchers in the western United States have come to learn how crucial beavers are and are currently working with local, state governments, universities, the National Parks and the Bureau of Land Management to reintroduce as many beavers back into the water system as fast as possible. Farmers and ranchers have to come to realize that in the short term that by giving up some of their farm or ranch land and allowing beavers to create wet lands to a greater or lesser degree depending on the area, that in the long term they are protecting the rest of their farm or ranch land to remain productive. There are many ways to resolve the problems beavers can cause to agricultural fields, roadways, and preventing them from cutting down trees. Benefits of having beavers include recharging the supply of ground water, mitigating the affects of wildfires, droughts, and floods, filtering water, preventing soil erosion, providing nurseries for fish, creating habitat for a wide variety of plants and wildlife, etc. If you take the time to watch these you might change your view on beavers. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m6bPmqKPrN6laMU There may not be wildfires yet in the UK but now you are getting droughts. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJ23ZoppZ92FhJY kzbin.info/www/bejne/p2Wwnp2jZ5d6n7s kzbin.info/www/bejne/eWOUYpVmo7mqqNE

[@excession3076]

@@Spanosmusic In the UK It's been over 300 years since beavers became extinct, you think the "ecosystems" haven't adapted and created different habitats? Case in point, in my area chalk streams. They would be utterly destroyed by beavers and the UK has 160 chalk streams out of a global total of 210, which is remarkable when you consider the size of the UK and how over populated the country is. The ecosystem they support really hasn't got many choices worldwide. Reintroducing beavers to the UK now (if it were widespread) would almost be as damaging as introducing them to somewhere like Australia. They have no natural predators here, much like what happened with mink and the devastation that caused, and is still causing, in our rivers. And TBH, nobody deliberately destroyed "the natural water system", humans just did and do what they can to survive. Exactly the same as beavers, so what's with the moralising about humans bad, beavers good? Maybe the areas beavers have changed with their dams had existing, thriving ecosystems that are now extinct?

[@CryogenicFire]

I'm not seeing any this dam needs to be removed. It would appear that it's in a remote area where it causes no issues to local infrastructure, so why remove it?

[@geneplumley4136]

I guess appearances can be deceiving. It is a remote area which is why I am doing it instead of heavy equipment. There is a bridge in danger just up stream which you will see in the next video. Also this is a municipal drain. It runs through rural farm fields and crosses many roads. I was hired by the municipality to do it. If left alone it will flood roads. It is currently causing flooding in farm fields which is why I got called out to do it. I assure you this needs to be done or our government wouldn't pay me to do it. Let me know if you have any questions.

[@CryogenicFire]

@@geneplumley4136 I really appreciate you clarifying this Gene. It means a lot that you have taken the time to reply to me. Thank you!

[@geneplumley4136]

@@CryogenicFire Of course, thanks for watching. 👍😁

[@LouisJones-bp6wg]

GENE MY DAUTER SAID YOU SHUD STOP WORK TO AND GO ROO YOUR BOAT. SHE IS MY SECOND CHILD I HAVE TWO MORE, ONE JUST TURNED 60 ONE 56 AND ONE 53 MY6 WIFE AND I HAVE BEEN WARRIER 62 YEARS

[@geneplumley4136]

Hey Louis. 👋 That's not a bad idea. Congratulations, 62 years is a long time. The warmer weather will be here soon.

[@Spanosmusic]

Honestly, for the life of me I can't understand why you're being paid to remove the dams when there are many ways to addresses the well known problems beavers can cause to agricultural fields, and culverts under roadways. Why aren't they paying you instead to install beaver deceivers or pond levelers? As for killing the beavers why aren't they being trapped and given or sold to western states in the US? Finally local governments, farmers, ranchers, the BLM, (the Bureau of Land Management) and state governments have come to realize how important beavers, (as a keystone species), really are to water systems and the ecosystem. They are currently reintroducing as many beavers as possible back into streams and headwaters now that they understand the impact they have on recharging the aquifer, mitigating droughts, wildfires, flash floods, filtering water, and providing habitat for a wide variety of plants, wildlife, insects, amphibians and fish. The way things are going with the climate it won't take long before Canada begins to suffer from drought and a dwindling water supply and in western states and now in Europe.

[@geneplumley4136]

Well, let's see if I can get you understanding.... We have a huge local beaver population here. Installing beaver deceivers everywhere is unpractical. They work good on ponds but not long waterways. They just build other dams. There were 4 here in less then a kilometer of drain. It would not be possible to maintain 100's if not 1000's of beaver decevers over 1000's of kilometers of municipal drains. I am not sure why you assumed they are not being trapped but they are. It would be a complete waste of time to pull the dams without first removing the beavers right? Also beavers are protected by our ministry of natural resources here. I have a license to do what I do. I have strict quotas to adhere to and must report my activities. All in an effort to protect our beaver population. All the dams you see me pulling out are relatively new. It isn't taking away from wildlife habitats but returning the drainage ditch to it's required level. Believe me, the local government, farmers, ranchers and ministry are very happy to see me. I believe doing the job this way is far better the bringing out heavy equipment. Most of the time I am out in remote areas that would require roads to be built to access these dams. Let me know if you have any questions??

[@Spanosmusic]

@@geneplumley4136 Hi Gene, well yes, I do have a lot of questions, you're going to hate me! I truly do want to understand. I realize you are just doing your job and I have no ill feelings towards you. I am also aware that every situation, environment, and location are different and require different solutions. I only have time to ask a few right now but I do have more. I'm assuming there are agricultural fields nearby and that's why the water level needs to be at a certain hight in order to avoid flooding the crops. What you're calling a drainage ditch to me really looks like a large stream, but where is the water draining from? Is it clean water? Are there fish in there or any other kind of wildlife, such as turtles, frogs etc? Is this drainage system part of a natural stream or water way? Where does the water end up? How did you end up getting a job like this? Are there some kind of courses on Beaver Dam Removal you have to take or is it more of an "on the job training" kind of thing? By trapping do you mean catching and relocating them somewhere else or killing them? I say that because in your Beaver Haven Check 3 video there's the body of a what appears to be a beaver on the boat, maybe it's only playing opossum but it looks kind of dead to me and when hunters use the word trap, that means kill, I don't know if you're a hunter or not. I also saw that video with you and the little bird, nice. Well I'll start with these questions and I sincerely appreciate you giving me your time and the opportunity to learn more.

[@geneplumley4136]

@@Spanosmusic Sounds good lol. Yes, there are agricultural fields, roads, bridges and private land (people's homes) which get affected by rising water levels. You are correct, it is a large stream, but it is part of a municipal drainage system. It is made up of both natural flowing streams mixed with man-made drain systems. It is all fresh water draining from various roads and fields. There are actual engineered drawings for them in every municipality. There are fish, frogs, turtles, muskrats, minks, otters, etc. Most of these drains flow year-round. Dams like these can affect properties 100's of acres away. I live in a rural area, so we have huge areas of land with low populations. Most properties are 160 acres each, some much larger. All the water drains towards our larger lakes. I got this job because I am a licensed trapper and figured I could compete with heavy equipment for the jobs. I was there to remove/trap the beavers anyways. Because I can do it at a fraction of the cost, I usually get the job. Plus, I never leak oil, gas or get stuck. Private landowners much prefer this method as well, so they don't end up with a new ugly road through their property. There is no training for removing the dam, but you have to be licensed to handle beavers and have permission to remove the dams from our ministry. I am not allowed to pull dams that are not in this "municipal drainage system." By trapping, I mean killing them. It is actually illegal to catch and release them here. They are overpopulated and that can spread diseases, so we are not allowed to do it. They are also very territorial creatures. If you drop one off in another beaver's area, they will fight. They are monogamous and mate for life so new commers are not welcome. I am both a hunter and a trapper. All the meat gets used and the fur and castoreum get sold. I feed my family and friends with the meat and the left over goes to people with dogs. The little bird was a pretty neat day. It was a baby woodcock. I had never seen one before let alone held one. I am going to make a separate trapping channel eventually. (Different audiences lol) Talk soon.

[@Spanosmusic]

@@geneplumley4136 Thank you so much Gene for all that interesting information. It is so refreshing to talk to someone who is well spoken and has the patience to answer questions! Because of the vegetation on the sides I thought it was a stream or combination drainage and stream 'cause it looks like a stream, or at least what we believe a stream should look like compared to the way they used to be before beavers (at least in the States) were all trapped out. Apparently without the beavers there was a profound change in the water system and the water cycle across the country, in the long run not for the better. Only until relatively recently have biologist and hydrologist understood the profound impact beavers have on the water system and the environment. For the time being at least, you seem to have plenty of water up there, but as you probably know that's no longer the case in the western states. I grew up in California and there are people here who never knew that beavers ever lived in the state. Currently I live in Tijuana and so far, most of the time, we have water from the city 24/7 but in the city of Ensenada about an hour south of here, for the last 3 years they only have water at certain hours during a 24 hour period. That's not drinking water, everyone buys that separate. I can see why they would hire you, not only are you more cost effective, you don't harm the environment. I don't know how many dams there are or ponds, it would be a lot of work to install (perhaps hundreds) of beaver deceivers and pond levelers and it would take more than just one guy at least 3 or 4 and then after you got it all done you'd be out of a job! Lol Although there is periodical maintenance involved. It's crazy, you have too many beavers while other places don't have nearly enough beavers. It is of some comfort knowing you use all the beaver for food, their pelts and the castoreum. Is that still being used for perfume? What does beaver meet taste like? What's the best way to cook it? It is tough or tender meet? Are the tails used for something? Knowing that they mate for life if you catch one you must know you've got to get the other one or does the other one die of a broken heart? I'm just wondering if you have seen any of the videos where they are reintroducing beavers in the western states to help fight against the drought and wildfires? They are also being reintroduced in England and Germany to help against droughts and create more wetlands to replenish the ground water supply and reduce flooding. Or any of the videos where they are installing beaver deceivers on culverts and pond levelers? You're young enough and now's you chance to get in on the ground floor. There's no telling how bad climate change is going to get, you might end up having your current job changed into protecting beavers in order to protect the water supply for humans and farmers. That might sound kind of crazy but who would have ever thought there would be a drought in England? Or that intense long lasting heat wave last year in Oregon, Washington state and British Columbia? Who knew that by having beavers in streams where salmon live that would actually increase the salmon population? I don't know about you but I really enjoy salmon. Whichever way things go it looks like you'll always have plenty of work eh?

[@geneplumley4136]

@@Spanosmusic The castoreum funny enough is worth more than the fur these days. It is used in artificial flavoring as well (vanilla) lol. The meat is similar to beef, but you can tell it is a bit different. We cook it in all sorts of ways. We stick with the rear legs and back straps. It is like a bone-in roast and the back straps end up like stewing beef. It is a tender red meat. We also mix it with 10% pork and grind it together for our "ground beef" alternative. (Chili, spaghetti, anything with ground meat) The leather from the tails can be used but there currently is no market for them. Some people eat them, but they are not very good, pretty much just fat or cartilage. The dogs love them.... It is sad to kill them, but it is necessary to do so in our area. They will find a new mate if the current one dies. At least so I have read. To give you an idea of the population problem with them consider this. Every year they can have a litter of say 4-8 beavers. You can get ponds where there are 15-20 beavers living in a colony. By year 3 or 4 the numbers are out of control, and they usually deplete their food source and begin to die if they can't get to new waterbodies. We have a registered trapline system in Canada where large areas of land are allocated to trappers to maintain. Part of that job is counting every beaver house on you line annually and making sure your harvest is in line with keeping the population healthy. I have seen some of those videos I find it interesting. I could not imagine living somewhere without them. They are my favorite animal by far. No matter where they get introduced, they will require some form of management. The deceivers and pond levelers work in some instances, but it does not stop them from over breeding. They have lots of natural predators, but I get called out time and time again, and it is usually because the population has gotten too high for the given area. What you see me doing here is pretty much removing the population in these drainage systems. If not, the dams would be built back up in days. The beavers are arriving in these ditches from surrounding lakes/ponds that are not getting trapped. At age two the parents push off the babies to make room for the next litter. That following spring the 2 years old's have their own babies in these drainage ditches. I do also trap on private property where the goal is to maintain a healthy population through selective trapping. I could see me catching them alive and sending them to areas that don't have any, but it is against the law here. They would have to travel pretty far from here to find areas without beavers as well. Yes, I believe I will have plenty of work with these animals for the rest of my life. Trapping or protecting, as long as I get to go work outdoors in these remote beautiful areas.