Spring Evenings a Great Time to See Beavers at White Memorial

These beavers were spotted Monday evening (4/27) in the Pine Island/Mallard Marsh area across Bissell Road from The White Memorial Conservation Center main area.

 

Beavers are beloved at White Memorial for many reasons, including paying tribute to Alain and May White, the siblings who founded White Memorial. They viewed beavers as the ultimate symbol of conservation and industriousness.

 

In the early 20th century, beavers had been nearly trapped to extinction in Connecticut. The Whites were instrumental in supporting efforts to reintroduce them to the state, seeing them as essential “land managers” for the 4,000 acres they were preserving.

 

White Memorial views beavers as nature’s engineers because they open up the forest canopy to promote new plant growth as the fell trees while building dams and lodges, their dams help turn wooded areas into nutrient-rich freshwater ecosystems that support a wide variety of other wildlife, and the abandoned lodges and ponds created by beavers become essential homes for turtles, wood ducks, and various amphibians.

 

Beaver activity is visible across much of the 40+ mile trail system, but locations known for being particularly active include:

 

Five Ponds Complex: This area features the dedicated Beaver Pond Trail. It is a prime spot to see chewed stumps, active lodges, and the effect of partially felled trees.

 

Ongley Pond: Often used for the center’s ABC’s of Beavers program, this pond right down the hill from the Conservation Center allows visitors to walk along the shore to see beavers up close.

 

Little Pond Boardwalk: While famous for its 1.2-mile loop trail over the water, this is also a great place for spotting beavers swimming at dawn and dusk.

 

Pine Island: Beavers are commonly seen on Spring evenings from the trails that run through Mallard Marsh and in the marsh along the western edge of the preserve along the M trail.

 

Inside the Nature Museum at the Conservation Center, beavers are featured as a primary exhibit to help visitors understand the “hidden” side of their lives. A state-of-the-art exhibit includes a cross-section of a lodge, allowing visitors to see the interior structure that beavers use for protection and raising kits.

 

To learn more and connect with all things White Memorial, head to the website: https://whitememorialcc.org/