How does the beaver build a dam and its lodge? It is fortunate

for beavers that many trees along the water’s edge often slant toward the

water. As they chew through the trunks, these trees fall into the water and

the dam is begun. The beaver works all night and sleeps during the day.

The dams can be very large up to 2,000 feet long (almost half a

mile!). Beavers make the dams by pushing sticks into the river bottom mud,

then covering them with mud. Next they weave branches in and out of trees

they have cut down, adding stones and plants until the dam is very strong.

The beaver’s home is called a lodge. It is built with sticks and mud

piled together. Often the lodge has an underwater door for protection. It may

have several rooms if the beaver colony is large. Usually a lodge will have a

small opening at the top for fresh air.

How do beavers live? Beavers eat the bark and twigs of cottonwood,

alder, willow and poplar trees. in winter they stay underwater most of the time.

Kits are born in May or June. The litter may be 3-9 kits. Very few animals prey

on beavers because beavers live mostly in water. Coyotes, bears, wolves and

foxes may eat them if they go too far from their home pond.

How do beavers and humans interact? The beaver population

can multiply quickly so it is controlled through trapping and by attrition.

Sometimes human and beaver interests conflict. Beaver dams create ponds

which can ruin trout streams and flood pastures, meadows and stands of

trees. Also, beavers often gnaw valuable trees.

Certainly not everything beavers do crosses purposes with human

plans. The ponds beavers create provide homes for many fish and water birds

while helping to control spring runoff and prevent boding. The ponds also

serve as reservoirs to collect water. When an old beaver dam breaks, the area

becomes a lush, grassy meadow. Beavers truly are nature’s engineers.

Wildlife:

The Bald Eagle - America’s Symbol

As the symbol of the United States, the majestic bald eagle represents

freedom, strength and power. In our ancestors’ day it was counted in the

thousands, but today there are fewer than 5,000 in the contiguous 48 states.

Washington’s nesting population has about 400 pairs, ranking it among the

largest in the nation.

Why is the bald eagle an endangered species? During the 19th

century, egg collecting, shooting and trapping were popular, and bounties

were offered for eagles. In the 20th century DDT, a pesticide used by farmers,