Beavers are being trapped along the Alaska Highway across from the Meadow Lakes Golf Club as a precaution, says conservation officer David Bakica.

The Department of Highways and Public Works (HPW) is afraid the buildup of water behind the dam the beavers have created could push against the gravel road bed and compromise its strength, Bakica explained recently.

The water is already inside the right-of-way, he pointed out.

Bakica said a local, experienced beaver trapper has been given a special permit to trap within one kilometre of the nearest residence. The condition: the traps must be set under the ice, to remove any chance of injuring local pets or people.

The devices installed a couple of years ago at the mouth of the highway culvert to prevent the beavers from damming the culvert is working well, Bakica told the Star.

The beavers have, however, decided to block the creek upstream from the culvert, within the highway right-of-way, he said.

As it was explained to him by Highway staff, when water sits against a roadbed, every time a vehicle passes over it, the roadbed acts as sponge, pulling in water and heightening the risk of failure, he said.

The conservation officer said they estimated there were four or five beavers living in the pond when the effort began about a couple of weeks ago.

To date, five have been trapped, though they’re still not certain if all the beavers have been removed, Bakica said Thursday.

Waiting for ice cover not only increases the safety aspect, but it’s also easier to target the entrances and exits of the beaver lodge, he explained.

HPW wants to pull down the dam, but to do so while the beavers are still in there would be inhumane, as the animals would eventually freeze to death without water or become easy prey, he said.

Bakica said relocating beavers really isn’t feasible in most cases. It’s costly, and can simply mean moving a problem from one area to another, he pointed out.

DPW’s Doris Wurfbaum said the intent is to break down the dam this winter so that the water is free-flowing come spring.

Dismantling a beaver dam during ice-free months often results in the beavers simply rebuilding it, Wurfbaum said.

See letter.