The third installment of Cabin Fever Sundays lecture series on February 28th examines beaver populations in the Adirondacks, in history and today.

In “Living with Beavers” John Warren and Charlotte Demers will discuss the historic and contemporary implications of beaver trapping, their importance to the fur trade, contemporary issues with the damming of rivers, and more.

The program will delve into the impact of human intervention on historic and contemporary beaver populations in the Adirondacks. Reintroduction of the species led to rapid re-population, and today, beavers thrive. However, beavers do cause challenges to property owners, due to their ability to drastically alter a landscape.

Beaver pelts once served as a natural resource, harvested in the Adirondack region by Native Americans, European settlers, and early American trappers. Human impact on the beaver population in the North Country was significant, and by 1900, beavers were all but extirpated from the region due to over-trapping.

Trapping of beavers is now legal, with a fall/winter season that typically does not have bag limits. Additionally, property owners can apply for a nuisance trapping license if beavers are causing flooding damage to roads, septic systems, and other necessities.

“Living With Beavers” will begin at 1:30 pm. on Sunday, February 28, in the Museum Auditorium, 9097 State Route 30, in Blue Mountain Lake. Before and after the lecture, attendees will have the opportunity to explore the varieties of beaver-related artifacts from the museum’s collections.

Unable to attend this program? Send questions for the presenters to @ADKMuseum on Twitter, or Adirondack Museum on Facebook to join in the conversation from home.

About the Presenters

Charlotte Demers is a Wildlife Technician at the Adirondack Ecological Center at the ESF Newcomb Campus. She has an AAS in environmental science and a BS in environmental forest biology from SUNY-ESF. Her responsibilities include collecting and maintaining the databases associated with the AEC’s ALTEMP research. Her primary research interest revolves around small mammals and their importance in forested ecosystems. Current research projects include the impact of uneven aged silvicultural systems on cavity abundance and subsequent impact on cavity nesting species.

Coming Up

Future installments of the Cabin Fever Sundays lecture series include:

“Fierce and Forever-Wild: Adirondack Women” with Jess Collier, Sandra Weber, Lorraine Duvall, Noelle Short, and moderated by Niki Kourofsky at 1:30 pm, Sunday, March 13. Celebrate Women’s History Month by learning about a handful of fascinatingly fierce women who have lived and worked in the Adirondacks.

“Trudeau’s Rare Romance and Roger’s Hotel Hope” with Mary Hotaling and Amy Catania at 1:30 pm., Sunday, April 3rd. Explore the histories, treatments, and personal stories of patients at the Adirondack Cottage Sanitarium and Will Rogers Memorial Hospital.

Admission is free for museum members, students, and children; $5 for non-members. Refreshments will be served. All lectures are held in the Adirondack Museum’s Auditorium, 9097 State Route 30, in Blue Mountain Lake.

Image provided.