Rerouted trail gives beavers a little peace

Liberty Lake neighbors are taking the high road when it comes to beavers and their dam projects.

Exercisers and rodents can peacefully coexist inside Liberty Lake County Park now that parks workers relocated a 200-yard section of trail that flooded every time beavers got busy.

“It’s like, holy moly! This is the most government-in-action directly affecting me that I’ve seen for a long time,” said John Richardson, a resident who uses the trail for running.

Relocating that path was crucial in protecting beavers as they dam up the west channel of Liberty Creek, as part of a water-improvement plan, said BiJay Adams, lake protection manager for Liberty Lake Sewer and Water District.

By re-establishing a 150-acre wetland at the southwest end of Liberty Lake, scientists hope to create a natural filter that keeps sediment from flowing into the lake and fertilizing unwanted algae.

Until the last few years, the wetland was dry because in the 1930s a farmer dug two channels to reroute Liberty Creek and create a cattle pasture.

However, problems emerged because each time beavers started naturalizing the creek, water backed up and portions of trail disappeared under inches of water.

To protect the trail – a popular access point for west lake residents to enter the county park – people shot the creatures and smashed their dams.

Beavers responded by munching down more trees and stepping up their homesteading efforts. This, in turn, led to more flooding and dam bashing.

After reading a story in The Spokesman-Review that highlighted the beaver plight and the challenges the county faced in relocating the trail, Richardson called Bob Hughes of Spokane County Parks and Recreation, and offered to help.

Hughes hadn’t rerouted the trail because he was concerned that the new path would butt up against private property and encourage trespassing. Richardson offered to contact neighbors living on private property bordering that area to try to obtain easements.

That effort proved unnecessary after Adams ran a topographic computer program and found that the county park’s boundary was farther west than originally believed.

“I just wanted to have assurance that we weren’t going to have issues with land ownership,” said Hughes.

Once park boundaries were determined, Hughes enlisted several workers to carve out a trail and fence a small area near private property.

“They moved some hellacious rocks. It was done with hand tools,” Hughes explained, adding. “It’s just another day in the park for us.”

Richardson was impressed that the country started and finished the project in two weeks.

“This is really an amazing feat – all these things coming together,’” he said.

Now, instead of battles with beavers, trail users can appreciate the creatures’ construction skills as they walk over dry land. Two dams are now flourishing and water is starting to breach manmade dikes and flow into the former pasture.

The success happened in part due to Adams’ educating a resident who was destroying the dams to protect the trail.

After Adams consulted Washington State Fish and Wildlife Dept., he told the man about the lake improvement plan and let him know if he touched another dam he’d be turned in for wildlife harassment, a misdemeanor.

Adams said the county’s efforts have made the job of protecting the area’s useful wildlifeeasier.

“That’s going to be a slow process, but the beaver dams are definitely helping.”