Beavers damaging Rotary Eco Gardens

A beaver has chewed through a tree next to the path in the Rotary Eco Gardens on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. A number of these damaged trees will have to be taken down as well as a dam removed in the eco garden creek. (Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston)

CORNWALL – Some ambitious rodents are felling a number of trees in the Rotary Eco Gardens and blocking up a spawning route for salmon.

One or more beavers have been busy in the park oasis, plugging up the waterway and chewing up trees along the path.

City parks staff are putting wire mesh around “significant trees in the area,” which is in addition to the ones already protected given previous beaver activity, Cornwall Parks and Landscaping Supervisor Scott Porter told Cornwall Newswatch.

A beaver dam (upper right) has partially stopped the flow of water in the creek in the Rotary Eco Gardens on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. The dam has blocked a spawning route for salmon and the beavers have also damaged a number of trees. (Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston)

The city has hired a trapper to relocate the beavers from the Eco Gardens.

“Any trees that have been damaged, creating a hazard to the public, will be removed by the city,” Porter said.

As for the large dam in the Eco Garden creek, which is the outflow from the Cornwall canal, Porter said it will be kept in place until the trapper finishes his work, then it will be opened by city staff, allowing the fish to spawn.