Oregon beaver-killing program suspended by federal officials

Statesman Journal

Federal officials will suspend a program that kills beavers, river otter, muskrat and mink in Oregon, after environmental groups threatened a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act.

Over the past seven years, 3,459 beavers have been killed statewide under the program, operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services.

Numerous studies show that beavers benefit endangered salmon and steelhead by creating ponds that provide fish with food and habitat, the Center for Biological Diversity and Western Environmental Law Center said in a November 2017 letter threatening to sue.

Wildlife Services has never analyzed the impacts of its program on endangered fish, as required by the Endangered Species Act, the groups said.

On Dec. 27, David Williams, the Wildlife Service’s Oregon director, agreed to conduct the study, which could take as long as a year, and suspend the program until it is complete.

Nutria will continue to be killed because they are a non-native, invasive species in Oregon.

Williams could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Under the program, counties contract with Wildlife Services to kill animals, such as cougars, coyotes and aquatic mammals, that are causing property damage for landowners.

Marion County pays about $55,000 per year for the service, county spokeswoman Jolene Kelley said. County officials have not yet decided what to do while the program is on hold.

Beavers are most often killed when their dams flood private property or threaten homes.

In Marion County, 104 beavers were killed through the program between 2012 and 2016. Fifty-two beavers were killed in Polk County during the same period.

Collette Adkins, of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the groups believe in many cases when non-lethal methods to deal with beaver damage could work just as well, such as installing a culvert to allow water to continue to flow through a beaver dam, or putting guards around trees to prevent beavers from chewing them.

The groups also allege that many of the methods Wildlife Services uses, including steel-jaw leghold traps and M-44 gas cartridges, are inhumane or harm the environment.

“What we want to make sure is that they’re very careful about where they’re killing beavers, that they’re really being careful to only do it when actually necessary,” Adkins said.

The American Beaver was named Oregon state animal by the 1969 Legislature.

tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/Tracy_Loew

Average number of beavers killed annually in Oregon, by county, between 2012 and 2016.

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