Diario del proyecto Paradise Park, Windsor VT

We had been worried about a apparent lack of beaver activity over the winter, but there were finally some sightings of fresh bark gnawing along the Lake Trail on the western shore of Lake Runnemede during early March. One of our photographers saw a young beaver swimming in that area yesterday. In addition to whatever food they stockpile in fall, the lake beaver have access to Nymphaea rootstocks that are abundant in the substrate of that section of the lake, so there is no need for them to move above ground in winter, even though that section of the Lake only completely freezes over during sustained cold (below zero F) periods.

They build a second lodge on the western arm of the Lake, directly across the water from the old lodge along the western shore. We thought that they may have moved, but there were fresh tracks sighted in snow on the old lodge, so they may actually occupy both.

We consider the Lake beaver to be a keystone species here, primarily because of their relationship with the aquatic flora which is the backdrop for the aquatic ecosystem. They harvest a great deal of White Water Lily (Nymphaea tuberosa) which apparently both limits the encroachment but increases the density of the extensive water lily glade in that section of the lake. They also dig channels on the lake bottom and "prune" the thick Coontail (Ceratophyllum demersum) growth near the lodges, which in turn allows the rooted macrophytes, including the rare Pondweeds (Potamogeton) to re-establish in spring. Thus this section of the lake, which also includes most of the dozens of springs that feed the lake with calcareous ground water, has the highest biodiversity in the Lake.

Thus the departure of the Lake beaver here could cause a calamitous decline in the overall health of the Lake.

Although it is still early, most of the snow in the Lake and Hubbard Brook watersheds has melted, so there have been no significant flood events this winter (there have been some major rain events in December through February in recent years that have greatly impacted the wetland areas). We did, however, have a significant heavy wet snowfall in late December that broke and/or felled many trees in the park, particularly in the wetland areas around the Park. The tree species most affected by this storm were mostly trees with split or indistinct trunk structures, such as Silver Maples (Acer saccarinum), Box Elders (Acer negundo), Willows (Salix spp. but especially the large Black Willows (Salix nigra) in the Hubbard Brook wetlands), and Speckled Alders (Alnus incana). Some larger trees (White Pines, beeches and Hemlock) also fell.

So there are a lot of broken and damaged trees in the Park, which will be part of our spring cleanup around the hiking trails. Most of the trees affected are intermediate species - trees and shrubs that cover gaps in the succession from cleared land to forest, so there was little damage to the forest canopy. However, the main trees of concern are the large Black Willows in the Hubbard Brook wetland area that are at or near maximum age and for which no new tree species appear ready to replace.