Furbearer Management

Beaver Management

The beaver is one of Manitoba’s most important wildlife species. It is a significant component of the province’s biodiversity and fills many roles in the ecosystem: it is a consumer of plants itself, but also serves as a key food for keystone predators such as black bear, wolf, and wolverine. Beaver also create wetland habitat for other living organisms, including homes for riparian plants, fish, waterfowl, and a water source for large mammals including livestock in times of drought conditions.

In the early 1900s, beaver almost became extinct because of overharvest and disease. However, strict conservation measures and the introduction of the registered trapline system during the mid-1940s were successful in rebuilding the population.

The number of beaver harvested by trappers is directly related to the average market value of beaver pelts on the fur markets. Recent harvests have ranged from a low of 12,000 in 1990/91 (average pelt value of $14.00) to a high of 68,000 in 1979/80 (average pelt value of $40.00). During successive years of low prices, trapping pressure is reduced and the beaver population grows until they become a major problem causing millions of dollars damage to private property, transportation routes and farmland. Most problems occur in rural municipalities adjacent to the Duck Mountain Provincial Park and Riding Mountain National Park and, more recently, in the Interlake part of the province where abnormal amounts of precipitation have occurred (see summary below).

Manitoba Conservation manages the Problem Beaver Management Program to assist rural municipalities and Northern Affairs communities. The program provides a subsidy to municipalities for each problem beaver removed. Most efforts are directed during the winter
season to encourage removal when the pelts have a higher value. During the winter season the program also provides a subsidy to some registered trapline sections to remove beavers which might move out into the adjacent municipalities.

Since the subsidy program began in 1993 (originally as a summer component only), over 121,000 beavers have been removed.

Trappers who are interested in participating in the program should contact their local municipality or nearest Manitoba Conservation office to obtain guidelines.

There is an education component, where Manitoba Conservation provides workshops for local agencies and stakeholders in the use of non-lethal techniques as another method for protecting roads, property and land from floods caused by beaver activity. Workshops demonstrate the building and installation of pond levelers and beaver deceivers, which discourage beaver from building the dams and blocking water flows.

Problem Beaver Removal Program Summary

	May-04	Jun-05	Jul-06	Aug-07	Sep-08	Oct-09	Nov-10
Total Beaver Taken	7,969	9,248	8,071	6,973	7,600	7,763	8,317
Selected Municipality or RTL:
Ethelbert	299	387	287	251	637	650	680
Gilbert Plains	401	384	322	243	388	331	424
Grandview	180	365	306	189	316	551	504
Mossey River	274	278	48	259	173	182	392
Mountain	623	721	771	779	913	984	1,042
Park	694	752	597	78	100	108	136
Swan River	221	320	212	321	259	430	462
Duck Mountain RTL	924	899	791	788	793	336	422
Porcupine RTL	404	464	420	384	407	181	315

There is an education component, where Manitoba Conservation provides workshops for local agencies and stakeholders in the use of non-lethal techniques as another method for protecting roads, property and land from floods caused by beaver activity. Workshops demonstrate the building and installation of pond levelers and beaver deceivers, which discourage beaver from building the dams and blocking water flows.