Show Deaver Beaver Stages Comeback In Wisconsin's Wildlife Beaver Deaver the magnet that drew w the first white men to Wisconsin r are probably more numerous here her e now than at any time since pioneer r days The conservation department depart department ment has started a study to determine determine de termine how best to fit tit these fur tur fu r bearers Into the modem modern state wildlife wildlife wild wIld- life lIte picture Wisconsin beaver were threatened threatened threat ened with extinction a few decades ago Since then with better protection protection tion Lion and law enforcement the anImals animals ani anti mals mats have Increased In numbers to the tho point where as many as 15 15 have been taken In a trapping season A long beaver trapping season Is now under way The beaver comeback has posed new problems for the conservation department Their way of life calls call for tor the building of dams In streams The resulting backwaters may flood fields and highways For years the tho department has kept state trappers in the field taking the animals alive In places place where they were doing damage and releasing releasing releasing re re- leasing them where they had less chance to Interfere with human buman de do They have att affected other wildlife by flooding deer yards and forest lands However in In some somo instances their operations have been found to be beneficial to w waterfowl e. e o 1 De Deaver V r have attracted the most public scrutiny for tor their operations on trout streams Water wide- wide spreads created by beaver may maytor for tor a time stimulate trout fishing but as a result of ot silting and the the warming of water beyond trout tolerance their efforts have been charged with practically eliminating eliminating ing trout from once popular fish tIsh- fishing ing streams The present study launched by bythe bythe bythe the conservation department Is aimed at a program to keep the maximum population of beaver consistent with the retention of ot other wild and domestic resources 1 |