We Are Supporters of the Glenview Beavers
Our group was founded on April 8, 2021, in order to save the lives of the beavers who are living in the retention ponds at The Concord at the Glen. The beavers were at risk of being trapped and killed by the HOA because of the tree damage they had caused.
The beavers are living in the retention ponds located along Lehigh at the edge of the Glen. There are many humane options for deterring beavers from destructive tree chewing, such as planting conifers and evergreens around the ponds, which the beavers do not care for. Other remediation efforts include attaching wire mesh to a tree trunk's base to prevent them from chewing. If their food source disappears, they will relocate. The beavers are not a threat to the neighborhood’s yards as they stick to an area within 100 feet of the water.
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Underwater traps are a common method of killing beavers in the State of Illinois. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, "drowning is not a means of euthanasia and is inhumane…even though drowning is a convenient way to kill animals, it is not euthanasia, i.e., it is a painful, frightening death." Because beavers are semi-aquatic animals, they can hold their breath for up to 20 minutes. So a beaver trapped in an underwater trap can take up to 20 minutes to drown. All this time it fights the trap, sometimes breaking its teeth in a desperate effort to escape.
Our Glenview Beavers
After we formed the Glenview Beavers Fan Club, spoke to the media, issued a press release, distributed flyers, and held a rally, the HOA agreed to not trap and kill the beavers but were still considering relocating the beavers. Relocation can be stressful for beavers and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources does not currently support relocation (although other states such as the State of Washington run successful relocation programs). Eventually, the HOA decided not to relocate the beavers, opting instead to wrap the trees and let the beavers decide to move on when their supply of food and building materials dried up. We consider this to be a win!
Unfortunately on April 22, 2021, the beavers' lodge was mistakenly dismantled by the Village of Glenview. The beavers have since been spotted in the ponds. Presumably they are planning to rebuild somewhere. We asked the HOA if we could deliver a bundle of branches to be used by the beavers, but they said no. Since then, we have discovered that the parcels of land upon which the ponds are located are actually owned by the Village of Glenview. We are continuing to work with the Village to make sure that our Glenview beavers are safe from being trapped and killed.
Our Offer to Glenview and Northbrook Property Owners
The Glenview Beavers Fan Club is pleased to make the following offer to every property owner and HOA in Glenview and Northbrook: If you have beavers living on your property and in your pond or lake, and they have damaged some of your trees, and you are willing to commit to not trapping and killing or trapping and relocating them, the GBFC will supply you with trees at cost and, depending on the size of the project, help arrange for a service organization to come out and plant and protect the replacement trees. Taking it one step further, if you are willing to commit to supporting the beavers in their current habitat, we will fundraise to cover the cost of the replacement trees, and we will provide and plant free trees each year for the beavers' use.
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