I wanted to keep the group posted about my conversations with the Village of Glenview. I just emailed incoming Village Board President Mike Jenny, who I had reached out to already on Thursday before the lodge was destroyed. I reiterated what had happened and explained again that if one of the beavers is female and pregnant, she does not currently have a place to give birth where she would be sheltered from predators. I informed him that the Concord at the Glen's HOA Board President Patrick Evans refused our request to leave branches for the beavers to use to build a new lodge.
I also spoke to Deputy Director of Public Works Joe Kenney today. He told me that the Village immediately reported the incident to the IDNR and put new protocols in place to prevent this type of destruction of beaver lodges from happening again.
I informed Mike Jenny that it is against Illinois law for beaver lodges to be dismantled without proper licensing from the IDNR, and that I have heard that several members of the Glenview Beavers Fan Club Facebook group are planning to report the incident to the proper conservation authorities.
I told both Mike and Joe that in my opinion, the Village needs to issue a statement, conduct an investigation, and explain the new protocols to the public.
Finally, I requested a meeting to discuss our wish that the Village agree to not trap and kill beavers on Glenview taxpayers’ property in the future. This will help ensure the safety of the Glenview beavers should they decide to relocate to a nearby pond or lake such as Lake Glenview. I explained that the Wheaton Park District, Northwestern University in Evanston, and the Squaw Creek Drainage District in Lake County are doing beaver remediation instead of trapping and killing. These entities are wrapping trees, using flow devices or "beaver deceivers" to lower water levels, and "beaver-proofing" their culverts to prevent flooding. I told Mike that the Glenview Beavers Fan Club would love to partner with the Village to help solve any beaver problems that arise on Village property.
I want to give Mike a chance to respond, and allow complaints to the conservation authorities to work their way through the system. I remain convinced that the best thing we can do for our Glenview beavers is to educate the public and property owners on effective beaver remediation techniques so our beavers will be safe if they decide to relocate. To my mind, relocating them is a last case scenario and one that shouldn't be attempted until later this summer anyway for a variety of reasons you will learn about if you read Eager. I believe that a boycott of Glenview businesses or wholesale attacking of the Village is not in our beavers' best interests at this time.