ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (KDVR) — An Englewood park has seen a handful of trees fall down in recent months, thanks to multiple beavers who have moved into the area.
Residents are concerned they may lose more unless the beavers are relocated. Among those who are concerned is Chris Aubrecht, who has lived in Englewood for about 15 years and loves coming to Centennial Park near his home.
“It’s a beautiful park. I love the birds and just the wildlife around here,” Aubrecht said.
But there’s one member of the park’s wildlife he doesn’t love like the rest, the family of beavers that moved into the lake.
“Over the last two months or so, they’ve come through and they’ve cut down at least a dozen trees,” Aubrecht said.
Aubrecht says he isn’t the only resident who shares his concern. Several stumps line the lake where trees used to stand. Some trees are still standing with bites taken out of the side, and the city of Englewood has put up fencing around others to keep the beavers away.
“It just makes me sad because I love the trees, I love the nature,” Aubrecht said.
He doesn’t think the ones already lost will grow back any time soon.
“All these trees that are gone are probably gone for a decade,” Aubrecht said.
Beavers managed as ‘nuisance species’ in Colorado
The city of Englewood says it is working with wildlife professionals to safely relocate the beavers, but that could be some time down the road. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says beavers are managed as nuisance species, so the property owner is in charge of what happens to them. But if a relocation request is submitted through CPW, it won’t approve it until June to give the beavers the best chance to survive in a new habitat.
Aubrecht thinks a new home for the beavers is the best-case scenario for everyone involved to keep the sights at his favorite park intact.
“There’s better places than this for this beaver, or family of beavers, I’m pretty sure by now,” Aubrecht said.
CPW says the reason it only completes beaver relocations in the summer is because of their territorial nature, and having to find their own new space and food source in the winter is not an ideal situation.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
