'It's unbelievable what they have done': Beavers wreak havoc in Stouffville

Beaver dam behind Baker Hill Blvd. creates large pond causing flooding

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 28, 2020
Simon Martin

Bob Cookson never expected to have a pond out behind his apartment when he moved to the apartment complex on Baker Hill Boulevard in Stouffville a few years back.

There was the trail behind the building on 35 Baker Hill along with Rouge Creek.

But if you visit the area now, a large pond has formed due to a beaver dam.

The town was forced to close the trail that runs under Millard Street.

“Last September beavers took control of said property, leaving a landscape of stumps, fallen trees and limbless logs,” Cookson said. “The main river has become blocked, causing the water to flood and reroute.”

The stream is not a stream anymore but a lake courtesy of beavers, Cookson said.

“The beavers are building the dam higher and higher,” he said.

Cookson is one of several residents at the Baker Hill apartments concerned about the extensive damage the beavers have wreaked on trees in the area.

“It’s unbelievable what they have done,” resident Bob Wilkinson said.

Patrician Fanning quipped that her apartment could be advertised as lakefront property now.

By May, Cookson said, the dam had submerged the trail.

“Young families with baby carriages are unable to get through,” Cookson said. “How much longer do the taxpayers of this town have to be denied the use of the trail because of flooding?”

Beaver dam

Bob Cookson and several other residents are upset that a heritage trail has been closed due to flooding, which they blame on beavers. | Steve Somerville/Torstar
Ward 4 Coun. Rick Upton said it's a challenging issue as the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority and two private landowners are involved.

“There’s no question it has gotten out of hand,” Upton said of the dam.

Upton said the process has been long but he expects the dam will be removed shortly and the beavers will be harvested.

That point was reiterated by the town, which noted in a statement that it's working with the private property owners to have them remove the dam in the very near future.

The town also said it is working with the TRCA on the design and repair of the creek structure and trail, and anticipates it will be completed this fall.

The TRCA is working on a design for the new structure that will provide trail and shoreline protection under the Millard Street bridge.

Cookson is frustrated with the slow progress on those matters as the beavers continue to destroy trees behind the apartments by the day. “I have been after them to repair this for two years now,” he said.   

After raising alarm bells about the damage to the trees, Cookson said the TRCA put metal guards around some of the trees. But as the dam gets bigger and bigger, Cookson’s patience gets smaller. “As a taxpaying citizen, much has been spent at our expense to originally plant trees in the vicinity of the the walkway. To have said trees and others be harvested by beavers is outrageous,” he said.

Cookson’s outrage has certainly put the issue on the radar for council. At a council meeting earlier this month, Upton referenced the beavers while discussing the municipal tree preservation bylaw.

“We have nothing in there about the beavers on Baker Hill taking trees down left, right and centre,” Upton quipped.

“Councillor, if you can find out a way to fine beavers please let us know,” Mayor Iain Lovatt said.