East Helenans have lately been wondering about a sudden, troubling absence: what happened to the famed beavers of JFK Park?
Some feared they had run off to distant lands or been gobbled up by mountain lines. Others wondered if after their years of meddling with the JFK Park trees along Prickly Pear Creek, local authorities had removed them.
But the truth is much simpler: the beavers picked up stakes on their own and relocated about 300 yards downstream, halfway toward Wylie Drive to the west.
”The beavers have just self-relocated themselves a little to the north onto the Prickly Pear Land Trust property,” East Helena Public Works Director Kevin Ore told The Monitor.
The evidence of their presence is clear, from an 8-foot-high lodge of branches to a handful of gnawed-away tree trunks. Given the steady traffic on the year-old Grove Trail, PPLT has posted signs, urging visitors to steer clear.
“There are a number of large, partially chewed through trees along that new trail so we are going to temporarily close down a portion of the trail in the area of the hazard trees and give the beavers space to work,” said Nate Kopp, PPLT’s program and trails director.
Kopp added that Prickly Pear is also considering creating and posting educational signs to inform passersby of beaver behavior and how their activities benefit watersheds and habitat.
