Beaver ponds good to search?

[Molewacker]

I live near several beaver dams and interested in the fur era relics. Any thoughts on this for detecting? Or other hints?

HH

 

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[Kray Gelder]

I have a few thoughts. Fur trading in SW Washington was from, what, 1820 or so, well into the 1800's? So you're looking for 200 year old beaver dams. Aren't any. I think beaver dams are temporary. If this is your focus, I would look for old meadows on SMALL creeks, little 2 to 10 foot wide creeks in gentle drainages. Undisturbed dams would eventually fill with sediments, creating the flat meadows of a few acres. Of course, these aren't meadows anymore, they're over grown with brush and timber by now. Trees up to 200 years old.

Then again, these large trees have been cut by now, probably at least twice. No tree goes unharvested in western Washington. So, just find your small creek drainages, with small flats following the creek upstream. That's where the beaver used to be.

I used to hunt and explore SW Washington, and the Devil's Club, Vine Maple tangles along small creek bottoms are old beaver flats. You may find relics there. Those are my thoughts. Good luck to you.

 

[releventchair]

Old maps of the era you are interested in showing portages would hint of rest sites each end. A long rapids with steep drop or too many boulders for example.
A river may have been dammed by man since , so them old maps could pay off.
Cordelling was done too , depending on conditions breaks taken at vantage points (as with vantage points for camp sites) were likely.
River forks , or where a tributary enters a stream or river could have been a native used site , and or a rest spot.

If you are working a river or stream or tributary and can recognize former ponds now "peaty" like in soil type you might get lucky. Old long maintained ponds had lots of sediment in some areas. But food source /bark inner layers could play out fast in poorer habitat too. Probably much more often than a dam existing a long time due to beaver having to travel farther inland to score bark. They will if they have to. But easier to relocate sometimes...

Beaver don't need a pond to exist though....Or even a hut.
Deep water with low current to store limbs for winter , and a hole in an earth bank is enough.

If you were trapping would you want to be camped on the waters edge ? Or on a vantage point in sight of traffic (human and animal) up or down stream?

 

[Tnmountains]

As a man that is constantly tearing out beaver dams on a historic creek I say not the pond but any shallow natural rocky crossings and surrounding areas might yield a camp site. Beaver are opportunist and their dams change over time.
Plus they have some really stinky water. You can smell the musk and it gets all over your boots and clothes.
My humble opinion.

 

[uglymailman]

When I was a kid we fished off of a beaver dam that had washed out, probably due to a trapper as beaver were scarce. It was cool as you could put one line above and one below and sometimes the fish only bit on one side. It lasted for about 10 years before it washed out. I've also read to never drink water from a beaver pond, something in the water can kill ya. Good luck.

 

[trdking]

If Beavers have recently started pooping gold

 

[Molewacker]

When I was a kid we fished off of a beaver dam that had washed out, probably due to a trapper as beaver were scarce. It was cool as you could put one line above and one below and sometimes the fish only bit on one side. It lasted for about 10 years before it washed out. I've also read to never drink water from a beaver pond, something in the water can kill ya. Good luck.

Ah yes, Beaver feaver otherwise known as Giardiasis

 

[Molewacker]

thank you all for your insights on this - I really didn't thing of them filling in - HH