44 Union Bay 



malogist when we had discussed the beaver a year or so 

 before. 



"The beaver is coming back without a doubt," he said. 

 "And it's going to be a regular headache." 



"Why?" I asked. 



"If there ever was a contradictory character among the 

 mammals, it's the beaver." 



"For what reason?" 



"Look at its record. It's like having a wonderful cook and 

 housekeeper who steals all the silver. It is one of the greatest 

 factors in the control of floods and the conservation of water 

 supply. It is a soil maker and a builder of farm lands. We just 

 can't get along without the beaver." 



"What is the complaint, then?" 



"There's another phase, the silver stealing." 



"You aren't saying that it leads a double life?" 



"It certainly does. As long as it stays where it belongs it 

 has a perfect record. But a species with its habit of wander- 

 ing and colonizing can move up and down a stream and stop 

 wherever it finds a good location. When it stops it begins to 

 change things. And the kind of changes it makes can cause 

 a lot of trouble in some spots." 



"For example, what spots?" 



"Around valuable lowland lumber regions, fruit trees, and 

 in well-developed residence districts along lakes and streams. 

 In such districts they have been known to cut down trees 

 that could not be replaced for several hundred dollars. They 

 keep railroad maintenance crews busy by damming small 

 culverts and bridges in some locations." 



I had thought little about it at the time, but after watching 

 the island in the Arboretum, I now realized that the rapid 

 increase in beavers would make a real problem for conserva- 

 tionists and game managers. The mammalogist had been 

 right. Men will make the sacrifices necessary to get along 

 with many creatures and will not begrudge a reasonable 



