Leave it to Beavers

Surprise! Not only do bald eagles nest near the airport and peregrine falcons swoop out of Manayunk skies, but beavers are now building dams and lodges along the Schuylkill in Manayunk and Roxborough. Once locally extinct, beavers have happily returned to several places in our city. While this is worth celebrating, it has ironically impacted restoration efforts where beavers devour newly planted trees. Local naturalist Bernard “Billy” Brown, author of the Urban Naturalist column in Grid magazine, the Roxborough Manayunk Conservancy volunteer Suzanne Hagner, and beaver aficionado Chris Muller, creator of The Lodge (beavermatters.org) website, answer your questions about this unique animal.