An Outdoorsman’s Journal The Life of a BeaverFLATER’S RESORT - couriersentinel_20241205_ccs-2024-12-05-a-012_art_3.xml
Call 715-861-4414
An Outdoorsman’s Journal By Mark Walters The Life of a Beaver Hello friends, The long haul that I call my busy season, which runs from April until the last day of deer gun season, is about over, I am about as long-term tired as a mature buck when the rut is over. I am dedicating this November, to spending as much time as possible at my hunting camp, which is located on public land in the Meadow Valley Wildlife Area and enjoying every minute of it. The first half of the month, it was just the pups and me, and I either bow or duck hunted, cut firewood, or explored on foot and by canoe. Saturday, Nov. 16 • High 46, Low 30 Bucks like this are hard to find in northern Juneau County, because of the large wolf population. This must be the fall where I am not supposed to make much meat. The last couple days, I gave duck hunting a solid effort on two separate bodies of water and did not fire a shot. I remember when I was a kid and addicted to reading every edition of Outdoor Life, the disappointment I felt when I read one of my favorite writer’s columns and he wrote about how, as you hit the area of walking this planet for six decades, that harvesting is not near as important as it used to be, “that it’s all about the experience.” I vowed that would never happen to me as I read that column 50 years ago, and now I am aware of exactly how correct the writer was. Today, what mattered, was a strong wind that made it a challenge to paddle my canoe. Just as I was getting a shot at a flock of geese, that, instead, flew to, and landed with, another flock of geese, I was watching a lot of beaver. I marveled at a massive beaver hut. In case you are not aware, in most cases, beavers build a hut out of sticks and mud. A beaver hut can easily be the size of a pickup truck, and the beaver swim to their bedroom from under water or ice, and then above the water level, where they live in family units, that can also sometimes mean a visiting otter or a muskrat, in a very dark, damp and cold world, well away from the wolf. The beaver lives between four to six months of the year, under the ice and I have always wondered, how do they feel when the change comes, and you are swimming under the ice vs. on top of the water. Then, there are the tributaries that they create with mud and sticks, so that they raise the water level to safely swim with feed, as in aspen or willow branches, and to be in deep enough water to be safe from the wolf. A beaver on land often is easy prey for a wolf. When I was a young man and would be here at my camp, which, in the beginning, was a canvas tent that evolved into a camper, I supplemented my writer’s income by trapping beaver, mink, raccoon and muskrat. In my opinion, trappers were in a large way like a biologist: to be good at what you were trying to catch, you had to understand the environment you were in. It is a terrible thing that fur prices have crashed for the last five years; for those who disagree, think about a ground nesting bird trying to sit on a clutch of eggs for 25 days, and a raccoon population that is much higher, because the trappers are gone. Another example, would be the damage that beaver are doing to our roads and in some cases, trout streams. An unregulated population blocks every culvert that they can, to raise the water level and in some cases, in trout streams, they block current movement, which, in the summer, heats up the water, something trout simply cannot handle. When I first came to Meadow Valley, with my dad, and brothers, Tom and Mike, which was 53 years ago, I fell in love on day one. I feel that because of the fact that the fall I graduated from high school, I had to camp, trap and hunt here for 60 days, is part of the reason I became an outdoor writer. I simply had to spend as much time as possible here and that has never changed. Many outdoorsmen are evolving away from this area, because the wolf has demolished deer hunting. The deer population in a non-agricultural area like this 200-square mile piece of paradise, called Wisconsin’s Central Forest, is picked off one by one, 365 days a year, and the wolf numbers just keep growing. For me, I placed my stake in the ground 53 years ago, the fun never ends, you just adjust! Sunset FLATER’S RESORT Where the Chippewa & Flambeau Rivers Meet Advertise Here! Call 715-861-4414 581 Advertise Here! Call 715-861-4414 Joe Flater, owner Cadott • Cornell • Lake Holcombe Your Hometown Newspaper www.flatersresort.com 270 N. Cty. E, Holcombe, Wis. 715-861-4414 715-595-4771 www.centralwinews.com Open Year-around | Bar w/food | Gas | Cabins An Outdoorsman’s Journal By Mark Walters The Life of a Beaver Hello friends, The long haul that I call my busy season, which runs from April until the last day of deer gun season, is about over, I am about as long-term tired as a mature buck when the rut is over. I am dedicating this November, to spending as much time as possible at my hunting camp, which is located on public land in the Meadow Valley Wildlife Area and enjoying every minute of it. The first half of the month, it was just the pups and me, and I either bow or duck hunted, cut firewood, or explored on foot and by canoe. Saturday, Nov. 16 • High 46, Low 30 Bucks like this are hard to find in northern Juneau County, because of the large wolf population. This must be the fall where I am not supposed to make much meat. The last couple days, I gave duck hunting a solid effort on two separate bodies of water and did not fire a shot. I remember when I was a kid and addicted to reading every edition of Outdoor Life, the disappointment I felt when I read one of my favorite writer’s columns and he wrote about how, as you hit the area of walking this planet for six decades, that harvesting is not near as important as it used to be, “that it’s all about the experience.” I vowed that would never happen to me as I read that column 50 years ago, and now I am aware of exactly how correct the writer was. Today, what mattered, was a strong wind that made it a challenge to paddle my canoe. Just as I was getting a shot at a flock of geese, that, instead, flew to, and landed with, another flock of geese, I was watching a lot of beaver. I marveled at a massive beaver hut. In case you are not aware, in most cases, beavers build a hut out of sticks and mud. A beaver hut can easily be the size of a pickup truck, and the beaver swim to their bedroom from under water or ice, and then above the water level, where they live in family units, that can also sometimes mean a visiting otter or a muskrat, in a very dark, damp and cold world, well away from the wolf. The beaver lives between four to six months of the year, under the ice and I have always wondered, how do they feel when the change comes, and you are swimming under the ice vs. on top of the water. Then, there are the tributaries that they create with mud and sticks, so that they raise the water level to safely swim with feed, as in aspen or willow branches, and to be in deep enough water to be safe from the wolf. A beaver on land often is easy prey for a wolf. When I was a young man and would be here at my camp, which, in the beginning, was a canvas tent that evolved into a camper, I supplemented my writer’s income by trapping beaver, mink, raccoon and muskrat. In my opinion, trappers were in a large way like a biologist: to be good at what you were trying to catch, you had to understand the environment you were in. It is a terrible thing that fur prices have crashed for the last five years; for those who disagree, think about a ground nesting bird trying to sit on a clutch of eggs for 25 days, and a raccoon population that is much higher, because the trappers are gone. Another example, would be the damage that beaver are doing to our roads and in some cases, trout streams. An unregulated population blocks every culvert that they can, to raise the water level and in some cases, in trout streams, they block current movement, which, in the summer, heats up the water, something trout simply cannot handle. When I first came to Meadow Valley, with my dad, and brothers, Tom and Mike, which was 53 years ago, I fell in love on day one. I feel that because of the fact that the fall I graduated from high school, I had to camp, trap and hunt here for 60 days, is part of the reason I became an outdoor writer. I simply had to spend as much time as possible here and that has never changed. Many outdoorsmen are evolving away from this area, because the wolf has demolished deer hunting. The deer population in a non-agricultural area like this 200-square mile piece of paradise, called Wisconsin’s Central Forest, is picked off one by one, 365 days a year, and the wolf numbers just keep growing. For me, I placed my stake in the ground 53 years ago, the fun never ends, you just adjust! Sunset FLATER’S RESORT Where the Chippewa & Flambeau Rivers Meet Advertise Here! Call 715-861-4414 581 Advertise Here! Call 715-861-4414 Joe Flater, owner Cadott • Cornell • Lake Holcombe Your Hometown Newspaper www.flatersresort.com 270 N. Cty. E, Holcombe, Wis. 715-861-4414 715-595-4771 www.centralwinews.com Open Year-around | Bar w/food | Gas | Cabins
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok
