Taghkanic Talks Presents: Beavers in Taghkanic - Come meet Bo the Beaver

January 17, 2026, 10am - noon

Taghkanic Fire Company

631 Old Route 82 Taghkanic

This past summer, Taghkanic installed the first town “beaver deceiver.” The modest wire and wooden structure sits a few feet from the culvert pipe at the intersection of New Forge 1 and East Klein roads. This pond has had a beaver population for many years - much to the delight of many who pass by this area.

The beavers, doing what beavers do, routinely damn up the culvert pipe. This results in road flooding requiring repeated visits to the site by our highway crew to clear the culvert. Historically, the beavers are ultimately trapped out (killed). Then a new population of beavers moves in and the cycle is repeated.

The beaver deceiver that was installed allows the beavers to continue their work damming, while allowing the water to pass through a pipe regulating the level of water to prevent flooding.  There is no negative impact on the pond or surrounding environs, and this device can function for many years with minimal upkeep, freeing up the time and resources of the highway dept.

Come meet "Bo", the beaver.

Beavers are considered a “keystone” species – their dam-building activities create and enhance wetlands, which significantly increase biodiversity by providing habitats for a wide variety of other species. Beaver dams also improve water quality and enhance ground water storage.

The town will be installing more of these devices in the future. There is a comprehensive and lengthy state permitting process, to ensure that the devices do not harm the environment. We hope to have the permits in place by next summer with installation of another device soon after that.

From 10am-noon on January 17^th, 2026, the Taghkanic Climate Smart Committee will present a “Taghkanic Talks” event on beavers. Learn about these remarkable animals and how we can protect them, the environment, AND preserve our roads. Our guest speakers will be Dan Aitchison, owner of Hudson Valley Beaver Strategies LLC (https://www.beaverinstitute.org/beavercorps-spotlight-dan-aitchison-hudson-valley-beaver-strategies-llc/) who installed our device, and Alexis Broz, founder of Wild for Life, (https://www.wildforlifeinc.org/blog) a nonprofit wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization. Our very special guest star will be “Bo the Beaver.” Bo joins us so that we can get a live and up-close look at one of these amazing animals.

                     Registration is required for this event: rsvp@taghkanic.org