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The
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Get busy atPlease note: More complete information about this and related
subjects can be found in our new
Western New York Travel Guide. You may
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About 65 years ago beaver were released, appropriately, into Beaver Meadow Creek
in Wyoming County. The plan was to put these animals back where they belonged
and to flood a few beaver meadows. Beavers were nearly extinct in the state
at the turn of this century. Now, they are thriving in many areas, including
Beaver Meadow Nature Center.
Although nature trails wind throughout the center's 324 acres of forest, field
and wetland, the beaver pond is the sanctuary's dominant natural feature. (Some
say the pond is actually a lake, but who am I to make such a boastful claim?)
The pond is pierced by old tree snags, which hint to its young age, at least
geologically speaking. It is not some random glacial leftover. Rather, the pond
is the product of a thinking force. Only when you visit the south end of the
lake-okay, maybe it is bigger than a pond-do you discover that the dam there
was engineered by the army corps' fur-bearing troops.
The dam's stick and mud construction is camouflaged, in places, by living vegetation.
Two beaver lodges, also built of sticks and poles, are located near the dam.
The homes are used by the beaver family to rest during the day as well as throughout
much of the winter. I once was able to lie atop one of these frozen, snow-covered
lodges and feel the warm, musky air of its inhabitants drift up to me through
the home's chimney. It was an exhilarating experience.
Visitors to the nature center are encouraged to walk Beaver Pond Trail, which
begins at the visitors' center and then parallels the pond's west shore. Along
the way you can see signs of beaver, like the chiseled stumps of saplings and
much larger trees girdled at their base. You might even see one of these aquatic
mammals cruising the lake on a warm summer's evening, with only its head showing
above the surface.
Remember, early morning and evening are good times to go beaver watching; they
are for the most part nocturnal creatures. Nocturnal beaver watchers are welcome,
too, although freshly cut stumps can prove hazardous in the dark.
If you go: Beaver Meadow Nature Center, 1610 Welch Road, North Java. 716-457-3228.
Open year-round, Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m.
Visitors' center, self-guiding tour booklet for Beaver Pond Trail, along with
trail map, available; 5.5 miles of trails (always open), trailside exhibits,
amphitheater, gardens, bird feeding stations, arboretum, sugar shanty, astronomical
observatory.
Scott Adamson is an associate editor of Genesee Country.
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