
DATE: Monday, September 1, 1997             TAG: 9709010113

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: Correspondent Jane Harper researched and wrote this report. 

                                            LENGTH:   52 lines

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO. . . THE WHITEHURST AND WRIGHT LAKE BEAVERS

In the winter of 1992-93, wildlife advocates were outraged when they learned that beavers along Norfolk's Whitehurst and Wright lakes were being trapped and killed. Activists worked fervently for months to stop the killings.

The once-famous beavers haven't been seen around either lake since 1994, according to nearby residents and city officials.

``We've had no reports of beaver problems,'' said Gay Myers, president of the Saratoga Civic League, which represents one of the communities targeted by the beavers. ``We started our civic league in 1994 and it's never been discussed at one of our meetings.''

And that's been a big relief for city officials, who were deluged with complaints from animal lovers in 1993 when the beavers were toppling trees near the lakes.

Although beavers seldom leave an area once they've moved in, one possible reason the buck-toothed creatures left is because of a drought in that area in the summer of 1994, said Peg Nelson, a spokeswoman for Norfolk's Department of Utilities.

The beaver trappings began late in 1992 after residents living along the lakes complained that the beavers were felling trees there.

City officials claimed the trappings were necessary for two reasons: to prevent the beavers' dams from clogging the lakes, which also are city reservoirs; and to prevent erosion caused by the loss of trees.

Wildlife protection groups offered several plans for saving the beavers, including moving them or removing debris left by them in from the lakes.

It's a good thing the beavers decided to move on, too, because many of the people who fought so hard to protect them seem to have forgotten about them.

Several people active in the fight - including members of Wildlife Response Inc. in Chesapeake and Save the Beavers, a local group formed to protect the Whitehurst and Wright beavers - did not know if the beavers were still living at the lakes or if they had been trapped and killed. MEMO: Whatever Happened To. . . appears every Monday, and we welcome

your suggestions for people and subjects to update.

Dial INFOLINE at 640-5555 and press 7878 to leave a message for Jane

Harper. ILLUSTRATION: The beavers gnawed through this tree at Lake Wright.

Often, they toppled trees. City officials began trapping the

animals, saying it was necessary to prevent the beavers' dams from

clogging the lakes, which also are city reservoirs; and to prevent

erosion caused by the loss of trees.

File photo