The back of Kirby's straw hat against a prairie sky

About

Our dam story.

Because someone had to own that pun.

Photo from Voices of the Oldman, a docuseries by Next Bend

Founded 2019

It started with a dam that didn't exist.

In 2019, Starland County started a beaver coexistence project. Then a major flood swept through the creek and left them with a new dam problem: no beavers, no dam, a nearly finished beaver boardwalk and a grand opening on the calendar. So we built them a dam. A Living Riparian Fence, officially. Really a beaver dam analogue: posts, willow, sod and some stones, set into the creek by a team of beaver buddies led by You Betula. The water slowed, the willow took, and eventually the beavers showed up and finished the job. Leave it to beavers, with a bit of help from Canada's first beaver-focused consultancy.

That is still how we work. Figure out what the beaver is trying to do, then build the thing that lets it happen without flooding your road or eating your orchard. Since then: rural municipalities, cities, First Nations, ranches and industrial land managers, from a home base in Lethbridge to the far side of the country.

Canada's past was built on the backs of beavers. Our future will be built alongside them.
Birch leaves backlit by a low sun
Betula is the birch genus. Beavers rate it highly. The rest of the name you can work out yourself.

Mission

Coexistence as the default, not the exception.

30%

of beaver activity in the areas we serve managed through coexistence by 2030.

50%

across Canada by 2050.

Kirby England seated beside a red canoe on a gravel bar
Kirby England, in the riverbottom. From Voices of the Oldman.Photo by Next Bend

Meet the Beaver Guy

Kirby England

Founder, President & Principal Wetland Ecologist

Kirby has liked beavers since before it was a job. He is a registered Professional Biologist, an Authenticating Wetland Professional, and a faculty member in the School of Environmental Sciences at Lethbridge Polytechnic, which means he spends half the year teaching people how wetlands work and the other half standing in them.

Ask him why he actually likes beavers and you'll get a twenty-minute answer about water storage, drought and fish. The short version: they do for free what we spend millions trying to engineer.

P.Biol. #2541
Professional Biologist, Alberta Society of Professional Biologists, since 2013
AWP
Authenticating Wetland Professional, ASPB
M.Sc.
University of Saskatchewan
Faculty
Continuing Faculty Member, School of Environmental Sciences, Lethbridge Polytechnic
BeaverCORPS
Graduate, Beaver Institute. Member in good standing

What we stand for

Four rules. We don't break them.

  1. 01

    Work with the animal

    Every design starts with what the beaver is trying to do. Fight that and you lose.

  2. 02

    No lethal control

    No traps, no kill permits. If a site can't be solved by coexistence, we say so.

  3. 03

    Real numbers

    We measure before and after, and we publish what we learn.

  4. 04

    Say what it costs

    Written plans with the price on them. No proposals that need a translator.

The humans behind the waders

“Say Beaver on 3!”

House rule: every site visit ends with a selfie. The beavers decline. The Beaver Buddies usually don't. Seven years of them, and counting.

  • Job site, mosquito seasonJob site, mosquito season
  • AWA paddle dayAWA paddle day
  • Beaver Pond TrailBeaver Pond Trail
  • Simonette crew, 2024Simonette crew, 2024
  • Hancock set, installedHancock set, installed
  • Birch fence & pipeBirch fence & pipe
  • Trout Creek, wrappedTrout Creek, wrapped
  • Elmont Rd installElmont Rd install
  • Site checkSite check
  • Hard hats onHard hats on
  • Paddle day, AWAPaddle day, AWA
  • Garbage barge, OldmanGarbage barge, Oldman

Partnerships

The company we keep.

The people we teach with, publish with and learn from.

Certifications

The paperwork is in order.

Safety and standing, so your procurement office has nothing to chase.

Free 15-minute consult

Got a beaver situation?

Tell us what the beavers have been up to and roughly where. We'll tell you what we'd do about it, and what it would cost, before anyone drives anywhere.

Book with us