February 17, 2009
On The Detroit River: Beavers Are Back After Long Absence
From the Detroit Free Press:
In a stunning sign of ecological recovery, beavers have returned to Detroit for the first time in perhaps a century.
A single beaver lodge has been discovered in an intake canal at Detroit Edison's Conners Creek power plant on Detroit's east riverfront. Edison workers using motion-sensitive cameras caught photographs and video of the beaver in November.
John Hartig, the Detroit River refuge manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said beavers were last spotted in the Detroit River at least 75 years ago, possibly as long ago as a century. Their return signals that a multiyear effort to clean up the river has paid off.
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On a related note: Muskrats, a close relative of beaver, have thrived in the Detroit River throughout the centuries of European settlement. The French, who were Catholic, even received a dispensation to eat them at Lent, since the muskrat is semi-aquatic and can be considered a fish for such purposes. It is said they taste very much like duck, as they eat the same foods as the duck, and they are very clean animals.
So, if you are tempted to give it a try, stop by Kola's in the downriver area:
Muskrat Dinner
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