IF&W biologist Hulsey to speak at Maine Audubon meeting April 11

FARMINGTON — Western Maine Audubon is sponsoering a talk about beavers at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 11, in North Dining Hall, University of Maine at Farmington.
Beavers are perhaps second only to humans in their ability to directly impact the environment through their very concerted efforts. There is a good reason for the expression “busy as a beaver.”

Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife biologist Chuck Hulsey will discuss their story and natural history.
Although relatively quiet this time of year, during the warmer months beavers are hard at work engineering their food supply and shelter and their work can be readily seen in ponds and sometimes flooded fields and roads.
Their history is also inextricably entwined with humans. The settlement of the American North was largely done in pursuit of their pelts, and that feverish enterprise just about drove them to extinction. Their populations are again common and vigorous, but the story of the comeback is quite remarkable.
Hulsey has been the regional wildlife biologist of Region D, based in the Strong office. He graduated from the University of Maine in 1978 with degrees in both forestry and wildlife management. Following graduation, he worked with the Forest Service on their spruce budworm program and then was a service forester. In 1988 he became assistant regional wildlife biologist for Region D and in 1988 took his current position.