Well that answers THAT question. I most certainly am NOT magic. Immediately after I posted yesterday I got a headline from Dutch News that beavers were causing millions of dollars in damages, and then last night two more beaver alarm bells, one from Tennessee and one from the beaver-beloved Washington state!
All reminding us that it ain’t over until it’s over.
Beaver Dams causing problems in Campbell County community
Beavers burrow their way under the waterway before making their way into the dam that they made as a home which causes issues for farmers and their equipment.
“The problem is that they live in the streams, Mayor Lynch said. “They tunnel underwater and come above the water where it is dry, and they have a home under there. When a tractor drives over, it falls through.”
Beavers tunnel UNDER the waterway? UNDER the waterway? Like jewel theives or prison escapees? What on earth would be the point of that? Are you imagining that its dry under the waterway? And they do all this in preparation for making their home in the dam? Which unsuspecting farmers drive over and then tractors fall through? Seriously? SERIOUSLY?
“A man named David Marlow came and had a discussion with me and I didn’t realize that there would be a lot of damage,” Lynch said. “I thought beavers are beavers, but we got educated about them quickly.”
I’m thinking Mr, Marlow might not be the font of education that you think he is. Honestly I haven’t heard anything this crazy since I read the letter of complaint filed by the attorney of the building next to the beaver dam in Martinez. Sure our city leaders played along and gave you the big money you were asking for under the pretense that beavers were tunneling under your living room but you can’t expect to get that lucky all the time. Eventually people will actually start thinking.
I hardly ever find time to write beaver WTF letters any more, but I might make an exception for this case. One would think that farmers who have lived on the land all their lives would know a little better.
Now to Washington where a landowner is being told he is LIABLE for his beaver dam.
Skagit County: Big Lake landowner must accept liability for beaver dam
Skagit County has made it clear that it believes the owner of a property uphill from Big Lake is responsible for addressing flood risk from a beaver dam on his property. A letter sent to Jim Beckett says he has an obligation to implement a fix at his expense.
“Now, they’re absolutely on notice,” county Commissioner Peter Browning said in an interview.
Flooding caused by a breach in the beaver dam last October sent water, trees and boulders downhill, damaging dozens of west Big Lake properties and burying roads in mud. And as fall approaches, these property owners downhill from the dam are worried that rains will bring another flood, and another expensive cleanup.
Beckett, who recently bought the property, did not respond to a request for comment. But at a Sept. 29 meeting with Big Lake residents, he made it clear he wasn’t interested in accepting liability.
Well now that’s a big deal. If this was a landowner who dearly loved the beavers and wanted them to stay I would say the solution was to reinforce the dam by installing a BDA or two behind it. Give it some backup so that it doesn’t have to do such a hard job all by itself. It’s Washington for gawd sake. You know what to do.
Browning said if Beckett doesn’t accept legal liability, the issue will have to be worked out in court. In the letter to Beckett, the commissioners requested a written plan in the next 30 days describing how he plans to prevent future flooding.
Ken Dahlstedt, a former county commissioner and consultant working for the west Big Lake residents, said he appreciates the county weighing in on the issue.
“I think it’s a huge statement, because now the county said you are liable, and you are responsible,” he said.
The Big Lake neighbors have designed a possible fix for the dam that would reduce the water level in the pond created by the dam to where it no longer threatens residents below the dam.
Dahlstedt said he hopes Beckett will be able to work with the residents to install this device before flood season starts. Dahlstedt said if Beckett would like to argue the legal issues, he should do so after this temporary fix is installed and the residents are protected.
Well a flow device could help too. Our flow device was often the only thing that anchored the dam in place after a big storm. I’m sure that’s not why the city paid for it but I was often very grateful for its traction.
Dahlstedt and the residents had been pushing Skagit County to fund a fix and accept liability, but he said he was satisfied with this solution — as long as the victims of the flood aren’t the ones held accountable.
In the letter, the commissioners also hold the Skagit Land Trust accountable for any future flood damage.
Hey I’m assuming they also are going to award the Skagit Land Trust the taxes paid by landholders for city services like water, fire prevention and biodiversity funding to FWS, I mean if they’re responsible for potential damages they’re also responsible for all the benefits too, right?
The trust holds a conservation easement on the property, essentially banning development in the name of environmental preservation.
Browning said the easement forbids any modifications to the dam.
“If you’re part of this beaver dam, you can’t just hand it to somebody else,” he said. “You are liable by virtue of your relationship.”
However, Skagit Land Trust Executive Director Molly Doran said the easement allows for the property owner to take emergency action to protect downstream residents, and it’s her understanding that installing a pond-leveling device would qualify as such an action.
She said the easement is not standing in the way of a fix, and Skagit Land Trust staff have been clear about this since the beginning.
Even if the device is installed, Doran said it would be a temporary fix. She said the county needs to work with residents on a plan that deals with drainage issues throughout the watershed.
If I didn’t know better I would assume that this is along standing feud between the SLT and the county and you re both just using the threat of a beaver dam to beat eachother over the head with.
I’m a very suspicious person. I’m sure I’m wrong.
