I’m sure you know that there is nothing I like better than an animated ticked off neighbor meeting about beavers.  But beaver defenders pitted against snow mobilers? Well bring on the popcorn because I could listen to this all year. You’ll remember we covered the BOW story at the beginning of the month. Well this is a helluva epilogue.

Dam controversy: After Bow pond drained, some residents hope to leave the future up to beavers

On a Saturday afternoon walk, Kelly Schofield and her husband turned a corner onto a road near their house in Bow. They sensed something was wrong with the beaver pond before they saw it.

“You could smell it. It was pretty strong. And then when we got down to the pond where you could really see the pond, you could see it was gone,” she said.

The pond was drained. Left behind was a huge tract of mud, and creatures trying to survive. Neighbors took videos of fish floundering as the water receded.

Beavers are beloved by some and considered a nuisance by many. But Schofield and others who lived on the pond agreed: nature’s engineers made their property more valuable, and made their lives better. They took their kids down to the water to learn about frogs and turtles; watched ducks stop by as they migrated south.

In the winter, this beaver pond, technically known as an impoundment, was an ice skating spot for many, including Lisa Franklin’s family.

Are you reading this? You should stop reading and be listening to the clip. It’s SOOO GOOD.

Finally, I would like to point out that the pond lever lasted for five years with the beavers living there. How long do you think the excavator and trapping will last?