Listen my children and understand
The beavers lost in Maryland
Bill Greene of Olde Stage Knolls remembers
The wetland built in past Decembers
Now are drained and barren land…
(apologies to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
Here’s a familiar story out of Bowie, Maryland with an exciting new twist. Seems home owner Bill Greene is pursuing legal action over his missing beavers after the Home Owner’s Association turned his “wetland” into a “dryland”.
Bill Greene used to enjoy the tranquility of the pond that once backed up to his and about 20 other houses in the Olde Stage Knolls neighborhood in Bowie.The pond, which was there before the housing development was built more than 18 years ago, was made by a beaver dam, said Greene and his neighbor, Jeanette Rodkey. But the beavers and the dam were removed and the pond consequently drained in March at the request the Olde Stage Homeowners Association, HOA president David Perroto said.
So Mr. Greene notified the Maryland Department of the Environment who came out and inspected the drained pond and dam-age. Turns out the MDE was very interested to learn that the HOA never obtained any permits for the work or the destruction of the beavers.
“I’m not a tree-hugger or something, but it really bothers me that this area was destroyed,” Greene said. “I think it’s important that people understand that even that five acres behind your home is wetlands and it’s protected.”
Ahhh, way to go, Bill! Even in your non-tree-hugging capacity, you tell em! It’s about time people realized that there are consequences for removing beavers, including destroying wetlands. Disabling valuable habitat is an expensive act that should never be undertaken lightly. Any environmental lawyers reading this? Pay attention. I think this could set a precedent. Right now if you want to mess with wetland in California, F&G makes you create some other wetland as compensation. How about if every time a beaver dam were destroyed the habitat had to be replaced somewhere else at the property owner’s expense?
Might slow down the “slash and burn” a bit.
Violations included work done on the site without authorization by MDE and the removal of sediment leading to water pollution.
Now we’re talking. Let’s discuss what is released when a dam is destroyed? And by extension what beaver dams hold back for us? Maybe the property owner who leaves one on his land should get a tax credit, because of all the good he’s doing for the water and the environment?
The case has been forwarded to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office by MDE for possible enforcement action, said MDE spokesman Jay Apperson, who declined to comment further on the specific case because it remains under review.The association’s liability insurance is paying for the cost of legal representation in the case and would cover any fines the state might assess, he said.The home owner’s association’s former management company, D.H. Bader Management Services, contracted with ABC All Wildlife for the work on behalf of the HOA, according to the MDE report. Representatives from D.H. Bader did not return calls for comment.
Like that name? “All Wildlife”. Um, maybe they left off the first part “we kill”? Or maybe ABC stands for “Always Bash Critters”? Here’s the address for the attorney general of Maryland in case you want to let him know why destroying Wetlands should have consequences.
