It’s good to have friends. I’ve been in the beaver biz for so long that when I read a great article like this from Hampton falls I have a beaver rolo-dex that I can scroll through and think, hmm who do I know in New Hampshire? Can they help?
And of course they can.
Teen Works to Tackle Hampton Falls Beaver Dam Problem
HAMPTON FALLS — A local teen is working on an Eagle Scout project to alleviate the flooding problems beaver dams are causing to the town’s culvert system.
Boy Scout Joel Pontbriand said he plans to construct four Clemson Beaver Pond Levelers to stop beaver dams from backing up the flow of the town’s culverts. A Clemson Beaver Pond Leveler is made mostly from PVC pipe and allows water to flow through a beaver dam or plugged culvert.
″(Clemson Beaver Pond Levelers) are suspended in the water at the desired water level of the pond,” he said, “and they mask the sound of flowing water, which is how beavers find drainage points. Consequently, they confuse the beavers and render their dams ineffectual.”
To raise funds for the project, he is hosting a pizza fundraising dinner from 5 to 7 p.m. March 8 at the First Baptist Church. Admission is $8 per person and $25 per family of four.
Hurray for Joel! We LOVE eagle scouts who help beavers, and thoughtful people who realize that there are better solutions with longer term benefits than just trapping. I wish Joel had access to some more modern tools though than the Clemson, which is expensive, unwieldy and frankly not nearly as successful as the many inventions that have come along 20 years since.
So of course I immediately emailed the story to our friend Art Wolinsky who says he wrote the reporter and lives about 20 minutes away. He’d love to help out. I’m hoping this can all take place. It seems to me a retired high school science teacher is the perfect kind of help for this valiant pursuit.
The pipes will also eliminate the creation of unwanted wetlands, as well as minimizing flooding by promoting continuous water flow of the Taylor River. Furthermore, he said, this method of dealing with beavers is “conservation-minded” and has proven successful nationwide.
“I chose to do this because I was looking for ways to help a local institution or the town itself, in a manner consistent with the guidelines of an Eagle Scout Service Project,” he said. “When I heard of this potential project, it struck me as an opportunity to do something different and possibly overlooked by many residents of Hampton Falls. The idea of implementing something unconventional but certainly needed was exciting to me.”
Eagle Scout projects mark the culmination of a scouts’ career and customarily includes providing a public service that improves their local communities.
Wonderful! This is a great project to take on and it will have great results if you use the right tools. I know Art will be happy to help. Of course if we’re really talking about protecting four culverts a beaver deceiver is much more suited to the job, and I also happen to know a selectman in Vermont who will be the right man to consult.
Now let’s just hope that Joel spends a little time using the internet to find out why beavers matter and what kinds of good things they can bring to his town if he just helps them not cause problems. We’ll be more than happy to help that story get told!
