Lyman Woods’ beaver dam notched due to flooding concerns
DOWNERS GROVE – Beavers have been busy building dams in Lyman Woods this summer, spurring a debate between the park district and a resident about whether the park district should interfere with wildlife in the woods.
That happened earlier this month, when dammed water flooded the soccer fields of nearby Midwestern University, according to the university’s director of operations Kevin McCormick.
“There was probably 2 to 3 inches laying across the soccer fields,” he said.
Midwestern University called the park district, and district workers cut three notches in the woods’ second beaver dam to allow water to pass.
Ahh, the old dam-notching trick. Only slightly less effective than duck taping the fuel pump, or replacing windows with cardboard. Why choose a longer term solution when an easy fix will suffice? Better yet, it will inevitably fail and then you can go back to those beaver-hugging fans at the dog park and say, “We tried a compromise and it didn’t work! Shoot, I guess we’ll just have to kill them.”
Remember this is Illinois where a cynical person might say you could fit all their beaver appreciation and knowledge into a teaspoon and still have room leftover to sweeten your coffee. I wrote them about the appropriate use of flow devices but I won’t hold my breath that things will move in the enlightened direction.
Stay tuned for the exciting developments.
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