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Man vs Nature...
Mar. 25th, 2024 08:06 pm I've written a few times about the trail I walk on my lunch break, and the creek that runs along beside it. It's full of nature - geese, ducks, groundhogs - and all in the heart of town. And, of course, there are the beavers. I've yet to come across one, but the lodge, and the dam, and the assortment of large and small trees thoroughly gnawed through are obvious signs that they're around.
Now this creek is actually a ground water runoff ditch, managed by the city. And this past fall, as the water level continued to rise, area residents concerned about residential flooding started asking for action.
Several weeks ago, the lodge was dismantled. While seeing it all dug out was disheartening, it was also really interesting to see just how much materials go into building something like that. They say beavers are industrious, and that is definitely an apt description.
I've often wondered since that day whether the animals had been trapped and relocated. I kept looking for signs of activity, indications of a new home being built. A number of large trees with distinct scarring have come down in the past few weeks, but it was the wind that did most of the work. I felt like they had moved on, one way or another.
Today when I came out, the first thing I noticed was that the water level had dropped almost two feet. I knew right away that the city must have come in over the weekend and pulled the dam. I walked down that way first, and saw the clearing cut through the brush and the excavator tracks running through it. Not a stick was left behind, and the sound of rippling water was noticeably absent. A necessary step, but still a shame.
I turned back the other way and followed my normal route, the newly-exposed shoreline a constant reminder of how much impact that pile of carefully assembled branches had on the area. But as I continued on, I noticed something else. A handful of smaller trees, freshly felled, and partly removed. A little further on, a similar scene. And another.
Building materials. Those little critters are still around, and their work has begun. It's not clear yet where the construction site is, but I'll be keeping an eye out. It will be very interesting to watch it take shape over the coming months.
The city had a job to do, and now so do the beavers. =]
Now this creek is actually a ground water runoff ditch, managed by the city. And this past fall, as the water level continued to rise, area residents concerned about residential flooding started asking for action.
Several weeks ago, the lodge was dismantled. While seeing it all dug out was disheartening, it was also really interesting to see just how much materials go into building something like that. They say beavers are industrious, and that is definitely an apt description.
I've often wondered since that day whether the animals had been trapped and relocated. I kept looking for signs of activity, indications of a new home being built. A number of large trees with distinct scarring have come down in the past few weeks, but it was the wind that did most of the work. I felt like they had moved on, one way or another.
Today when I came out, the first thing I noticed was that the water level had dropped almost two feet. I knew right away that the city must have come in over the weekend and pulled the dam. I walked down that way first, and saw the clearing cut through the brush and the excavator tracks running through it. Not a stick was left behind, and the sound of rippling water was noticeably absent. A necessary step, but still a shame.
I turned back the other way and followed my normal route, the newly-exposed shoreline a constant reminder of how much impact that pile of carefully assembled branches had on the area. But as I continued on, I noticed something else. A handful of smaller trees, freshly felled, and partly removed. A little further on, a similar scene. And another.
Building materials. Those little critters are still around, and their work has begun. It's not clear yet where the construction site is, but I'll be keeping an eye out. It will be very interesting to watch it take shape over the coming months.
The city had a job to do, and now so do the beavers. =]
