By Izzy Wagner/VTDigger
Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources may trap and remove beavers from roughly 25 state-owned dams impacted by beaver-induced debris.
The plan is an effort to comply with new technical standard dam safety rules, which are a product of a state law passed in 2018. They require the state to remove the beaver materials, modify the dam or relocate the beavers, according to a Monday press release.
Some beavers build their own dams, abutting human-made dams, which can restrict the structure’s ability to safely pass flood flows, according to the release. Additionally, the excess water stresses these dams, leaving them more susceptible to damage.
Restoring dams to comply with the new safety rules is expected to lower the water levels of the affected areas, because debris removal allows water to more effectively pass through the dams. Some affected areas include popular recreation spots such as Bristol Pond, according to the release.
Ben Green, chief dam safety engineer for the state’s Dept. of Environmental Conservation, said people have grown accustomed to the higher water levels in places like Bristol Pond caused by years of beaver activity. The lower water levels “may affect recreation” in these areas, Green said.
The Agency of Natural Resources plans to hold two public meetings in April. During the meetings, engineers and wildlife biologists from the departments of Environmental Conservation and Fish & Wildlife will inform the public of the new dam safety rules and discuss options for bringing state-owned dams impacted by beavers back into compliance. While attendees can ask questions, state officials say the meetings are not public hearings and therefore do not affect the state’s plan.
Green said the state is considering multiple options, including some cases of beaver trapping and killing, to clear up the blocked dams.
In the longer term, the state could modify dams to accommodate beavers, “which has cost ramifications, but is possible,’” Green said. The state may also remove some of the dams that may not be useful, allowing beavers to continue living in these areas, he said.
“I do believe that there’s going to be cases of trapping, but that will be only short-term,” Green said. “That’s going to be the only short-term alternative to allow the debris to be cleared and the dam to function the way it was originally designed.”
In place of beaver trapping, organizations such as the Vermont Land Trust have installed beaver flow devices, called “Beaver Deceivers,” in blocked dam areas. These devices are designed to keep water flowing through or around beaver constructions, preventing excess water blockage caused by beaver dams without disrupting the animals.
But Beaver Deceivers “do not provide enough benefit to be a permanent solution” in the case of these significantly undermanaged dams, according to Green.
Josh Morse, a spokesperson for Vermont Fish and Wildlife, echoed Green’s statement, saying nonlethal options such as Beaver Deceivers “won’t meet the engineering standards that DEC has.”
Brenna Galdenzi, president of Protect Our Wildlife, said the state’s history of trapping to manage human-beaver conflict will not serve as a long-term solution unless beavers are trapped and killed “close to extinction levels.” After periods of trapping, she said new beavers will eventually inhabit these areas if the environment is suitable.
“This constant trap, kill, repeat loop, it doesn’t work,” she said.
The issue of poor dam infrastructure “is not all about beavers,” Green said. Rather, he said, beaver activity is one aspect that the Agency of Natural Resources will need to address in order to improve public safety and bring state-owned dams back into compliance with the DEC’s new safety rules.
“Many of our dams are over 50 years old. Many of them were designed and built under what would now be considered substandard specifications and requirements,” Green said. “Roughly one in five state-owned dams has some challenge with [maintenance], so that’s something we need to get control of.”
Public meetings
At the two public meetings, scheduled for April 8 in Montpelier and April 10 in Middlebury, the Agency of Natural Resources expects to answer questions from attendees and write a response to their input, to be published by June 1.
