The Natick Conservation Commission will dedicate its meeting on Monday, Dec. 19 from 6-8pm on what to do about beavers in town. Public comment at the meeting is welcomed.
Beavers have made their mark around town, including at the Hunnewell Town Forest, where beavers have reassembled their dams as quickly as the town or others have breached them in the past.
When the Commission tackled the topic in March it came away thinking the town would just live with the beavers and reroute trails as needed. But that thinking appears to have changed with the threat of flooding caused by some dams. Flow devices used to address beaver issues in some parts of Natick’s complex and large watershed were deemed unlikely to work in the relatively shallow water along the Town Forest trail.
The Commission did briefly discuss beaver dams at its Dec. 9 meeting, with concerns raised about flooding reported on the north side of Rte. 9 along the Town Forest. The Department of Public Works was heading out to breach the dam on Monday as a temporary fix, but is also going to explore whether there might be a clogged culvert.
Got a beaver story to share with Natick Report readers? Let us know: natickreport@gmail.com
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