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Beaver battle ongoing along Natick’s Hunnewell Town Forest trail

September 28, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The beavers that live alongside the Hunnewell Town Forest trail off of Oak Street in Natick haven’t been backing down from the challenges of those breaching their dam over the past month in Little Jennings Pond.

As the town’s Conservation Commission indicated at its Aug. 11 meeting, the Natick Public Works Department was authorized to “punch a hole in the dam” in September, and it did.

But the beavers came right back and plugged the gap, keeping a section of the blue trail in the Town Forest off limits to people.

Since then, at least a couple more breaches have been executed, one that was erased rather quickly, and now a more ambitious one of which a Natick Report reader has shared photos and a video.

beaver dam natick town forest

 

Here’s what the dam looked like when I stopped by on Monday morning:

beaver dam hunnewell

Claire Rundelli, planner conservation agent for the town, said that after the Public Works breach earlier this month there weren’t any additional approvals for breaches. When asked about the beavers during the Sept. 15 Conservation Commission, she said “we’ve heard nothing from the beavers in recent days.”

The Commission held a town-wide beaver discussion in March in conjunction with the Trails and Forest Stewardship Committee, and Open Space Advisory Committee, and it ended with consensus to adapt to the beavers rather than trap them. The thinking was that other beavers would just come back to the area and rebuild the dam.

Natick has rerouted an oft-flooded trail at the Town Forest to avoid the beaver dam’s impact. Flow devices used to address beaver issues in other parts of Natick’s complex and large watershed were deemed unlikely to work in the relatively shallow water along the Town Forest trail.


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Filed Under: Animals, Environment

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Over 100 competitive kitties show up at The Verve in Natick

September 1, 2022 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Usually when we really, really need a felines fix, we head over to Sherwood Plaza in Natick and see what the adorable residents at Kitty City are up to. Although that will always be a go-to outing for us, when we heard that over 100 cats representing 35 breeds were coming to The Verve as part of the New England Meow Outfit (NEMO) All Breed and Household Pet Cat Show, we were so there.

NEMO Cat show, Natick

NEMO falls into the North Atlantic region of the global Cat Fanciers Association (CFA), which has seemingly conquered the world of cat fancying. The sprawling organization has divided the show-cat realm into seven regions in the United States, and assigned the rest of the world to a three other regions.

Sounds serious, and maybe there are some intense moments on the judging platform, but NEMO showed us a good time in a fun atmosphere at The Verve. When not the center of attention during judging, the kitties were lounging about in commodious cat carriers or crates that looked very cozy, indeed.

NEMO Cat show, Natick

 

The large conference rooms set aside for the show were spotless, and it was easy to walk up and down the rows and see every, single cat. Good times.

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Filed Under: Animals, Entertainment



West Nile Virus detected in Natick mosquitoes

August 25, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The West Nile virus has been detected in mosquito samples in Natick, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The virus can be spread to humans and animals via the bite of an infected mosquito, and according to the Centers for Disease Control, about 1 in 5 people infected develop a fever. Far fewer get a serious illness.

The risk of infection is still considered low in Natick, according to the state. Last year, Natick had no positive West Nile virus samples.

Residents are encouraged to take common sense precautions, including using spray if outdoors between dusk and dawn.

Natick coordinated with the Central Massachusetts Mosquito Control Project to spray a designated area after sunset on Wednesday, Aug. 24. Residents can opt out of future spraying at their properties.

Natick spray area

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Filed Under: Animals, Health

Natick takes aim at another dam

August 18, 2022 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

While the Charles River Dam Advisory preps its official recommendation to the Select Board regarding the South Natick Dam, the town’s Conservation Commission earlier this month discussed what to do about a big beaver dam along the Town Forest off of Oak Street.

More specifically, the Commission voted to authorize the town’s Public Works Department to “punch a hole in the dam,” as Chair Matt Gardner put it  during an Aug. 11 meeting.

The Commission’s tone toward the beavers has seemed to change since the spring. Then, a town-wide beaver discussion involving Natick’s Conservation Commission, Trails and Forest Stewardship Committee, and Open Space Advisory Committee ended with consensus to adapt to the critters rather than trap them (and no doubt have to deal with the persistent animals again before long).

Natick rerouted an oft-flooded trail to avoid the beaver dam’s impact. Flow devices used to address beaver issues in other parts of Natick’s complex and large watershed were deemed unlikely to work in the relatively shallow water along the Town Forest trail.

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Though even at that time, town planner/conservation agent Claire Rundelli presciently stated: “I think it’s important to remember this doesn’t have to be a forever decision. If we do a summer of adaptation and it turns out horribly and the beavers can build another 3 foot of dam and all of a sudden we’re flooding Rte. 9, then we can always reevaluate at that point…”

Rundelli said during the Aug. 11 meeting that the town has been getting complaints about high water (yes, even during this drought) near homes of residents of Huntington Street near Pickerel Pond. Research finding unusual water flows in the area shows the impact that the dam has had, she said.

“What I’m proposing is that we breach the Town Forest beaver dam (A) to relieve the water levels as we get into fall and potentially a rainier season, but also just to sort of see what’s going to happen to the water levels up here…,” Rundelli said. The Commission agreed and voted in favor of doing so (the dam is separate from the lodge further away where the beavers live).

Gardner recommended that the commission talk at upcoming meetings about its beaver management strategy going forward. Referring to the beavers inevitably rebuilding any dams the town knocks down, Gardner said. “We just need to make a decision as a commission as to ‘Are we going to put up with that?'” This could include trapping and killing the beavers over the winter.

“This is clearly turning into an ongoing issue,” Gardner said. “We can play nice for a while…”


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Filed Under: Animals, Environment

Natick’s top dog names & breeds for 2022: Lovin’ Lucy, Mixed reviews & a 24-year-old beagle

July 6, 2022 by Bob Brown 2 Comments

It’s starting to look like one dog park might not be enough in Natick, where the pup population has boomed during the pandemic by about 20% over the past two years.

Natick now has 3,229 licensed dogs vs. 3,025 last year and 2,700 the year before. The current number is split pretty evenly among males and females.

More dogs means more names and breeds to pore through based on the list of licensed dogs supplied to us by the Natick Town Clerk’s office (dog names & other data are not associated with individual residents). We welcome any of you more proficient at crunching numbers to do so with the spreadsheet embedded below & share any interesting findings.

natick dogs

The most popular name this time around is Lucy, which goes back & forth year to year with Bella for the honor.

The Top 10:

  • Lucy (43)
  • Bella (41)
  • Luna (37) (Now Wellesley’s most popular dog name)
  • Charlie (35)
  • Max (28)
  • Cooper (26)
  • Rosie (26)
  • Daisy (24)
  • Chloe (24)
  • Sadie (24)

Maggie, Winnie, Bailey, Coco, Tucker, and Teddy are among other very popular dog names in town. Note that we’re pretty much sticklers on spelling, so results are different if we pile in various spellings of some of these names.

All this isn’t to say Natick dog owners haven’t shown some creativity in naming dogs. Among the unique names:

  • Aayla (first alphabetically)
  • Zuzu (last alphabetically)
  • Acorn
  • Timberland
  • Pythagoras

Natick’s oldest dog? A 24-year-old female beagle named Scout.

The most popular breed in recent years has been labrador retriever. But this time around the 485 labs are outnumbered by the 489 mixed breeds (many of which probably have a good dose of lab in them). Other common breeds in Natick include golden retrievers (180), golden doodles (126) and labradoodles (122).

gus the wonder pug

Most Popular Natick Dog Names & Breeds:

  • 2021
  • 2020

All dogs 6 months of age or older must be licensed with the Town Clerk’s Office (MGL Chapter 137). Licenses must be renewed annually by March 1, failure to do so will result in a $50 late fee. Failure to license a dog shall be punishable by a fine of $100.


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