Jennifer Forsyth has a huge dam problem. Literally.
She first noticed a beaver dam in her back yard, which backs up to the Chestnut Branch of Mantua Creek, about a year ago. The wetlands on her property teem with wildlife. Forsyth and her husband have spotted river otters otters and wood ducks, usually a rare sight in Gloucester County, as well as the occasional bald eagle.
But now, the water diverted by the dam flows outside of the limits of the stream and onto what was once dry land. Forsyth had a walking path on her property that is currently submerged, and her neighbors aren’t too happy about the flooding in their own yards.
“The wetlands got a little wetter,” said Forsyth.
The bank of Chestnut Branch across the water from Forsyth’s property is owned by the township. One day when Forsyth arrived home to find a work crew dismantling the dam, she called the police, not realizing the workers were public employees. But even taking the dam apart isn’t a permanent solution, since beavers respond to damage to their lodges by simply improving upon their earlier work.
http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2013/04/mantua_woman_wants_back_yard_b.html
She first noticed a beaver dam in her back yard, which backs up to the Chestnut Branch of Mantua Creek, about a year ago. The wetlands on her property teem with wildlife. Forsyth and her husband have spotted river otters otters and wood ducks, usually a rare sight in Gloucester County, as well as the occasional bald eagle.
But now, the water diverted by the dam flows outside of the limits of the stream and onto what was once dry land. Forsyth had a walking path on her property that is currently submerged, and her neighbors aren’t too happy about the flooding in their own yards.
“The wetlands got a little wetter,” said Forsyth.
The bank of Chestnut Branch across the water from Forsyth’s property is owned by the township. One day when Forsyth arrived home to find a work crew dismantling the dam, she called the police, not realizing the workers were public employees. But even taking the dam apart isn’t a permanent solution, since beavers respond to damage to their lodges by simply improving upon their earlier work.
http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2013/04/mantua_woman_wants_back_yard_b.html