While walking today I saw that the stream was flowing over the sand road at the back of the bogs. Is there anyone to call?
Webbs Mill flooded again!
- Thread starter Mudtrudger
- Start date
I doubt it. They gave up. The best way is to remove it yourself if you want to. Just be careful if you do.
Guy
I went by there tonite on my way to Black's Bridge. The beaver have blocked 80% of the flow of the main outlet pipe, and the water was rippling like they were swimming away from the pipe when I stopped the truck and got out. You can't even see the pipe at all now.
They have really destroyed that area. The stream bed on the other side of the road looks like crap now. It'st like we have to ask the F&WS to just remove the road....period....end of story.
They have really destroyed that area. The stream bed on the other side of the road looks like crap now. It'st like we have to ask the F&WS to just remove the road....period....end of story.
I would be real careful driving back there. The water has eroded around the large culvert under the road when I went past last week. The recent rains certaily didn't help things. In the very near future that road will be probably totally wash out and collapsed at the culvert.
As far as the bog, the water is about a foot over the boardwalk area. This will be, I think, the 4th winter of flooding there. Looks like a write-off.
As far as the bog, the water is about a foot over the boardwalk area. This will be, I think, the 4th winter of flooding there. Looks like a write-off.
Removing the blockage is futile unless repeated every few days. I’ve done it. A friend has done it. I’m sure others have. The beavers have to go, period. I spoke to a trapper who has a beaver permit for that area and he said he was going to check into it. I will try to follow up on that. Aside from that, this is a short term problem. The wonderful habitat that existed at Webbs Mills Bog was due to disturbance. The flooding is exactly that. If and when the beavers are eliminated and the water levels go back down, the cycle will start over again.
I still can't get it through why people have the steady urge NOT to let nature play it's role. I'm openminded, so if people tell me why maybe I'll understand
Dave, was it you who asked this the last time a similar post was open? I answered a similar question at that time. It is a good question, and normally I agree with you, but this is a special case. I'll do a simple search and see if I can find that post.
It very well could have been me. I remember thinking it, but don't remember asking it.
In this case Dave, it is not of natures doing, but ours. The road is the primary reason for the problem. By itself it is an impediment to the natural flow of the Webbs Mill Branch, the culvert under the road mitigates that somewhat. The beaver dam anchored to the road on one end has created a total blockage of the flow. You have to see it. Many folks have tried to work with NJF&W to resolve the problem. Perhaps one more try by German will do the trick, I hope so, but I doubt it.
I’m a big proponent of nature taking its course myself. Unique habitats like this form, mature and change all through the pines, and what disappears in one place may appear someplace else. Many of these are never seen by all but a few people. The PBX excursions detailed on this forum give us a glimpse of what is out there if you venture far enough. Most people will not or cannot do this. In the 20 years I’ve worked for the Ocean County Parks Department I’ve taken more people than I can count, many senior citizens, to the boardwalk that accesses Webbs Mills Bog, doing my best to give them a glimpse of the natural wonders of the Pine Barrens. I know of many other individuals and institutions which have led tours here as well. The site has been the subject of magazine articles in New Jersey Outdoors, New Jersey Audubon magazine and others. My very first introduction to the rare plants of the pines was on a college trip to this very site back in 1980, and it holds a special significance for me. This site isn’t just a random habitat. It’s accessibility makes it an outdoor classroom. Think of saving it as you would saving a park nature center from an oncoming forest fire.
I was at Webb's Mill last Saturday and the water is backed up again. It is as high as the boardwalk in the bogs. I guess the beaver are at work again.
During the week, I had a go at the corrugated pipe, but it was next to impossible because the rodent has filled the inside of it. The risk is too high now. There is a large pool of water behind that dam, and if it is carelessly breached, someone can get hurt.
Hey Gibby I know you hate the beavers,Me I like them but this maybe your only thing left to do
Honestly, I don't have a problem with beavers. I just would like to see the animal that resides at Webbs Mill captured and released in an area where its instincts won't cause harm to an area that is unique for its location.
BTW - tannerite looks like fun!
