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Forest Malpractice

 'Busy as a beaver' is not an expression you hear often these days. Perhaps it is just as well.

Actually I am not sure I've ever seen evidence of beaver-work as much as I did recently.


There wasn't just a dam -- there was a system of dams.

I never would have believed such a thing was possible in the modern age. Surely, by now, beavers have learned to just sit in cubicles and dick around all day on the computer, optimizing dam design; while the actual physical construction of the dams is outsourced to a construction crew of Mexican beavers. 

Perhaps every now and then, the American beavers get involved in "field work." And here is the result.


The photo plays it down, but water was pouring over from the pond onto the forest road. The road was actually eroding. My bike was slopped up with mud.

Moral of the story: this is what happens when there is an over-reliance on computer models in engineering work.

Comments

Bon vivant said…
Love the attitude. Dam Beavers! I've got a feeling given I've full-timed for years and have similar sentiments my blog would read just like yourn.
Ed said…
I would say that those busy beavers have violated the Clean Water Act by building a dam on a creek without a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. Not just a dam but "there was a system of dams".

Probably no permit to harvest timber either; you have the picture to prove that is what they were doing. Good job kaBLOOnie.

Lock 'em up! Or, if there is a execution I would like a hat.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Indeed, Ed, those beavers are earth-criminals. How are fish supposed to get by one of those dams? What if it is an endangered fish species? The beavers should let the creek alone -- let it be natural.
Thanks Bon vivant. I saw a moose by the beavers, and the moose came out on the road and ran ahead of my van, just like silly cows do. The moose certainly had an ungainly stride.
Mark in Kansas said…
A beaver isn’t worth a dam without his choppers.