Beaver dam builds concern for nearby neighborhood

A small creek behind a neighborhood on the Fayette-Jessamine County Line shows signs of backup. The still water grows into a pond further downstream. The culprit? A group of beavers had built a dam, stopping the creek in its bed.

One of the residents, Taryn Chula, shared her first encounter with the dam.

“Well it was about a few weeks ago, the initial time that we all noticed that the water was backing up. Kind of followed it down and realized there was this huge dam that had been built.”

Neighbors say beavers constructed the first dam towards the start of March. The neighborhood removed the dam – and the beavers – but they returned a few weeks later with a bigger structure.

“I love seeing things like that,” Chula acknowledged. “It is kind of cool, but I can predict the future and go, this is not going to be good, you know, for the wildlife and for all this whole area. It’s cool to look at, for like five seconds, but it also could potentially be dangerous.”

The stagnant water brings bugs and erodes soil, causing trees near the creek to fall. The pointy stumps and deep water add extra concern for parents in the neighborhood.

There are concerns about a child being injured or drowned, especially since the neighborhood already suffered a loss back in 2017 at the neighborhood pool.

“None of us let any of the kids go back there by themselves,” said Chula, “and we’re constantly like, you know, having our eye on them in the water.”

The first time around, local council representative Brenda Monarrez granted $2,500 in neighborhood development funds to remove the dam. The removal process cost $4,800 in total.

This second dam has sat for over a month, and neighbors shared some frustration as their homeowner’s association has not decided how to remove the dam.

As an attempt for a solution, one man allegedly shot and killed four beavers. Residents hope the HOA can come to a safer, more peaceful situation for both them and the beavers.

“None of us are beaver experts,” Chula said. “I think to get somebody, wildlife in here that can maybe get rid of them in a humane way. I don’t know what that would be, but yeah. I think they’re misplaced. They need to be placed somewhere else, because this is just going to keep creating problems.”

There is a season for hunting beavers, but it ran from mid-November to the end of February this year. Landowners are able to deal with nuisance wildlife by shooting or trapping, but residents would prefer the latter.

To learn more about trapping and removing beavers, click here.