RIP Boehm Beaver Pond

The beaver pond 

Park users had really been enjoying the trailside beaver pond off Winthrop Woods Road until someone -- we don't know who -- came in with heavy equipment and ripped it apart. 

The beaver dam before it was destroyed

After the dam was breached and the pond drained

Hikers had been sharing photos of the beaver, along with other pond animals like muskrat, ducks, and even some visiting otter. Beaver ponds make great habitat for a number of species. The beaver pond was an enlargement of Boehm Pond, which is completely surrounded by protected conservation lands. There were no reports of human structures being impacted, so the beaver seemed OK. Some people did call to complain that the beaver were killing the trees in the open space, and they thought it was an eyesore, but since it's conservation land, and beaver ponds are natural and beneficial to wildlife, no action was warranted. 

Boehm Pond Beaver Dam (2020)

Nevertheless, someone dismantled the guardrail on Winthrop Woods Road and brought in heavy equipment to rip apart the beaver dam, take out trees, and move large rocks along the shore. People in the neighborhood assumed City crews had done the work, but no one at the City authorized or knows of any crews having done this. 

Otter slide tracks on the beaver pond

Normally, beaver would immediately rebuild the dam, but it hasn't happened. That means the beaver died or moved on. We did receive a report of one beaver hit by a car over the summer.  What happened to the others? 

The dam breach

The drained pond is pretty ugly for the time being, but it should green up quickly next year. Lots of sunlight will reach the enriched ground, and a new kind of habitat will be created. This would have been the normal end for the beaver cycle, but it happened faster than normal and old beaver dams normally retain water long after the beaver have left, so the beaver pond is longer lasting. 

If anyone has information on what happened to the beaver dam, email conservation@cityofshelton.org.