Dam Busting and Creek Clean Up

On Sunday afternoon I got to work on breaking up the two beaver dams that I found in the creek alongside the property.  One of the dams had been there for some time, and I initially thought it was just a natural build-up of debris.  A closer look revealed chewed branches and a trail on the bank where the beaver had been climbing in and out.  The second dam, close to the outlet pipe wasn't there a couple weeks ago, and contained lots of freshly cut branches.

Camille took these shots earlier in the day.  I came back later with rubber boots, a digging claw, and shovel to do a proper job.

Once I got into the creek, I discovered a bunch of garbage too.  In one small section I pulled out a plastic deck chair, two large buckets, a volleyball, a soccer ball, some aluminum screen, and half a dozen beer cans.

Remains of a beaver damn and garbage removed from creek.

Tonight we went back to check on things and the upstream dam has been rebuilt.  I'll go back tomorrow and knock it down again, and try to do a better job of clearing the surrounding bank.  If he persists, we'll see about having him trapped and relocated.