Beavers are awesome engineers, as everybody knows. Sometimes that’s great. Sometimes it’s not.
The Monitor has a story about a long-running right in the town of Bow over a beaver dam and how it is shaping New Hampshire law – you can read it here.
House Bill 1530 would require landowners to notify neighboring property owners when a beaver pond crosses property lines and one owner plans to lower the water level or remove a dam.
The bill would also call for an informational meeting, coordinated with the municipality, where neighbors can discuss the proposed work.
Even groups that maintain trails in town would be required to notify abutters before altering a beaver dam, even if the work takes place on town-owned property, which was the case in Bow.
Years ago I covered a lawsuit caused when a beaver dam collapsed in heavy rains; the resulting deluge damaged a downstream house.
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