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311 complaint of the day: Busy beavers in West Roxbury

Tree across path at Millennium Park

A concerned citizen filed a 311 complaint about some demolition work along the path that follows Sawmill Brook at Millennium Park in West Roxbury:

Tree downed by beaver is blocking walking path on lower level of Millennium Park.

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Comments

Bet the dam beaver didn't even have a demolition permit. Beastly behavior.

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Wasteful beavers only build housing for their own family, not multi-family units.

Destroying trees!

We don't need no stinking badgers!

Ward, your being a little rough on the beaver.

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My thought was "Really? You can't just move the top of the tree off the path yourself!? Park maintenance will clean it up on their regular rounds. Doesn't need a special dispatch."

And kudos to park maintenance - it's gorgeous there!

Maybe the odd dude who's been cutting branches and trees
for the last several years will cut the branches for the beaver.
The dude comes after the park closes and runs around
cutting whatever he likes - he says, to help the beavers.
If you look at the damn at the bridges, you can see all the cut ends - man made, not beaver.

or Lumpy

This'll sound like a legend, but it's all too real: Wore hiking boots, a beard, ski hat, glasses, a big smile, and that's it. Also had those hiking poles the hippie hikers like to use even on flat ground. I wouldn't have believed I'd seen him except that I saw him twice, and had some independent confirmation from other bewildered normal folk.* He was presumably also responsible for a sign that was briefly posted on the Needham side** of the parklands which said something like "Warning: Nude sunbathers may be encountered beyond this point"; the "this point" being the border of a tick-infested swamp. So perhaps Lyme took care of him.

*No, it isn't normal to tromp around in the woods without pants. It just isn't. Don't even argue this.
**Where you'd expect it to be, right? Also don't bother arguing this one.

that concerned.

Really? You can't just move the top of the tree off the path yourself!?

There are people who can't just move that - for instance, those of us who are disabled and/or elderly. Same people who might not be able to just go around it, especially if in a wheelchair or using crutches.

That is what I think when I remove an obstruction. Sure, its not my job but it takes time for the pros to arrive and the next person might not be strong enough to go around.

About 90% of the time that I see a tree across the path and think "that doesn't look that heavy, I bet I can move it" I then utterly fail to budge the damn thing. And I'm no weakling. Wood is heavy and all those branches add a ton of friction.

Now, if the concerned citizen were carrying a chainsaw, that would be a different matter.

Encountered one of these on the bike path between I-93 and the Mystic River. I tried to move it, but it was a lot heavier than it looked. I could lift and swing it a few inches - sort of.

Two other cyclists arrived, none of us speaking the same language as the others, but we managed to pantomime our ideas and collectively we were able to lift and drag (pivot) it so that it was laying along the path, not across it. It took three people to move it.

High fives all around and we were all on our way.

This is only the beginning. She is eager to protect the beaver, and doesn't see the potential downside for the forest or its trees.

You are missing the forest for a few trees. The beavers sequester water that supports diverse tree growth. Humans are responsible for the unnatural deforestation of the east coast. Beaver ponds become beaver meadows that don't become prairies because coyotes and wolves keep the elk and deer from devouring all the young trees. It takes buffalos to kill all the trees to make prairies.