Final (we hope) update: Seattle Public Utilities late this afternoon says it went too far on Monday in breaching part of Maple Leaf’s beaver dam.
“It is sometimes necessary to remove small parts of the beavers’ dam,” reported the utility’s Andy Ryan after an investigation of the incident, “but in this case the work performed by our staff exceeded our normal procedures.
“Although we do not believe there will be any long-term adverse impacts to the Thornton Creek beavers as a result (of) our actions this week, we are taking immediate action—including stepped-up training for workers who may be assigned to deal with beaver dams—to ensure that this kind of mistake won’t be repeated,” Ryan said.
Further update: The crew and trucks from Seattle Public Utilities are gone. The beaver pond remains.
Also, the original post at the P-I site… has vanished. No, now (mid-afternoon) a version of it is back.
A male mallard in the beaver pond Tuesday morning.
UPDATE: Andy Ryan at Seattle Public Utilities says they are checking to see exactly what work is being done at the beaver dam and pond. “We do lots of work maintaining beaver dams throughout the city to avoid urban flooding.”
Ryan also says city Mayor Mike McGinn had nothing to do with the work. (The P-I post, headlined “Mayor attacks Maple Leaf beaver,” quotes a worker as saying the mayor ordered the work.) “The mayor didn’t talk to anybody at SPU,” Ryan said. “That was a flippant response from a temporary worker.”
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Two trucks and a crew from Seattle Public Utilities are at the site of Maple Leaf’s beaver dam and pond this morning after a report that a worker apparently from the utility department attacked the dam with an ax on Monday.
The report, from Marc Phillips, president of the Maple Leaf Community Council, is posted at the Seattle P-I’s North Seattle blog. It quotes Cheryl Eastberg of Seattle parks as saying the destruction must stop immediately.
We’ve contacted the mayor’s office, parks and SPU, and will update as soon as we learn more facts.
