Beaver dam? Tannerite? Hold my beer!

[bcp]

Full story about halfway down this page.

1/8/2023-1/21/2023

www.michigan.gov

Several 911 calls came into the Montmorency County dispatch stating there were multiple gun shots and then a very loud explosion that had shook multiple houses in the area. One of the callers stated that they thought a new property owner had blown up a beaver dam that was in Crooked Creek. The same caller stated that the river began to significantly rise causing flooding onto their property.
...
The subject stated that he did not think of what would happen when he removed the dam in such a drastic and immediate manner.



Bruce

 

[MossRoad]

Full story about halfway down this page.

1/8/2023-1/21/2023

www.michigan.gov

Several 911 calls came into the Montmorency County dispatch stating there were multiple gun shots and then a very loud explosion that had shook multiple houses in the area. One of the callers stated that they thought a new property owner had blown up a beaver dam that was in Crooked Creek. The same caller stated that the river began to significantly rise causing flooding onto their property.
...
The subject stated that he did not think of what would happen when he removed the dam in such a drastic and immediate manner.



Bruce

Man, I had to read the entire thing. That was a lot of business in 2 weeks. Very interesting. What always amazes me about Conservation Officer reports is the number of repeat offenders they encounter, as well as the non-wildlife issues they deal with.

 

[Jstpssng]

The scary part is that they're allowed to breed! Here is the portion the OP is referring to.

O Dan Liestenfeltz responded to a loud explosion complaint in Montmorency County. Several 911 calls came into the Montmorency County dispatch stating there were multiple gun shots and then a very loud explosion that had shook multiple houses in the area. One of the callers stated that they thought a new property owner had blown up a beaver dam that was in Crooked Creek. The same caller stated that the river began to significantly rise causing flooding onto their property. CO Liestenfeltz was able to locate the location of where the explosion had occurred. CO Liestenfeltz saw that the water level had dropped dramatically leaving way less water upstream of where the dam had been as well as much higher water levels downstream until it evened out. CO Liestenfeltz observed four .308 rifle casings on the ground and placed those into evidence. After walking to the property’s residence, CO Liestenfeltz contacted a subject who had admitted to blowing up the beaver dam with a large block of Tannerite. The subject stated that he did not think of what would happen when he removed the dam in such a drastic and immediate manner. CO Liestenfeltz seized the .308 used to shoot the Tannerite and placed it into evidence as well. Charges will be submitted to the Montmorency County Prosecutor’s Office for removing a beaver dam without a permit.

We occasionally pull a dam but big ones are generally done with an excavator over the course of a few days.

 

[m1garand762]

It’s fun to use tannerite on beaver dams. I blew one a few years ago with 10 pounds. I waited for the cop across the street to not be home to do it thinking he would be the one to be upset about it, instead I found out he was upset to have missed it his wife told him about it and apparently he watched a lot of the YouTube beaver dam vs tannerite videos

 

[Xfaxman]

One of my experiences with beavers about twenty years ago at the spillway on the pond dam.

The spillway:

And sticks from the beavers:

I put these over the beaver dam with the ends anchored in the pond:

The beavers added more sticks around the pipes:

But the pipes kept siphoning keeping the water level from going over their dam.
After awhile the beavers gave up and moved on.

 

[zzvyb6]

Dam shame...

 

[jaxs]

I look for stricter regulations on Tannerite any day. Meanwhile lots of people having fun with it. Like these guys

 

[Joel/ak]

Almost 20 years ago, watched a friend blow a dam. He wasn't using tannerite. I got way back.

Upstream was flooding bad and nothing downstream but the Tanana river.

Pretty impressive. He later shot a couple beaver while they were trying to rebuild it.

 

[Jstpssng]

Almost 20 years ago, watched a friend blow a dam. He wasn't using tannerite. I got way back.

Upstream was flooding bad and nothing downstream but the Tanana river.

Pretty impressive. He later shot a couple beaver while they were trying to rebuild it.

That's something we have to be careful about. One of the roads I look after had a 4 foot pipe which the beavers had plugged for years. I had it taken out and replaced with a nice concrete bridge with a 12 foot span... the next time I drove across it the darned beavers had it plugged again.

 

[Joel/ak]

Yup, taking out the dam is just part of the problem. If you don't remove the critters, you will always have problems.