Mature trees are dying, a pedestrian bridge is disappearing beneath the water and historic buildings filled with priceless artefacts face an uncertain future.
asserted
buildings → die → future
The architects behind the mayhem are a colony of brazen beavers whose relentless dam-building has turned a patch of wetlands into a headache for the town of Scandia, northeast of the Twin Cities.
asserted
building → turn → Cities
Their handiwork has sent water creeping towards City Hall and encroaching on the grounds of the Gammelgarden Museum, which preserves the heritage of Swedish immigrants who helped establish Minnesota’s first Swedish settlement.
asserted
who → send → settlement
Now, after two years of pleas for help, museum officials fear the damage could become irreversible – while a dispute between the city and a private landowner threatens to stall efforts to tackle the problem.
‘It’s unnerving how close the water has gotten to the historic buildings, because if those are affected then we can’t replace them,’ said Ann Rinkenberger, the museum’s executive director.
uncertain
Rinkenberger → fear → them
Looking out across the grounds, she sees mature trees that have died, gardens destroyed by flooding and a prairie restoration project abandoned until the water recedes.
asserted
water → look → flooding
Most worrying of all are the museum’s historic structures, including a building dating from the 1860s that houses historical artefacts.
asserted
that → include → artefacts
If floodwater reaches their foundations, she fears the consequences could be catastrophic.
uncertain
consequences → reach → foundations
‘We’re seeing more being damaged the longer this issue is not addressed,’ she said.
asserted
she → see → ?
A colony of beavers has constructed a dam in the wetlands behind Scandia City Hall, creating a reservoir of water three to four feet deep and pushing the waterline roughly 20 feet farther up the bank than normal
The city owns much of the surrounding wetland.
asserted
city → construct → wetland
The crucial southern section, however, belongs to a private property owner and that is where the dam is located.
asserted
dam → belong → owner
The crucial southern section, however, belongs to a private property owner and that is where the dam is located.
asserted
dam → belong → owner
Scandia has a drainage and utility easement across the land, but officials say they cannot access the dam without permission from the owner.
asserted
they → have → owner
That permission has been refused
Beavers have inhabited Minnesota for far longer than its Swedish settlers, and the wetlands south of Scandia’s City Hall have attracted the industrious rodents for decades.
asserted
wetlands → refuse → decades
But their latest construction project has taken things to a new level.
asserted
project → take → level
The dam has pushed water approximately 20 feet farther up the bank than normal, leaving depths of three to four feet behind it, according to city administrator Kyle Morell.
uncertain
dam → push → Morell
The resulting flood has exposed the awkward question of who exactly is responsible for stopping it.
asserted
who → result → it
Although the city owns much of the surrounding wetlands, the southern section containing the dam belongs to a private landowner.
asserted
section → own → landowner
Scandia has a drainage and utility easement on the property, Morell said, but city officials cannot simply march onto the land and tear down the dam without crossing private land.
asserted
officials → have → land
The owners have refused permission, he said, fearing that removing the dam would simply send the water flooding onto their own land instead.
asserted
water → refuse → land
They want a lasting solution rather than a temporary fix that would see the beavers return to rebuild.
asserted
beavers → want → solution
The standoff leaves city officials weighing their options, from pursuing legal action to finding another way into the wetlands.
asserted
standoff → leave → wetlands
They have also been trying to persuade other agencies to intervene, but so far nobody appears particularly eager to inherit the problem.
asserted
nobody → try → problem
At the crux of the problem the pesky rodents are threatening a museum dedicated to the Swedish immigrants who helped establish the community.
asserted
who → threaten → community
One of the buildings now at risk dates to the 1860s and is filled with historical artifacts
However the beavers are hardly newcomers to this part of Minnesota.
asserted
beavers → date → Minnesota
They have occupied the wetlands south of City Hall for decades, long before the Swedish settlers whose legacy the museum now protects
But
asserted
museum → occupy → legacy
their latest construction project has created a problem that is proving far more difficult to solve than simply tearing down a dam
Mike Isensee, administrator of the Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District, told the Daily Mail that the issue falls within Scandia’s boundaries and therefore lies outside the district’s remit, which generally covers drainage issues spanning multiple jurisdictions.
‘We’re lucky that we have such great water resources that beavers tend to thrive in.
asserted
beavers → create → that
It’s part of managing drainage systems,’ he said, adding that developing long-term solutions for local drainage problems can take time.
asserted
developing → ’ → time
Scandia, however, argues that the consequences extend beyond its borders.
asserted
consequences → argue → borders
Morell said water flows from behind City Hall through ditches and wetlands managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources before reaching a tributary of Sand Lake.
asserted
water → say → Lake
The flooding has also affected county infrastructure.
asserted
flooding → affect → infrastructure
For the first time, water has submerged the culvert beneath Olinda Trail Road, raising concerns about prolonged saturation.
asserted
water → submerge → saturation
Washington County spokesperson Tina Elam said officials were committed to working with the relevant agencies to address the beaver activity and protect county infrastructure.
asserted
officials → say → infrastructure
'The County has not seen water levels in this wetland complex rise high enough this year to threaten County infrastructure, but we continue to monitor the area as we do throughout the transportation system,' Elam told the Daily Mail.
asserted
Elam → see → Mail
She said the county is concerned about the 'culvert being underwater and the road subgrade becoming saturated.'
asserted
subgrade → say → ?
Mike Isensee, the district’s administrator, told the Daily Mail 'beavers naturally thrive in an area with such abundant water and that managing the consequences is part of the challenge of maintaining drainage systems.'
asserted
managing → tell → systems
But Scandia officials say the water does not stop at the city limits.
asserted
water → say → limits
Now the flooding is threatening county infrastructure.
asserted
flooding → threaten → infrastructure
Water has covered the culvert beneath Olinda Trail Road, something Washington County says has never happened there before.
asserted
County → cover → something
County spokesperson Tina Elam said officials are concerned about the roads becoming saturated and are working with the agencies involved to find a solution
One possible solution is a beaver baffle, a pipe system designed to regulate water levels without requiring the entire dam to be removed.
asserted
solution → say → dam
Last month, the City Council instructed staff to continue discussions with other agencies.
asserted
Council → instruct → agencies
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
