Beaver Dam Letter

[fasteddie]

This is a copy of an actual letter sent to Ryan DeVries, from the

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, State of Michigan. Wait

till you read this guy's response - but read the entire letter before

you get to the response.

Site Location: Montcalm County

Dear Mr. DeVries:

It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality

that there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced

parcel of property. You have been certified as the legal landowner

and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized activity:

Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the outlet

stream of Spring Pond.

A permit must be issued prior to the start of this type of activity. A

review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been issued.

Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in

violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource

and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994,

being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled Laws

annotated.

The Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially

failed during a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at

downstream locations. We find that dams of this nature are inherently

hazardous and cannot be permitted.

The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all activities

at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition by

removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel.

All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 2002.

Please notify this office when the restoration has been completed so

that a follow-up site inspection may be scheduled by our staff. Failure

to comply with this request or any further unauthorized activity on the

site may result in this case being referred for elevated enforcement

action.

We anticipate and would appreciate your full cooperation in this matter.

Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

David L. Price

District Representative

Land and Water Management Division

"Never do tomorrow what you can do today."

Response --------

Dear Mr. Price,

Reference your certified letter dated 12/17/2000 has been referred to me

to respond to. First of all, Mr. Ryan De Vries is not the legal

landowner and/or contractor at 2088 Dagget, Pierson, Michigan.

I am the legal owner and a couple of beavers are in the (State

unauthorized) process of constructing and maintaining two wood "debris"

dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond.

While I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervise their dam project, I

think they would be highly offended that you call their skillful use of

natural building materials "debris." I would like to challenge your

department to attempt to emulate their dam project any time and/or any

place you choose. I believe I can safely state there is no way you could

ever match their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam

ingenuity, their dam persistence, their dam determination and/or their

dam work ethic.

As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they must

first fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam

activity. My first dam question to you is:

(1) Are you trying to discriminate against my Spring Pond Beavers? or,

(2) do you require all beavers throughout this State to conform to said

dam request?

If you are not discriminating against these particular beavers, through

the Freedom of Information Act I request completed copies of all those

other applicable beaver dam permits that have been issued. Perhaps we

will see if there really is a dam violation of P! art 301, Inland Lakes

and Streams, of the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Act,

Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being sections 324.3010,1 to

324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, annotated. I have several

concerns. My first concern is aren't the beavers entitled to legal

representation?

The Spring Pond Beavers are financially destitute and are unable to pay

for said representation - so the State will have to provide them with a

lawyer.

The Department's dam concern that either one or both of the dams failed

during a recent rain event causing flooding is proof that this is a

natural occurrence, which the Department is required to protect. In

other words, we should leave the Spring Pond Beavers alone rather than

harass them and call their dam names. If you want the stream "restored"

to a dam free-flow condition - please contact the beavers - but if you

are going to arrest them they obviously did not pay any attention to

your dam letter (being unable to read English).

In my humble ! opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build

their unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green

and water flows downstream. They have more dam right than I do to live

and enjoy Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and

Environmental Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the

natural resources

(Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams).

So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be

referred for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until

1/31/2002 The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then, and

there will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them

then.

In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention a real

environmental quality (health) problem in the area. It is the bears.

Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely believe you

should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers alone.

If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your step! (The

bears are not careful where they dump!)

Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to

contact you on your answering machine, I am sending this response to

your office via another government organization - the USPS. Maybe,

someday, it will get there.

Sincerely,

Stephen L. Tvedten

The University of Texas at: Austin

Office Community Relations/Accounting unit

P.O. Box 7367

Austin, TX 78713