Beavers and Otters introduced in Arkansas

Unintended Consequences: SIGNIFICANT environmental and economic problems

To clue you in on the beaver and otter problems, they were brought into Arkansas. In one night a beaver can destroy a tree that may be hundreds of years old. They build dams that often back water across roads and fields. The fields are then declared wet lands, and farmers are not allowed to use or drain them. Tax dollars are expended keeping the roads above water. A beaver tries to keeps its dam 6" above water level, so as water collects, the dams get higher. Some are now 25 feet high.

The beavers dig holes along the river banks. When the water gets high, it pours into these holes that are often near roots of large, old trees. The trees eventually tumble into the river taking the bank and top soil with them. The rivers are getting shallower and wider as a result.

The Corps of Engineers prohibits us from removing gravel from our rivers without a permit. The rivers no longer belong to us, but we still pay property tax on that acreage. As a result of the difficulty of getting gravel removal permits, it has become extremely expensive for people like me to buy gravel instead of using that which I once owned. Since the gravel is not removed, the rivers get shallower and are less able to handle large over flows, thus flooding is more extensive. The gravel gets deeper because of the a erosion that is caused by the loss of the trees.

The otter is a fish eater. We now have streams that have few fish because of the otter's appetite. We often find fish on the banks that have been gutted, but not eaten by the otter. Many people now find it impossible to raise catfish in their ponds because the otter kill all of them.

The text of this page is from an e-mail from Jane Williams who lives in Arkansas. For more information contact Linda Lewis

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