UPTON - When a family of beavers built two dams and a lodge on Warren Brook, clearly visible from a bridge on Fowler Street, neighbors took notice. At dusk, we gathered to watch the beaver family go about its business, swimming silently to and fro, grooming themselves and each other, and gnawing the bark from branches for breakfast (as nocturnal creatures, it was the start of their day). We chatted, took pictures, joked about beaver tourism, and shared binoculars. Neighbors who had never met forged friendships. Children giggled gleefully. One thoughtful neighbor even hung a pair of binoculars in a waterproof case on the bridge railing for kids to get a good look at the action.

While many neighbors were enchanted, some were not. 

To address a neighbor’s complaint and concern that the dam on the downstream side of the bridge might cause Fowler Street to flood, the Department of Public Works (DPW) began dismantling it. The landowner asked them to stop so the situation could be assessed to determine if the danger was great enough to warrant the destruction. After the DPW left, the beavers repaired the dam within a day. 

The episode with the DPW raised concerns among the beaver watchers. As mentioned in my last article [May 2026], beavers are good for the environment. As a “keystone species,” they dramatically increase plant, bird, fish, and other wildlife variety and populations; improve water quality; recharge aquifers; and protect against flooding and wildfires. They also help mitigate climate change by creating wetlands that turn streams into powerful carbon sinks. 

But beavers do things their way, which can cause perceived - as well as real - problems. 

The Upton DPW has long responded to beaver activity in various ways, including destruction.

The decision to destroy beavers rests with the Board of Health (BoH). A municipal department or landowner must submit a permit requesting that a colony be destroyed, and then only for the purposes of human health and public safety. It is up to the BoH to determine whether a request meets those strict criteria. The landowner must be consulted and grant permission for destroying the beavers. (That said, a property owner is permitted to hire a licensed trapper to destroy beavers on their own property, but only during fur-bearing hunting season from Nov. 1 through April 15.)

Dubbing ourselves the “Beaver Brigade,” we formed an informal interest group to discuss what was best for the town, beaver-abutting landowners, and the beavers. We talked about working with the town to put in place a process to assess each situation—and when there were genuine threats, to explore alternatives to destroying beavers. The group agreed that we should learn how Upton can take advantage of the good beavers can do, and develop means to mitigate problems when possible. 

We met with the BoH and requested—among other things—that permits be denied/delayed between April 15 and late July when the kits are in their lodges. The BoH was supportive. Since the meeting, the BoH has not issued permits to trap beavers on Warren Brook, yet alarmingly, the beaver colonies have disappeared outside of fur-bearing hunting season and during breeding season. 

I was tasked with becoming the group’s “beaver expert.” I’ve embraced the assignment because beavers have fascinated me since childhood, and that fascination was fed when beavers built a dam on Warren Brook that created a pond behind our Mechanic Street home. The pond is home to an amazing array of wildlife, such as the family of geese pictured here.

I am educating myself about beavers and how humans can coexist with our beaver neighbors so we all benefit. To learn more, I will be travelling to Minneapolis in late September to attend BeaverCON, a “global gathering for knowledge-sharing around beaver.” In addition to the main conference, I will be attending a “beaver coexistence workshop.” I will share what I learn, and hope to serve as an information resource.

Submitted by Becky Wetzel