Board Email: Beaver Trapped

A copy of the email that was sent to the HOA distribution list.

Dear Homeowners,

The Board of Directors of the Plantation Springs Homeowners Association would, first, like to thank you for communicating your opinions surrounding the beaver inhabitance of our creek.  Secondly, as discussed in the Annual Membership Meeting held on January 22, 2009, the following measures have been taken:  The services of a professional animal control contractor, who came highly recommended and has performed similar work for several area communities, were secured to humanely trap the animals and relocate them to an approved area lake.  To date, one nutria and three beavers have been caught and taken to one of the acceptable lakes.  In case you are unfamiliar with nutria, they are a large animal, approximately the same size as a beaver, also a member of the rodent family; and, if you can imagine a rat the size of a beaver, then you have a fairly accurate image of a nutria.  Additionally, all of these animals can carry rabies and provide breeding opportunity for illness such as Lyme Disease.  We are attaching a document, provided by the animal control contractor, that will give you further insight into the problems these animals create as a result of their inhabitance.  We have also attached a picture of a nutria and a beaver that were captured.  It would appear that this is the extent of the beaver and nutria population for the time being; and, the traps have now been removed.

In case you were unable to attend the January 22, 2009 Annual Membership Meeting, we discussed taking these measures in large part due to a previous experience with beavers living in the creek.  In 2004, there were beavers inhabiting the creek just as they have now.  Additionally, those beavers chewed down approximately 20 trees, creating a significant expense for all homeowners due to the cost of replacing the trees.  The Homeowners Association is mandated by a mitigation plan, governed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with regard to the care and maintenance of our creek area.  A copy of the mitigation plan is available for your perusal on our internet site, www.plantation-springs.com.  If you've not had a chance to look over this document, it will explain, in detail, the measures that we must take in order to maintain the vegetation according to the required standards of this plan.  Replacing trees is an expensive proposition.  Furthermore, the trees that were taken down last time provided a much needed noise screen for our neighbors on the south end of the neighborhood, closer to Hwy. 121.

We trust this will enlighten you as to the steps the directors have taken and the reasoning behind those steps.  All of the directors are listed on the "contact" page of the internet site and, we invite you to call or e-mail anytime you have questions or concerns.

Thank you again for your interest in the protection and preservation of our neighborhood's natural culture.

See my response here.