HELMETTA – In an effort to thwart recurrent flooding in areas of town, state and county officials are allowing lethal trapping in the Jamesburg Park Conservation Area, so as not to “leave it to beaver.”
“It’s a fairly common problem statewide,” said Steven Toth, consulting wildlife biologist for Middlesex County Parks and Recreation Department. “Trap and transfer is not an option. Believe it or not, New Jersey has an overpopulation of beavers right now.”
Helmetta received a depredation permit, valid from August to September, which allows for trapping of the animals outside the normal trapping season. The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife issues the permits in situations when damage being done by animals is affecting public health and safety or causing economic loss, according to Toth.
When the 30-day permit expires, it is subject to renewal, and Toth said he expects Helmetta’s permit to be renewed.
Last month, representatives of the fish and wildlife division visited Jamesburg Park, which is located in Helmetta, East Brunswick, Monroe and Spotswood, to do an on-site analysis of the problem.
“They don’t just issue these permits because someone says, ‘Hey, I want a permit,’” Darren Doran, head of the Helmetta Public Works Department, said. “[The beavers] have plugged up a culvert … and they’ve actually dammed up a creek near the bog area.”
Beaver activity in Jamesburg Park has led to the nearby cranberry bogs being filled to capacity with water, according to Doran. When this happens, there is no room for rainfall, and flooding becomes inevitable, especially in the area of John Street and Railroad Avenue in Helmetta, he said.
Joe Sapia, a local historian and avid hiker at Jamesburg Park, said he has a hard time believing that beavers are causing the problems in town, as flooding has been an issue in the past.
“It appears to be silting in the local waterways that could be causing the flooding,” said Sapia, of Monroe.
Causes for the previous flooding in Helmetta, Sapia said, were unusually heavy rains, the fact that most of the town is a floodplain, and a major change in the flow of water above the town that happened during the last generation. He also pointed out the loss of wetlands from upstream developments taking place.
Sapia cited problems with the town’s drainage system, and the fact that the snuff mill shut down in 1993, leaving waterway maintenance that was once performed by mill employees undone.
“That’s his opinion,” Doran said. “Mr. Sapia is not an expert on this.”
According to Doran, a nor’easter in April proved that the over-full cranberry bogs were to blame for flooding. He also said the Middlesex County Flood Control Commission has worked with the borough in order to eke out a solution to the problems.
Sapia said officials are focusing on the wrong area. The problem is not in the bogs, but instead at the swamp across the sand road from them, he said.
“Here we have a native species [beavers] coming back to the area on their own, and we’re going to euthanize it, or them. I’m wondering if there’s another solution that doesn’t involve destroying wildlife.”
Representatives of the state and county said the lethal traps are indeed the only solution, because moving the beavers would only relocate the problem.
“They cannot be relocated. Most areas that are suitable for beavers already have beavers,” said Jim Sciascia, chief of information and education for the state Division of Fish and Wildlife division.
Toth echoed Sciascia’s statements, and added that the lethal traps are a last resort solution to an ongoing problem.
Sapia, however, was unconvinced. One solution he proposed is what he refers to as “beaver-friendly pipes,” which allow the animals to do their thing while letting water drain out of the area.
Toth said the devices would not be appropriate in this situation, for several reasons. The pipes would require daily maintenance to keep them working, and even then, they are not always effective, he said.
“It’s a matter of what works, and what doesn’t,” Toth said. “Water control devices work best in culverts, but he’s not using a culvert all the time.”
Though there is no way around the lethal traps, Toth said, it is likely that only one beaver is causing the problems, and only that one will be targeted.
“[In] any wildlife control activity, you don’t try to reduce the population, you try to remove the offending animal,” Toth said. “Usually, one beaver has a propensity for clogging culverts or damming up a particular area.”
Doran said the traps have not yet proven successful. He also agrees that one beaver is probably responsible for the damming. Traps are set in the area where it does its work to trap this animal.
Regardless of what officials say about the beaver trapping, Sapia is opposed to it. He said there has not been evidence of beavers in the area since the 1940s, and he was pleased with their re-emergence.
“Is it a conservation area, or is it not a conservation area,” Sapia asked. “I would prefer to deal with the human animals that are ruining the area.”
Erosion and other destruction in the 1,479-acre park from all-terrain vehicles has been an ongoing problem, to which Sapia has brought attention. In recent months, Middlesex County officials have begun efforts to restore trails made by ATV riders and to address other damaged areas, with Sapia’s help.
Toth said the county is also taking initiatives to develop wildlife management plans. A couple of things parks officials are working on now are improving habitats for songbirds, and installing educational signage for those who use walking trails.
“The park commission’s goal is to enhance the opportunities for wildlife in the various county parks,” Toth said.