Another Beaver Dam in East Brunswick

A few months ago I wrote about the big beaver dam right off of Kimberly Place near the intersection with Harts Lane. The beaver dam is really easy to view . It was still there the last time I looked, so check it out if you haven't gotten there yet. As far as I know it is the first beaver dam in East Brunswick in a long time, although there have been others in Milltown, Jamesburg and I think in Spotswood too. With the beaver population really expanding in Central New Jersey it was only a matter of time before another dam was built on one of our local streams or ponds.

This weekend while out exploring in the southern portion of town I came across another beaver dam and widespread evidence of their ecological engineering. Judging from the size of the dam and the freshness of the gnawed trees, it looks like it has been built in the past month or so and is actively being enlarged. I've attached some photos of the dam and the trees that are being felled in the adjacent flooded wetlands. Despite the large size of some of these trees after they drop, the beavers will gnaw them into managable lengths and then drag them to the dam. After placing them in the right spot the beavers will seal any leaks with mud and plants.

Please let the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission know if you find any beaver dams or evidence of beaver in town (or anything else of interest) . You can email us at friends.ebec@gmail.com or better yet, as a Friends member you can post your photographs directly to the website! Friends membership is FREE and takes only a few seconds to register at www.friendsebec.com