Frequently
Asked Questions
I
have beavers constructing
a "hut" under my
dock. What can
I do about it?
Answer: Beavers
constructing a "hut" under
docks is not uncommon
on our bigger lakes.
This is a structure
for them to live in,
not to change water
flows in any way. The
hut will have an underwater
entrance along the bottom. In
fact, the beavers will
commonly dig a ditch
in the lake floor called
a "run". This
ditch will go under
the side of the hut
and open into a cavity
of air inside where
they'll stay. Advice: Don't
try to
outwork the beavers, you can't. Just
remove sticks,etc.
that are in the
way of getting your boat in/out, etc. In
order to get rid of 'em you really
need a trapper to come catch them. This
is usually with a body gripping
trap set under the water level. Caution
is required that no one swim or
otherwise be in the water around the
dock when these traps are set.
These traps are powerful and can seriously
injure/kill people & dogs too.
Legally, beavers are not protected
from any take given their nuisance
nature. Therefore, you can legally
trap or shoot them or destroy the
hut at any time. Shooting is rarely
safe or effective around the shore
of a lake and may be in violation
of local ordinances. Once
a trapper gets rid of
them, it should be possible to modify
a dock to prevent reinfestation
although this is rarely done. It
would involve installation of hard
slats across (metal, engineered material,
treated wood), under the dock at or
just below the water surface (a hut
must project above the water level).
Similarly the perimeter of the dock
could be walled off down to the
bottom similar to a sea wall which
should prevent access anywhere under
the dock. Both of these would
seemingly be fairly extensive dock
work.
RipRap on the bottom under the dock
should also dissuade them since
they won't be able to make runs on
the bottom there.Most
folks just trap
them out and clean up and take their
chances in the future. Generally
there isn't anything about one dock
above many others, just a somewhat
random choice. This will minimize
the chances that beavers will choose
you again in the near future.Check
with TVA about trapping at your
dock. Chances are good they
have some allowance for this as this
is a common need on many lakes. Good
Luck!
I
have heard that Lake Nottely is
not as clean as Blue Ridge
because the Nottely River
flows through cow pastures,
farm land, etc. Is
this true? What is the cleanliness
of Lake Nottely and what is being
done to improve it?
Answer: Lake
Blue Ridge's water shed is mostly
National Forest. Since
the water flowing into Nottely
does flow through a significant
amount of private land,
the water quality has
been adversely affected
by human activities. The
Hiwassee River Watershed
Coalition is an excellent
resource for information on the
local area basins. The HRWC website
can be found at www.HRWC.net.
This is just one of the reasons
why the LNIA works closely with
the HRWC to monitor the water quality
of the streams flowing into Lake
Nottely. Another excellent resource
for information is the TVA's
Nottely Reservoir Ecological
Health web
page.
How
much have the lake levels increased
since the water
management policies were changed
by the TVA in 2004?
Answer: Under
the TVA's new reservoir operations
plan initiated in
2004, winter lake levels for
Lake Nottely will to be 10 - 15 feet
higher than lake levels observed
prior to 2005.