by Tom Cox

Does the lake seem high to you? That's not an illusion, you may be sure. Walt Kane reports that when he read the DNR gauge on May 29, the lake stood at 1379.89 feet above sea level, which was 12.5" higher than a year ago, 2.8" higher than on May 21st and 8.4" higher than on last November 1st.

High water is, of course, due in part to ample spring rain, but another culprit may be the substantial beaver dam in the Boy River a couple of hundred yards below the new CSAH 6 bridge. Buzz Converse tells me that on Sunday afternoon, May 22nd, he donned chest-high waders, waded out into the river and single-handedly pulled out the center section of the dam which, he said, was holding back 15 inches of water! As he pulled out twigs and branches, heaping them up on either end of the dam, the water rushed through, carrying additional dam material out with it. Gradually, as the levels on either side of the dam equalized, the water calmed down.

Buzz told me that he understands that the Birch Lake Association contracted with a trapper to remove beaver from that area last fall, and that the trapper had captured some eight or nine animals. Buzz also told me that the water is about mid-thigh depth at the dam. My conclusion: the dam is readily easily accessible to humans - sobering thought for Ten Mile's sometimes intrepid Dam Raiders! Meanwhile, we're in debt to the Birch Lake Association and to Buzz for their attention over this past off-season to this annoyingly persistent problem. To my knowledge, there's still no word on the County's reconstruction of the Birch Lake Outlet Structure. High water may require the postponement of that project for yet another season. Stay tuned. . . .