ATHOL — John Robertson told the Athol Selectboard at its meeting on Tuesday, May 17, that members of The Friends of Lake Ellis (FLE) want to make town officials aware of a couple of issues which “are essential” to the health of the popular local attraction. Robertson said members of the organization are hopeful progress in addressing the issues can be made in the weeks and months ahead.
He added that Friends of Lake Ellis is a 501 c3 non-profit organization “committed to preserving a healthy Lake Ellis for our community.”
“We realize some work has been done,” Robertson continued, “but the issues are still unsolved. And we believe each time they’re addressed, they are met with short-term, band aid-type solutions, rather than a long-term commitment to solve the core issues.”
He said the first issue of importance has a long history “that most of you know a great deal about.” Robertson then provided a bit of background.
“(In) 1845, Lake Ellis Dam suddenly gave way,” he continued, “releasing a large volume of water into Mill Brook, destroying a factory that was using its hydropower, as well as many others downstream.”
An obviously frustrated Robertson then said he could go on for hours — but wouldn’t — regarding “the decades of exhausting efforts by residents, town officials at all levels, state representatives that have been engaged, and the tens of thousands of dollars spent on studies, all to manage the water level at Lake Ellis … Even with all this effort, we still don’t have a long-term solution.”
He said members of FLE understand finding a lasting solution will take a lot of time and effort.
“However,” said Roberts, “the issue we have now is in the town’s new approach to managing short-term water levels, which has drastically been changed.”
He went on to complain about local efforts to control fluctuations in water levels caused by beaver dams, and the threat to public health and safety resulting therefrom. Robertson said communities have been told how best to handle the problem by the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
“The last two years, during flooding events,” Robertson explained, “we are being told by local representatives that the water level is the state’s responsibility, or ‘we don’t own the water,’ or ‘the state has to clean the culverts,’ ‘we can’t expend public money on private property,’ ‘our trapper says there’s no dam under the culvert under Route 2,’ etc., etc.
“We’ve been getting different answers about how we can’t solve (the problem.) The Friends of Lake Ellis, we don’t want to get into a debate with the town, or town management, or anybody who is going to help to solve the problem on how we manage the beaver-caused flooding in Lake Ellis. We realize town officials have a lot of responsibilities and different priorities.”
Robertson went on to say, however, that “we do believe the recent change in the established procedures in managing the beaver-caused flooding is a dereliction of duty.”
Board Vice Chair Rebecca Bialecki said any changes that have occurred in recent years have taken place at the direction of the state, not the town.
“There was a change in the process of how the state will order the beaver eradication to happen,” she said. “So, it’s not quite as quick as it once was. What I was understanding is that some of the guys who used to do that work for the state have retired, the pandemic, all the other 8,000 excuses you get from the state when you want to get things done. But I do understand there was a change in how that happened.
“It’s my understanding now that, for at least the last year, the state has been engaged with the town of Athol to have a regular eradication program scheduled, going out there on a regular basis, correct?” she asked Town Manager Shaun Suhoski. “Are they not showing up?”
“I don’t know,” replied Suhoski, adding that the proposed schedule was agreed to “with a wink and a shrug.”
In defense of the town, Suhoski did say, “The DPW has made efforts to send people out there, although it’s not nearly quite as robust as it was. The current management of that department did put a line item in (FT23, the town budget) for beaver control. It was not a line item before.”
The town manager added that there are circumstances that allow the town to spend taxpayer monies for work on private property.
“I see the frustration,” he continued. “The water was over-topping Lake Ellis Road, Beach Street; it is impacting public infrastructure as well.”
Robertson claimed that failure to effectively address the beaver problem in recent years was due in part to a “falling out” between the DPW and the trapper who had done the work for a number of years.
“We, as The Friends of Lake Ellis, don’t care,” he said. “But the responsibility is still on the town to not tell the residents ‘now it’s harder because we changed something.’ The state hasn’t changed anything. The state is like, ‘Why are we now all of a sudden responsible for your beavers in your public waterway?’”
Board Chair Alan Dodge wanted to know about the practice of the DPW and Department of Public Health working together to secure a 10-day permit allowing for the trapping of beavers.
Suhoski said the issue should be addressed pending approval of the $12,000 line item, but Robertson countered that that money is solely for removal of beavers, not removal of their dam.
Dodge then offered up a proposal for Suhoski, DPW Director Dick Kilhart and Robertson to meet and develop a plan for addressing the overall issue until securing the state’s commitment to clear out the culverts that run below Route 2, which is a state highway.
Dodge also said Suhoski would search for additional funding sources to pay for the eradication of invasive plant species — milfoil among them — that are damaging water quality at Lake Ellis while also diminishing its attractiveness as recreational resource.
Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com