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Sharon board weighs options as recurring beaver activity and altered culvert leave Chapel Hill Road at risk
Summary
Residents and the highway supervisor told the Selectboard that repeated beaver blockages have driven emergency clearing costs above $7,000, the culvert end was shortened without permission, and state biologists say standard exclusion devices may no longer work without culvert extension or landowner permission.
The Sharon Selectboard spent substantial time on May 4 addressing chronic beaver activity that has repeatedly blocked a second culvert on Chapel Hill Road and forced frequent, costly clearings. Highway Supervisor Allen Wight said the crew continues to clear the site; Vice Chair Kevin Gish reported the Town has already spent more than $7,000 in labor and materials responding to the problem.
Wight and Gish told the board that a resident had cut off the end of the culvert without permission, leaving it too short to accept a properly installed exclusion fence or flow device. Kevin Gish said state biologist Tyler Brown indicated installing a beaver deceiver or exclusion fence is not feasible without extending the culvert, and that written permission would be required from a private landowner to place traps.
Multiple nearby residents recommended restoring a properly designed flow device rather than trapping alone. Resident Jill Wilcox said, “A Beaver Deceiver will work if it is well designed,” and recommended hiring technician Skip Lisle to reinstall such a device; she noted the State previously hired Lisle to repair a flow device at CCC pond, which she said has performed well since. Other residents, including Jane Keller and Peter Anderson, described long-term changes in water-level cycling and questioned whether additional culverts would solve the problem.
Chair Scott Henkels emphasized it is inappropriate for residents to alter municipal infrastructure without written permission and directed the highway crew to continue maintaining the culverts. The board asked Town Administrator Nicola Shipman to research whether a formal volunteer agreement, liability coverage, or community fundraising could offset costs for a high-quality flow device. The Selectboard tabled further action and will revisit options at its May 18 meeting.
