Mature trees are dying, a pedestrian bridge is slowly vanishing beneath the water and historic buildings containing priceless artefacts face an increasingly uncertain future.
The cause of the trouble is a colony of bold beavers. Their persistent dam-building has transformed a wetland into a growing headache for Scandia, a town northeast of the Twin Cities.
The beavers’ work has driven water towards City Hall and onto the grounds of the Gammelgarden Museum, which preserves the history of the Swedish immigrants who helped found Minnesota’s first Swedish settlement.
After two years of appeals for assistance, museum officials fear the damage may soon be permanent. Efforts to address the flooding are also being complicated by a dispute between the city and a private landowner.
“It’s unnerving how close the water has gotten to the historic buildings, because if those are affected then we can’t replace them,” said Ann Rinkenberger, the museum’s executive director.
From across the museum grounds, Rinkenberger can see mature trees that have died, gardens ruined by floodwater and a prairie restoration project put on hold until the water level falls.
The greatest concern is the museum’s historic buildings, including an 1860s structure that houses historical artefacts. Rinkenberger fears that if floodwater reaches the foundations, the results could be catastrophic.
“We’re seeing more being damaged the longer this issue is not addressed,” she said.
A beaver colony has built a dam in the wetlands behind Scandia City Hall, creating a reservoir three to four feet deep and pushing the waterline about 20 feet farther up the bank than usual.
The city owns much of the surrounding wetland, but the critical southern section belongs to a private landowner. That is where the beaver dam is located.
The critical southern section belongs to a private landowner, and that is where the dam is located. Scandia has a drainage and utility easement across the property, but officials say they cannot reach the dam without the owner’s permission. That permission has been denied.
Beavers have lived in Minnesota for far longer than its Swedish settlers, and the wetlands south of Scandia City Hall have been home to the industrious animals for decades.
Their latest building project, however, has created an unusually serious problem. According to city administrator Kyle Morell, the dam has moved the waterline roughly 20 feet farther up the bank than normal, creating depths of three to four feet behind it.
The flooding has raised a difficult question: who is responsible for bringing it to an end?
The city owns much of the surrounding wetland, but the southern area containing the dam is privately owned. Morell said Scandia holds a drainage and utility easement on the property, yet officials cannot simply enter private land and dismantle the dam.
The property owners have refused permission because they fear removing the dam would send the water onto their own land. They are seeking a permanent answer rather than a short-term measure that could allow the beavers to return and rebuild.
The impasse has left city officials considering their next steps, including possible legal action or an alternative route into the wetlands.
Officials have also asked other agencies to get involved, but so far no organisation appears willing to take responsibility for the problem.
At the centre of the dispute, the beavers are threatening a museum dedicated to the Swedish immigrants who helped establish the community. One of the buildings at risk dates from the 1860s and contains historical artefacts.
The beavers are far from newcomers to this part of Minnesota. They have occupied the wetlands south of City Hall for decades—long before the Swedish settlers whose legacy the museum now preserves.
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But their latest construction project has created a problem that is proving far more difficult to solve than simply tearing down a dam
Mike Isensee, administrator of the Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District, told Our News Outlet that the issue falls within Scandia’s boundaries and therefore lies outside the district’s remit, which generally covers drainage issues spanning multiple jurisdictions.
‘We’re lucky that we have such great water resources that beavers tend to thrive in. It’s part of managing drainage systems,’ he said, adding that developing long-term solutions for local drainage problems can take time.
Scandia, however, argues that the consequences extend beyond its borders.
Morell said water flows from behind City Hall through ditches and wetlands managed by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources before reaching a tributary of Sand Lake.
The flooding has also affected county infrastructure. For the first time, water has submerged the culvert beneath Olinda Trail Road, raising concerns about prolonged saturation.
Washington County spokesperson Tina Elam said officials were committed to working with the relevant agencies to address the beaver activity and protect county infrastructure.
‘The County has not seen water levels in this wetland complex rise high enough this year to threaten County infrastructure, but we continue to monitor the area as we do throughout the transportation system,’ Elam told Our News Outlet.
She said the county is concerned about the ‘culvert being underwater and the road subgrade becoming saturated.’
Mike Isensee, the district’s administrator, told Our News Outlet ‘beavers naturally thrive in an area with such abundant water and that managing the consequences is part of the challenge of maintaining drainage systems.’ But Scandia officials say the water does not stop at the city limits.
Now the flooding is threatening county infrastructure. Water has covered the culvert beneath Olinda Trail Road, something Washington County says has never happened there before. County spokesperson Tina Elam said officials are concerned about the roads becoming saturated and are working with the agencies involved to find a solution
One possible solution is a beaver baffle, a pipe system designed to regulate water levels without requiring the entire dam to be removed. Last month, the City Council instructed staff to continue discussions with other agencies.
For Rinkenberger, however, every delay brings the risk of further damage and the longer the stalemate persists the costs continue to mount.
Sections of the museum’s pedestrian bridge have been underwater for so long that she believes it must be replaced. Gardens have been relocated, a fence ruined and trees lost.
Restoring the grounds will require community support, she said, as will reviving the abandoned prairie project intended to recreate the landscape encountered by early Swedish immigrants.
The full cost of the destruction has yet to be calculated.
But as the beavers continue their work, the town faces an increasingly urgent race to protect its heritage from the rising water.
For Rinkenberger, the frustration is clear.
‘It could have been prevented,’ she said.
