Beaver drains the pond: Without government help, the fishing club is on the verge of collapse

Created: 08/13/2022, 04:00

Within a few hours, the large club pond ran out: the chairman Michael Selmeier (right) and water warden Peter Selmeier no longer have any advice.

© CHRISTIAN CHYMYN

The members of the fishing club Unterzeitlbach are desperate.

A beaver has been digging up the water in their pond for months.

Without state compensation payments, the association is on the brink of collapse.

Unterzeitlbach – Michael Selmeier couldn't believe his eyes when he drove to the club's pond in Unterzeitlbach on Sunday evening.

The chairman of the Unterzeitlbach fishing club found a huge mud hole where countless fish were wriggling or had already died, where the sun was still reflecting in the water a few hours earlier.

The entire pond was without water - ran out within a few hours.

How can that be?

"It was immediately clear to me who it was," says Selmeier.

Because not for the first time it was a beaver that drained the entire club pond.

And this is by no means a small pond: the pond is an impressive 300 meters long, 50 meters wide and a good two meters deep!

Not all fish could be saved when the pond lost water.

© CHRISTIAN CHYMYN

Members of the fishing club Unterzeitlbach frustrated: beaver drains the pond

The beaver damage pushes the fishing club to its limits.

"It can no longer be financed, we are on the verge of bankruptcy, the only consequence left is the dissolution of the association - and that after more than 40 years," says Selmeier.

The same picture presented itself to him seven months ago.

At that time, too, a beaver had damaged the pond enclosure, which was made with wooden boards and posts, and dug an underground tunnel to the nearby Wiesbrunnenbach, which means that the pond water literally went down the stream within a few hours.

"At that time we activated the members for work service, we repaired the damage using large machines, reintroduced the fish stock and now we have the same catastrophe again," said the chairman.

Costly methods and strictly protected animal

In order to prevent the beaver from undermining the enclosure, the fishermen have now come up with a new method.

With the help of an excavator, they ram tree trunks three meters long next to each other vertically into the ground where the beaver has destroyed or undermined the border.

"Quasi as natural sheet piling," explains Selmeier, who estimates the total cost of the two beaver damages at around 15,000 euros.

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Tree trunks three meters long should now protect against the beaver.

© CHRISTIAN CHYMYN

As soon as the damage has been repaired, it will take about five weeks for the large pond to fill up again through the natural inflow.

If a mixed stock of zander, carp, tench and forage fish is then used, according to Michael Selmeier, you have to wait another two weeks before you can fish again.

Provided: the beaver is not planning any new tunnels.

Club pond expired: the chairman of the fishing club at a loss

"I don't know how to explain to the members again that you have to work to repair the beaver damage, you can't fish, but I'll still deduct the contribution." In principle, nobody has anything against beavers, says the Fischer boss.

"The animal likes to build its dams underwater, but when it's doing a lot of damage, you have to keep it in check!"

The fishermen expect more support from the Dachau district office or the lower nature conservation authority.

Although the association has already been granted a shooting permit, shooting the rodent is not that easy, says water warden Peter Selmeier, since the animal can only be hunted from September 1st to March 15th.

"During this time, the beaver is no longer particularly active, and it also gets dark early, which of course doesn't make it any easier," says the water warden.

By the way: everything from the region is also available in our regular Dachau newsletter.

Anglers hope for support from the district office

In a statement from the Dachau district office on the case, it says: "With the appropriate expertise and experience, hunting successes can also be achieved outside of the closed season."

However, the authority also reports that a "removal (shooting) from several years of experience would only have a temporary effect due to the high population density and the corresponding pressure to occupy free areas".

Rather, in the present case, "structural measures such as embankment protection using steel mesh or rockfall nets are considered expedient".

Since these measures are very cost-intensive, the fishing club continues to face its problem.

In the meantime, even Maximilian Voit, the President of the Upper Bavaria Fishing Association, has contacted the Dachau district office with a request to "grant an appropriate compensation payment and thus ensure the survival of the non-profit association with committed youth work".

After beaver damage: Without compensation payments, the fishing club is on the brink of collapse

After all, the district set up a supplementary beaver compensation fund a long time ago as a voluntary service, which means that a subsidy can be granted in cases not covered by the state compensation regime.

The amount of aid granted depends on the funds available and the measures taken.

According to the district authority, the beaver is basically a "natural influence" which - comparable to other natural influences - cannot be completely compensated for by state or municipal funds.

Michael Selmeier and his fishing friends continue to hope for the small miracle and, above all, for greater financial support: "It's not just about fishing, the pond with its biodiversity also served the people from the surrounding villages as a small local recreation area in which they enjoyed spending their free time.”

CHRISTIAN CHYMYN

You can find more current news from the district of Dachau at Merkur.de/Dachau.