Dover Conservation Commission Approves Emergency Beaver Deceivers at Noanet Woodlands

DOVER -- November 19, 2025, Dover Conservation Commission unanimously approved emergency beaver-control devices at two Noanet Woodlands culverts where beaver damming has flooded trails and begun undermining stone causeways. Mike Francis, regional stewardship manager for the Trustees of Reservations, and John Eaggan of Beaver Solutions presented the case for so-called beaver deceivers at a 48-inch culvert along the Beaver Trail and a 24-inch culvert separating Upper and Lower Mill Pond; the Board of Health had already certified an immediate public health threat. The commission also issued a partial certificate of compliance for 144 Pine Street, where a 2009 order of conditions had never been closed out, conditioned on a revised tree-planting plan with greater species diversity, a two-year monitoring program, and a 75 percent tree survivability standard. A full certificate of compliance for 42 Hartford Street passed without opposition. Most striking was the unannounced appearance of John Walsh, vice president of operations for Aquarian Water Company, who acknowledged that the company's engineers drilled a test well on town-owned Ponzi land without filing with the commission, saying the work was coordinated only with the DPW director and town administrator; commissioners noted that any use of the deed-restricted Ponzi parcel for water supply, or any interconnection with the MWRA-connected Dedham-Westwood Water District, would require a town meeting vote.