Beavers have made an enormous comeback that has wreaked havoc on Durham's sewer lines.
The beavers have been building dams near sewer lines, often completely submerging lines. The resulting backup can impede access to the lines and can overload the water treatment plants.
The city is planning to set up various test sites around Durham to compare a lethal and non-lethal method of dealing with the problem. The tests would run until Dec. 1, 1994.
A species trapped almost to extinction in the 1880s, beaver populations have increased across the country. In North Carolina, only four counties have not had to face problems associated with expanded beaver populations, said Bill Conroy, Durham city engineer.
In the last two months, Durham city engineers and local environmentalists have debated whether to use lethal methods to control the effects of the beavers.
Many city engineers see trapping as the only viable solution to the problem.
"We've been trying non-lethal methods for two and a half years, and it has proven not to be a cost-effective way to solve the problem," Conroy said. "The beavers will just continue to bypass the methods we come up with."
Environmentalists and others in the community say trapping is harmful to beavers and does not solve the underlying problems. Instead they propose to install limiters, made of PVC pipe, in the dams to help regulate water flow and allow the sewers and beavers to coexist.
Opponents to trapping say the traps are inhumane because they do not always kill the beavers quickly, and pose a great danger to humans as well as to other animals.
"I don't want otters or other animals to get caught in the traps, but I especially don't want people's kids to get caught," said Kim Willis, a local animal rights activist.
In other parts of the state, taxes fund programs to reintroduce otters into the wild, only to be trapped and killed by the beaver traps, Willis said.
Some environmentalists say trapping also could result in a net increase in beaver populations. The areas along the lines are ideal wetlands for beavers, and when the populations begin to decline in these areas, outside beavers will begin to reproduce more rapidly to take advantage of the fertile land, Willis said.
The experiments scheduled to be conducted by the city could provide an opportunity for Duke to become involved in the community, said Margaret Nygard, president and founder of the Eno River Association.
"I'm hopeful the School of the Environment can be involved in doing conductive study of both methods," Nygard said. "It's a chance for Duke scientific knowledge to work in a practical sense, a magnificent opportunity for town and gown to work together."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.