Can I Legally Blow Up A Beaver Dam In Minnesota?

If a beaver dam is causing damage to your property in Minnesota can you legally blow it up?

Beavers' natural activities, including tree-gnawing and dam-building, can have negative effects on human resources and infrastructure.

Their tendency to gnaw on trees and crops can result in the damage or destruction of these valuable resources.

Plus, the dams they construct have the potential to cause flooding, which may negatively impact trees, agricultural lands, private and public properties, transportation networks such as roads and railways, and even airports.

So what if a family of beavers is wreaking havoc on your property? Is it against the law to “dispatch” the rodent?

Minnesota's game and fish regulations do provide legal protection for beavers. In most cases, obtaining a license or permit is a prerequisite for killing these animals.

However, landowners are granted an exception if beavers cause damage to their property.

Under such circumstances, landowners can lawfully kill the beavers without a license or permit, provided they notify a DNR conservation officer within 24 hours of the killing.

Beaver Dams can be very tough to remove. So if you have the expertise to handle explosives can you blow up a beaver dam that is causing damage to your property?

The Brainerd Daily Dispatch reports that according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources...”The use of explosives in public waters or public waters wetlands is restricted under Minnesota Statute.

Before any blasting is done in public waters or public waters wetlands, the local DNR conservation officer must be contacted.

In general, no DNR public waters work permit will be required to remove beaver dams, log jams, or other debris by the use of explosives.

If the use of explosives would result in substantial modification in the bed or banks of public waters or public waters wetlands, however, a DNR public waters work permit would be required.

To remove a dam by explosives, contact the local Sheriff’s office for the names of licensed explosives experts.”