Beaver proves to be nuisance neighbour for Bathurst-area man

A homeowner in the Bathurstarea is calling on the provincial government to help him deal with a nuisance neighbourabeaver.

Hazen McCreasays a beaver dam is blocking a culvert between his SouthTetagouche property and the highway.

The structure is starting to interfere with proper drainage of the 81-hectare property and if the beaver continues construction, McCrea worries about where all the water will go.

But he says every time he calls the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, he gets therun around.

"We get excuses 'Well, it's too cold, too warm. We're patching the roads.' But Mister beaver, again, is busy at the road and there's a lot of rain coming and now with global warming, we have tremendous rainstorms, the culvert is half blockedand we're quite concerned we're going to have another flood," McCrea said.

Five years ago, McCrea's basement ended up under 45 centimetresof water due to a beaver dam.

He had tried to get the provincial government to do something about the dam then too.

The water caused about $40,000 in damage and the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure picked up the tab, but McCrea says what he lost was priceless.

"We lost valuables that are not replaceable antiques, as an example," he said.

Department officials told CBC News the beaver dam is not in the department's right-of-way and suggested contacting the Department of Natural Resources.

Due to power outages, no one was available for comment on Monday.