RE: “Lessons of the forest” [Essay, Oct. 23]:
About seven years ago, I drove on West Jamaica Road and saw beavers constructing a dam on the origin of Ball Mountain Brook. The impoundment was immense.
Then, about four years ago, a greedy worm fisherman put a bass boat on the pond, and hauled out every brook trout. That was the beginning of the end. The beavers exhausted their food supply and moved on.
After a heavy rain three years ago, the unattended dam blew out, causing a wall of water 3 to 4 feet high to rip the guts of the brook.
Now, what is left of the pond is a very fertile meadow. The process has started anew. In 50 years, the beavers will return and rebuild.