Rising water and a beaver dam are concerning people in Scandia, Minnesota, at one of the town's most historic sites, where buildings from the 1800s still stand, CBS News reported.
For Gammelgården Museum of Scandia, the main issue isn't the animals themselves, but what heavy rain and snowmelt could do to the foundations of irreplaceable structures.
Here's what to know
The museum, which preserves Scandia's history and that of the Swedish immigrants who settled there, has had water backing up near the property for about two years.
That has raised concerns about higher water levels around its oldest buildings, which CBS News and WCCO also detailed in a Facebook video.
For now, a stretch of dry weather has kept the situation from turning into a full crisis.
"Right now, like I said, the drought has really helped us by keeping the water low," Scandia Mayor Steve Kronmiller admitted.
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Even so, the effects of the backup are already apparent around the grounds. While touring the area, Kronmiller pointed to a bridge that "has been under water most of the summer."
The museum's staff is even more worried about what will happen when wetter weather returns.
Gammelgården Museum Director Ann Rinkenberger warned that if "the water continues to come up and affects the foundation of them, we potentially could lose both of them," referring to two of the museum's oldest structures.
More background
Among the buildings the museum is trying to protect is a barn that is around 150 years old.
Beavers naturally reshape waterways and are crucial environmental managers. But people in Scandia fear that this habitat shaping will be more harmful than beneficial.
Museum leaders say losing one of the buildings would erase part of the physical record of Scandia's Swedish immigrant history, which is irreplaceable.
Gammelgården is also trying to secure a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, CBS News reported.
What's being done?
Rather than remove the dam outright, city officials say they have been working with the owners of the property where it sits to manage the water.
Kronmiller wants to "allow the dam to stay and the beavers to stay" while keeping the water "managed and maintained at a specific level." One of the options decision makers are considering is a device that would do just that.
For now, drought conditions have bought the museum and the city extra time. Officials hope to have a plan in place before snowmelt and seasonal rain set in.
Where can I learn more?
Communities elsewhere are dealing with rising water and supporting beavers in their own ways.
• In Salem, Massachusetts, officials chose to move historic buildings rather than keep paying flood zone costs.
• In Devon, England, reintroduced beavers transformed wetlands over a decade and changed local flood conditions.
• In west London, beavers built a wetland by a McDonald's that also helped hold back floods.
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