Pesky beavers create traffic problems in Lawrence, Mass.

(NECN: Ally Donnelly, Lawrence, Mass.) – They’re cute and furry, but not everyone is quite so enamored with beavers in Massachusetts. A new state law protecting them may be having unintended consequences. Traffic on Route 114 in Lawrence, Massachusetts is moving just fine Tuesday afternoon, but a few weeks ago city planner Dan McCarthy says cars were hydroplaning or forced to crawl after the highway was flooded. The culprits? A pair of buck toothed beavers. Beavers have lived in the wetlands adjacent to den rock park for years, but recent antics have made them nuisance number one. Because of the flooding, state highway workers in back hoes demolished a dam the beavers had constructed near the road, but by morning, they were right back here rebuilding it. So Mass Highway stuck a long plastic pipe through the dam to lower the rising water…but their furry foes struck back. They clogged the pipe with earth and trash until the water levels climbed yet again. Marion Larson is with the state’s division of fisheries and wildlife — and says with winter fast approaching — beavers are looking to secure their food supply now. Towns don’t have to report their beaver numbers to the state anymore, so getting an accurate count is difficult. But since trapping regulations have become more restrictive in recent years the beaver population has boomed from hundreds in the 1940s to 70,000 in the last ten years. But Larson and McCarthy agree…beavers bring bonuses too. “They’re the one animal other than man that can make a huge change in environment. Creating a lot of habitat for other kinds of wildlife…heron, ducks, turtles.” Den Rock Park is Lawrence’s only conservation land and though you often only see them at sunrise and sunset. The talented tails are a draw. So can the city endure the hassles in the name of nature? For now, McCarthy says, but if you’re watching fair beavers…he asks you take it easy on ’em.