This is dam beautiful. Nice beaver!
Sounds like a case of natural resource personnel who are hanging in the office too long and not getting out and actually inspecting a problem before putting their legalese hats on?
A phone call or better yet a personal visit would have been a better approach and they wouldn't look so stupid to the citizens of the state. If there are issues with flooding down stream then the remedial actions can be discussed with the landowner at that time.
While this is old, so am I. In fact, I once said your words to a girl friend in a small bikini. “This is damn beautiful. Nice beaver!”
We got married a year later. /sarc