And it's good to have read that it wasn't an urban legend!

In taking a waterlands creation workshop, we learned that it's best to create a brand new waterlands where none exists in any form.

We also learned that it's best to build structures before beginning the waterland itself because of the number of permits and inspections that would be required once the waterland itself was in place--bridges, overlooks, piers, that kind of thing put in before bringing in the inspection groups to begin the waterland itself.

We learned it's a lot more involved if you want to alter a preexisting waterland in any way--even removing a plant that was overtaking others in an area you'd perhaps enhanced (with proper permits and inspections) in either an existing waterland or one you'd created from scratch.

If you needed to take out a beaver dam, I would think you'd need a permit and an inspection to do so; if you wanted to somehow modify the dam, you'd still need a permit and an inspection. This is my understanding of how the law works today.