Gather at the Water Table…

heidi08 Beaver News, City Reports September 19, 2008

Way back during the confusing parts of the subcommittee meeting, I remember Mitch Avalon and Igor Skaredoff trying to explain to me how the water table was lower in the creeks and higher in the banks. It didn’t make any sense to me at the time, but they explained that the saturation in the creek made for a lower height of the table, and the vegetation in the bank operated as a sponge and sopped the water as it was pushed higher on either side of the bank.

If you want to see this happen with your own two eyes, take a look at the destruction project at the creek.

Yesterday the top of the soil was removed by about two feet in the north of the scrape. The plan is to take that soil off to Nancy Boyd park for fill. Without its “sponge” the water table pushed up, almost to the height the soil had been. Now there is a huge pond separated from the stream by a two foot bank and a very lonely silt fence.

Exactly how will this be re-vegetated? Water lily’s? Beavers like water lily’s.

More importantly, how will a water level, two feet higher than the standing creek, help with floodwaters? There is something in this more than natural if philosophy could find it out. (Hamlet always helps)

In the mean time the higher creek pressure has punched a hole in the too skinny berm and silty water is draining back into the creek. That can’t be good. Gary Bogue was kind enough to feature us this morning, and offered his concern that a permit from DFG was needed. Do you think Martinez has one? Do you think silt falling back into the water could be a problem?

Photo: Cheryl Reynolds 9-18-08

Maybe the city is worrying about the wrong lawsuit.

Breaches in Dams and Public Trust

admin Uncategorized September 18, 2008

Last night during the public comments portion of our first City Council meeting since their return from summer break, Julian asked council if they could comment on the nature of the closed door session prior to the meeting. After some wrangling (he is a horseman after all) our city attorney said the possible pending litigation the City Council was discussing had to do with the beavers in Alhambra Creek.

So here’s the situation as I understand it to be and why the rushed decision to lower the water level in the pond: the block wall below Bertola’s might be compromised due to beaver burrowing and the City is looking at the threat of a lawsuit. Never-mind that we’re talking about a block wall that is sunk well below the creek-bed’s surface, never-mind that the only time beavers tunnel underwater is to open up a safe entrance into their lodge or that they only hold their breath for up to fifteen minutes at a time (I’m guessing it would take a whole lot longer than that for our beavers to go submariner and dig down below the wall’s footing); Julian reassured the City Council and staff that the beavers weren’t cooking up pasta in Bertola’s kitchen after hours; after all, they’re strict vegetarians and only eat greens.

The continued harrassment by one group of people is becoming an embarassment. As I explained to a young woman at Carrows last night, this venom truly is disproportionate to the issue at hand. But up till now when these folks flexed their muscles people paid attention. The only response expected when they tell our City Council to jump, is a deferential “certainly sir – how high?”.

I don’t know about anyone else but I thought our city fathers were supposed to watch over us all – equally. Apparently the majority of Martinez can be viewed as the red-headed step children to the three “golden” children.

Oh I almost forgot, our city attorney did say that council was “reviewing many options”. After seeing the way in which the agreed upon compromise of a six-foot set back of vegetation along the creek bank was adhered to, I can’t wait to see what those options might be.

More Meddling

heidi08 Beaver News, City Reports September 18, 2008

Just got this email from Tim Tucker, City Engineer:

On Monday, September 15^th the Engineering and Public Works staff took a quick look along the banks of Alhambra Creek from Main Street to the Intermodal. We observed additional burrowing near Bertola’s Restaurant. We feel is it prudent to have an employee probe the extent of the burrows. To complete the work safely we would lower the water approximately one foot. This would be done by notching the beaver dams. This work would be done in the morning to avoid disturbance to the beavers. We would expect the beavers to repair the notch within a day or two. We plan to do the work on Wednesday.

‘”Avoid disturbance to the beavers?” You mean besides taking lots if their food and their water? So tomorrow the water level drops and the banks will be checked again for holes. Never mind that if the amount of time that staff has spent checking holes were to be used to install fencing like we recommended all along, there wouldn’t BE any holes.

Update:

Linda says she had a conversation with Mark Ross who is hoping the lowering can be delayed until after the council meeting tonight. How full is your wednesday looking? Protective eyes in the morning at the dam, and protective voices at city hall tonight. I expressed concern that the project would lower water level and expose their lodge entrances and place them in harms way. Here’s my recommendation to Tim Tucker…

There is a simple alternative that will allow you access and allow the beavers water both. Treat this project like any other interruption of a water line. Stop the flow above the target area, examine or fix what you need to once the level is changed to your liking, then let the beavers fix the dam and return the flow to normal. Draining the entire creek to do this one small job is the equivalent of turning off the city main line in order to fix a leaky faucet in a single home. I’m sure you have available materials to isolate flow, and doing this would demonstrate recognition for the needs of the beavers and concerns of the community, as well as responsibility for bank concerns. As always, members of worth a dam would be happy to help with labor or materials.

If you have time today, you might just send your own thoughts to the the city engineer and city manager. It might help to clarify their thinking…

Update II

Stopped by the dam on my way home from the coast and happened to run into Julian and a meeting with the City Manger, Tim Tucker, Don Salts, and Bob Cellini. They were talking about their concerns for the creek and what the intended project would be. The area of concern is behind the lodge, and specifically they would like to know how far down the wall extends. I reiterated my concerns, and discussed the possibility of a plumbing camera. Julian advocated for using wire mesh (chain link) over the bank to discourage further digging, and I clarified some of the beaver vagaries for the city manager. (Will there be 16 next year? 32 the year after that?)

I will tell you the most striking finding of the day: staff had not considered the impact of the tides. They were so high that no one would have been able to “drain” off that water. I was asked, “is this because of the secondary dam?” No, I explained.

This is because of the moon.

And you can take that to the “Bank”

heidi08 Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Educational September 16, 2008

Have you ever heard the saying “Take care of the Pence and the Pounds will take care of themselves”? It’s an old english addage that means worry about saving the little money and it will add up to big money. Lewis Carroll altered it with his brilliant “Take care of the Sense and the Sounds will take care of themselves”, expressing (as only he can) that you should worry about what you’re saying, not how you’re saying it.

I often find myself struggling for a creek-beaver variation, which could communicate “put your resources into a healthy beaver colony and they will maintain the habitat for you.” Maybe “take care of the kits and the ‘kreek’ will take care of itself” Doesn’t rhyme though, but the point is there. Invest in a healthy creek and everyone reaps the reward.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=aIYS7g_sNwY]

SIGNS OF A HEALTHY CREEK

Water quality and flow

Cool, clear water free of contaminants and excess algae

Varied flow cycles

Creek bed and banks

Stable vegetated banks with minimal erosion

Presence of both slow pools and fast water running over shallow, rocky stretches

Abundant rock and clean gravel of various sizes (critical for fish spawning)

Plants and wildlife

Native riparian tree canopy, which stabilizes banks, provides habitat for birds and small mammals, and keeps water temperature cool for fish populations

Abundance of native riparian vegetation, providing cover for wildlife and root systems which stabilize banks (riparian refers to the land adjacent to creeks and rivers, where the vegetation is influenced by the presence of water)

Thriving fish, amphibian, and aquatic insect populations

Leaves, small branches, fallen logs and other natural vegetative debris within the stream bed and along banks, which support the aquatic food chain and provide hiding places for fish and invertebrates.

Beaver ROI is very profitable indeed: you can take that to the bank!

What have you done for your creek, lately?

heidi08 Educational September 14, 2008

Since the discussion of creek health comes up often at the dam sites, I thought I would give us all a primer for their care. This nicely prepared reference comes from several local agencies, including friends of Alhambra Creek and beaver benefactor, Igor Skaredoff.

This guide was published as a cooperative effort of the Friends of Alhambra Creek, the City of Martinez, and the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program of the National Park Service, Western Region. Edited by Susan Harris, Erika Campos (National Park Service) and Janet Cox. Illustrations by Halsted Hannah and Erika Campos. Layout and design by Baseline Designs, San Francisco.

Intended for business and resident property owners along waterways, it begins with a reminder that taking care of the creek benefits everyone, and damaging creeks through pollution or careless construction harms everyone.

In urban areas, a creek is an irreplaceable natural resource. Whether it flows year-round or seasonally, your creek provides water supply and groundwater recharge, wildlife habitat, a conduit for flood waters, and a host of aesthetic values. A creek is a part of the lives of all the people and animals who live within its watershed. (emphasis mine!) The watershed is the land area which drains into the creek, including storm drain systems that carry rainwater and runoff from streets and property to the creek.

Read that bold sentence again, and think about how Alhambra Creek belongs to the beavers and also to the hundreds of people who visit the beavers each week. What have its immediate neighbors have done to “steward” the land? plant trees, clean the banks, discourage industrial pollution, protect wildlife, remove invasive species. (Um…wait, I’ll think of something.) Wrap a single tree in chain mesh to prevent feeding! And what have Volunteers from Worth A Dam done to care for the creek? Plant and wrap 30 willow, clean the creek and banks, report injured wildlife, protect threatened species, keep visitors out of sensitive areas, explain the habitat…

Okay, so you get my point. Sometimes the court awards decision-making powers to the parent who has demonstrated reliable care of the child, not the one whose name is on the paperwork. This is also known as Horton v. Maisy, trial notes here:

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=9G5g1H08EhY]