Waiting for the Piling…

heidi08 Beaver News, City Reports October 16, 2008

So today the final sheet of the small section between the bridge and the lodge was installed, but the others haven’t been delivered yet so the work has halted. We were told that the obstuction yesterday was from a “tree root”. The explanation was that if it had been cement the metal would have jumped around, sort of like it did today, when Bertola’s windows rattled and the building shook.

If that was a tree root, then this must have been the tree

(In case you don’t recognize the picture this is the “Tree of Life” from Walt Disney World, and um, it’s made of cement.)

For this morning’s efforts they couldn’t install the last pile towards the wall to close off the curve. There were too many “roots”. They thriftily used the “left over” sheet pile from yesterdays scraps to close the gap between the pilings and the wall. It is resting atop the footing and will be welded in place this afternoon.

Skip is slated to leave Saturday, and the sheet piles may not arrive until Monday. What could possibly go wrong?

$300,000 Cosmetic Sheet Piling

heidi08 Uncategorized October 16, 2008

UPDATE: All 4 Kits: One adult and One Yearling seen tonight. Beavers make LA TIMES

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The first piece installed just as promised. Not too much vibration, and a straight entry into the bank. Skip even seemed a little giddy that things were going so well. The next piece was less smooth and by the time they got to the third, they struggled again and again to install, even readjusting the location to accomodate entry. Apparently there was something underneath the surface that made installation impossible. Could it be the concrete footing that our expert identified and the city denied ever existed? Could it be old piers that nobody bothered to investigate?

So the top of the first sheet was shaved off, to the tune of about 12 feet. The next piece was no better, and they ended up taking nearly 15 feet of that. Now Mr. Engineer who designed this project and was onsight said that this could conceivably happen before hand, and that as long as “there was an engineer on site to verify that they were entering something firm like bedrock there was no problem.”

In this case though, no one knows what they hit, because no one did their homework.

A friend from the Urban Creeks Council stopped by and was alarmed at the work. One thing he said that made huge sense was that work like this should never be started without a soil sample, taken straight down at the wall site.

Obviously if they had done that they would have found the footer, which would have proven that the bank was unimportant to the wall, which would have ruined the emergency.

In case you’d like to see how “unintrusive” this work is, here’s some footage. Remember I’m standing a block away.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=Sfu9Fik5fVg]

Holes

heidi08 City Reports October 15, 2008

So the crane was erected today, with weighty purpose. You can see how it towers above the county recorder’s building. Tomorrow the first pilings will be driven, from the lodge to the bridge. Dave Scola told reporters tonight the work will start at nine, but that means we’ll be there at seven, to observe where the beavers hole up for the day.

Tonight there were three kits in residence, and Jon and Skip on hand to watch them. Everyone noticed they seemed a little more disoriented and on edge (many passes necessary to find the apple and more squabbles than usual).

While this was happening staff was busy amusing themselves with the “discovery” of the 11 foot hole (although why this would be relevant now, I can’t imagine.) Through skillful maneuver no one was sucked into the vortex and drained away.

Dramatic eh? While this grim investigation was occuring, Hess laid a plank of sheet metal across the stream for the hydrolics to pass through. With no one to supervise they picked the cleanest easiest place to install it: atop the old lodge. Skip and beaver supporters were alarmed and made it clear there needed to be more communication before such decisions were made. Fortunately the lodge had already been punctured earlier in the day and any yearlings sleeping therein had swam in search of greater protection. These pictures are of Skip checking out the lodge interior.

I had contact with the Lindsay museum and they will have a vet on staff tomorrow, animal control has been notified in case we need to transport any unlucky beaver. Hopefully none of that will be necessary, but things aren’t hopeful.

Tomorrow will be difficult. Please come help and bring your binoculars and your prayers.

1000 Cranes…

heidi08 City Reports October 14, 2008

Well, actually just the one. And a team of men and forklifts to set it up. It is now housed on the block of Castro street between Marina Vista and Escobar, to the displeasure of many a county worker. Skip Lisle arrived today and was shown the space where our yearlings (?) are likely sleeping in the old lodge. There was much excitement when staff thought they found the 11 foot tunnel alleged by the city. Skip’s eyebrows knit in confusion as he considered the likelihood of beavers digging straight up. He also had a forthright conversation with the (female) project manager, who reportedly told him, “I can’t see any way that these beavers are going to stay through this work.”

Cheryl and I took Skip down to tunnel at the second lodge, to see if it could be expanded into shelter. Then Cheryl walked him down to the fourth dam. He felt strongly that the habitat offered many hiding places for the beavers that would be more attractive than any manmade shelter. The initial work, from the lodge to the bridge, begins tomorrow. Be there if you can.

Monday Musings

heidi08 Creative Solutions October 13, 2008

Hard labor today saw the willow topped from the trees distributed into the creek where the beavers could reach it. Jon is walking a little stiff after all the carrying, but he was helped by one of the kind-spirited tree cutters. Our intrepid photographer Cheryl Reynolds was offered actual dollars for the pictures she will be submitting for the LA times article. Nice work. We got a donation from as far away as Germany and we found out that ESA students will be on sight to help observe the work Thursday morning.

Here’s proof that the non contact thermometer readings are working to help find beaver location in the lodge.

The warm spot indicates hot-blooded little beaver bodies, most likely the yearlings in the old lodge. This is a surface reading thermometer; obviously beavers have a higher temperature than 57.8 but they lean against the walls of the lodge and raise the temperature measurably.