Salmon Serenade

heidi08 Creative Solutions, Environmental, New Species September 8, 2009

Yesterday’s chronicle had an alarming article about our unfortunate salmon whose dwindling numbers got the year off from fishing on the California Coast. Turns out that even though the governor took the fishermen away, mother nature took away their water too, so while we’re waiting for their numbers to recover their wondering where the streams went.

California’s drought has increased wildfires, caused an economic crisis in the state’s agriculture industry and a shrinking water supply. But experts say three years of arid weather may also be the final blow for coho, already reeling from pollution and population growth.

Federal fisheries regulators say the disappearance of coho salmon in Marin County is not an isolated incident, and that studies find they are vanishing along the state’s central and northern coast. Coho live in coastal streams where they mature before moving to the ocean, and then back to freshwater to reproduce.

“There are definitely alarmingly low numbers of adult returns and spawning decreases,” National Marine Fisheries Service fishery biologist Jeffrey Jahn said. “And the fish that are produced by the few coho who do make it back have to deal with these drought conditions, which is affecting the status of the species.”

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record or anything, but hey you know what’s good at trapping water to control for drought conditions? Um, beaver dams! And guess what gives fantastic habitat for juvenile salmon to winter? Um, beaver dams! And guess what NOAA says is the number one factor that determines whether you have enough salmon in your creek? Um, beaver dams!

And guess how many times beavers are mentioned in this article? (I’ll give you a hint: its a round number).

Mind you this is an AP writer, so maybe our local reporters would be more educated. I promptly wrote the biologist Chris Pincetich who works with the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) (now that’s a smart name…I can respect that name!) I suggested maybe he check out Pollock’s research on beavers and salmon and consider using our high-profile vegetarians to help salmon around the state.

Let’s see what happens.

Once Upon A Time…

heidi08 City Reports, Environmental September 6, 2009

In a town by the river, there was a bitter man with a great deal of money, who was allowed to make decisions that affected the lives of a many residents. Whatever he wanted done, was done — whether it meant installing an entire wall of sheetpile through the homes of beloved vegetarians, or building a massive 4 story structure on a site filled with toxic waste to block the view of an historic neighborhood.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=O4ne13Zft9Q]

The wealthy man was very powerful, and very accustomed to getting what he wanted. Whenever a council member or ordinary citizen dared to oppose them, he would use his persuasive financial powers to quickly move them back into accord with their goals. In these private meetings great things were promised, and Faustian deals were made. Political campaigns got funded and stubborn roadblocks got nudged surprisingly out of the way.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=hGYTqwzJt6w]

Maybe you’re familiar with this story. I mention it because this wednesday night the city council will consider the appeal to the planning commission’s decision to allow the Berrellesa Palm’s project. In case you aren’t familiar with this senior housing complex, it will allow 50 section 8 units to be built in a four-story building downtown. The project will produce no property tax revenue, no sales revenue and will significantly change the feel of the neighborhood. It will also put roughly a million dollars in “Mr. Potter’s” pocket.

Can you be there wednesday night to support a better vision for our city? Maybe the wheels of justice in Martinez are too rusty to be exercised, but we need at least to see the faces of our representatives when they continue to lie to us. They’re spending our money to pay their attorneys to misrepresent the downtown specific plan they already used our money to pay for. They had to pay their staff to write a 28 page response. So its the least we can do.

Here is a fantastic summary of the issues put forth by Harlan Stricklan.

I would ask that you reconsider the approval for this project. I view a vote for this project, as it stands, as a vote against the downtown.

· It violates the Downtown Specific Plan as regards height, setbacks, lot coverage, massing, usable open space and parking. This not only produces negative impacts by itself, but also sets a bad precedent for future projects. The fact that in the memo to the Planning Commission (Corey Simon, 8-11-09), the 231 Main St (Aiello) project that likewise violated a number of aspects of the Downtown Specific Plan, is cited as a precedent for this project, exactly makes this point. Do we still have a Downtown Specific Plan?

· The violations are severe enough that a Project EIR would seem to be in order.

· It is closer to the railroad tracks than the railroad itself recommends for residential use. Leaving the area adjacent to the tracks as light industrial makes more sense in terms of a safety buffer, where a smaller and more mobile population would be present, and only during part of the day. This would provide other benefits as well (more on this later).

· The authoritative Martinez Historic Resources Survey by Knapp, Kelley and Verplank was not referenced, calling into question conclusions regarding historic and cultural resources and impacts in the documentation for this project.

· Property tax #1: This project will pay no property tax. Assuming that such a prime piece of real estate, relatively close to the downtown and waterfront would ultimately be developed with some other project of similar value (residential or otherwise), this project represents a loss of General Fund revenue, in perpetuity, of approximately $30,000 a year. Assuming some sort of commercial development, if split-roll assessment ever were to come in, that figure would continue to climb.

· Property tax #2: The inappropriate height of this project – what some have called a Taj Mahal with Late Victorian/Neoclassical surface vocabulary (how many Victorians covered an entire city block?) – will block the views of neighboring dwellings, ultimately reducing their market value, and hence property tax revenue to the General Fund. Not only will the project take up an entire city block and not pay property taxes itself, but also will reduce income from surrounding properties that do pay.

· Property values – additional comment: By making adjacent properties less desirable, the typical resident or landlord will be less likely from an investment point of view, or from the standpoint of personal resources, to invest in property upkeep and improvement.

· Sales Tax #1: Much has been made of the aggregate personal income of 49 (50 with manager) residential units being added to the downtown. It should be made clear: this is not a retirement community – it is a Section 8 housing project for indigent seniors. The average weekly allocation per unit for groceries is $42. Parking may actually not be a problem – because many of the residents will be too poor to own vehicles. The small amount of shopping they will do will overwhelmingly be for necessities – something the downtown does not now, nor in the foreseeable future, offer. Downtown business sales depend on disposable income for either professional services or specialty shopping. Similar to the comments regarding property taxes above, an entire city block, close to the downtown, will be taken up with a use that won’t contribute to downtown businesses or the General Fund.

· Sales Tax #2: To the extent that the value and attractiveness of adjacent housing (owner occupied or rental) is diminished by this project, the typical resident will have lower socioeconomic status, lower disposable income, and will contribute less to the downtown in terms of sales and sales tax revenue to the General Fund.

Oh, and if you know three George Bailey types, maybe you could start convincing them to run for city council?

Beaver Inspirations…

heidi08 Friends of Martinez Beavers, In the News September 7, 2009

I got an email a while back from a Dean Wilson in Santa Rosa. He said he had written a song about our beavers and wanted to share. I wasn’t expecting such a professional recording and snappy tune, but it turns out he’s the guitar player for “Laughing Gravy” and recorded the tune at Jackalope Records. I like the music very much, but honestly was a little uneasy with a message that reflected only the fear of Martinez and none of the benefits of the beavers.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=l5P_T3qbrJk]

So of course, being the shameless beaver advocate that I am, I decided to write him some additional verses and see if I might persuade him either to play these or write his own. In the meantime, here’s my suggestions using the same basic meter and rhyme scheme of his song. I told him when he moves firmly in the supporter camp we can make sure his song gets heard by beaver lovers everywhere!

My cousin Jake’s a fisherman

And salmon is his trade

Ain’t worked a single goddamn day

Since the salmon ban was made

We need more salmon in our creeks

More salmon in our sea

NOAA analysts

Says beavers are the key.

Well beaver dams hold water back

Trap silt and filter too

insects start to multiply

So fishes all renew

A lot of birds and animals

Come out to hunt and play

And beavers make this possible

If you can let them stay

So let the damn dam stand, boys

Lets let the damn dam stand

Those furry eager beaver dams

Will give our creeks a hand

A simple pipe and cage can keep

The dam from getting tall

And in the mean time beavers

Give new habitat to all

Thanks Dean for your hard work and cheerful inspiration! Maybe LG wants to do a special performance at the beaver festival next summer?

Birds, Beavers and Girl Scouts

heidi08 Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental September 4, 2009

So a very nice woman approached us the day of the beaver festival and asked Worth A Dam to be part of this years Amazing Bay Day for the Girl Scouts. You can reserve your space now. This year’s event will be held at Sugarloaf Open Space in Walnut Creek, and sponsored by the Lindsay Wildlife Museum. Our job was to offer some kind of craft or activity that would appeal to 500 girl scouts and teach the values of stewardship and respect for our avian wildlife.

Could we do it?

Luckily for us, beavers have been shown to have a direct impact on bird density and variety. In fact, one research project showed that as the number of dams in an area goes up, the number of migratory songbirds also goes up. So any Amazing Day that teaches about birds, has to be a day that teaches about beavers, right?

What if there were a way to visually show the links that beavers have to wildlife? Something tangible that you can touch and carry away with you. Something that you might have earn, like scouts earn badges all the time. And something cute. For 500 girls from 6-18 it would have to be cute.

How’d we do?

So the idea is that girls will be encouraged to learn about the relationships between beavers and birds, fish, and wildlife. Worth A Dam will have teaching materials and volunteers to help them understand, and then with a short quiz they can “earn” a charm to be added to the bracelet. We’ll introduce a new charm every hour until they’re all gone, and it will be a permanent reminder of why beavers are important to the habitat. Worth A Dam found some persuadable donors to pick up the cost for the charms, so they’ll be free for the first 100 girls. The grown-ups we’ve shown them to so far have only three words to say in response.

“I want one!”

Martinez or Monterey?

heidi08 Friends of Martinez Beavers September 3, 2009

Last night at the dam site we met a sweet and friendly couple who came whispering down with their flashlight asking if it would be okay if they joined us. They explained that they lived in Orange County, but had to drive up for a class in San Jose that afternoon. They had thought about staying the night in Monterey as a reward but decided to come to Martinez instead. Why, you ask?

To see the beavers!

Apparently they had become interested by an article about the beavers, and then checked out the website and wrote me to ask about a visit. I wrote back as I usually do that someone from Worth A Dam would be happy to meet them and show them around, and they decided to brave the adventure and come check it out on their own. They were staying in Walnut Creek because sadly, Martinez accommodations leave a little to be desired, but they had dinner in town and were planning to come back for breakfast.

They were rewarded with several lovely beaver sightings as the yearlings swam up and even walked onto the dam to give them the best view. He brought down his massive photography lens and snapped pictures gratefully. She talked about her early days working for fish and wildlife when they accidentally caught a beaver in a fish trap. The animal had spent an uncomfortable night in the tank, but was extremely docile at his release and just paddled back into the water. She volunteers now for a raptor rescue program in Orange County and says the avian predators are much less forgiving.

The couple had rented the IMAX beaver movie in preparation for their visit. Honestly, she said, this distance is nothing for people who are really interested in wildlife. Of course we came!

What a delightful evening! You never know what you’ll find on beaver creek….