Because the beaver isn't just an animal; it's an ecosystem!

Month: February 2010


Wagers of the most sinister wars have long practiced a policy designed to not only kill the enemy, but to keep them from ever recovering use of their land. Romans are famously accused of “salting” the earth with a plow after demolishing Carthage, with the idea that nothing would grow in their soil again. Traitors in Portugal were punished by having their lands salted so that even their ancestors would suffer the consequences. Yesterday I was starkly reminded of this act of destroying not only what exists but all future investments as well, in a discussion about the “Fur Desert”.

Allow me to explain.

Regular readers of this blog will remember that at the Flyway Festival I started a conversation with a hydrologist from USDA about an archeologist who had discovered an ancient beaver dam near feather river and had it carbon-dated at 750 years old. Since the dam was at 5000 feet, it would challenge the long-held false belief that beavers weren’t native over 1000 feet in california, which is used to justify their killing in places like Tahoe. The archeologist wanted a coauthor, and Michael Pollack and our wikipedia friend were interested in helping out.

Yesterday I had a fascinating conversation with the Archeologist, who, among other things, pointed my attention to the “Fur Desert” policy of the Hudson Bay Company in the early 1800’s.  It is alarming to me that I never read about it before. George Simpson, then the head of the HBC, developed the ruthless plan of “ruining the river” so that when American Trappers came looking for beaver they would find only a barren watershed, give up, and go away.

Simpson and a handful of equally ruthless men trapped-out the entire snake river and beyond.

George Simpson wrote in an 1824 journal entry: “If properly managed no question exists that it would yield handsome profits as we have convincing proof that the country is a rich preserve of Beaver and which for political reasons we should endeavor to destroy as fast as possible.”

 

Stunning. Simpson was a piece of work. Maintained corporate profits by cutting jobs and wages, and employed some of the most hardened men around, including Peter Skene Ogden , a once-rival trapper who was convicted of killing a native by “butchering him in the most cruel manner”. So every beaver within 100 miles of the Snake River was trapped, and then every beaver on the Columbia River was trapped, and every beaver…well you get the idea. We love the land and don’t want any one to come steal it, so we’re going to destroy it.

 

The Fur Desert is an apt name for the resource-less land HBC tried to leave behind. But it was more ironic than they understood at the time. When all those beaver were killed and all those dams eroded and lost, whole eastern regions lost the ability to maintain water throughout the dry summer months. Creek and river banks became steeper and water flowed faster on its way to the sea. Areas that were green and lush became barren and dry and trees that once lined fertile river banks disappeared.

 

This was the real “fur desert”. And it is still with us today.

 


Is it just me, or have you noticed how hunting & fishing (and control of animal populations in general) seem to be used as a powerful symbol of “the common man”, regardless of whether the person doing it has ever been outdoors before? It’s as if the mere act of picking up a rifle or (to a lesser extent,) a fishing line communicates “I’m just like you. I understand you. I know what you talk about at the kitchen table” whether the person doing it is Donald Trump or Dick Cheney. Mind you, if the actor is a woman, the symbol is twice as potent.

Certainly the NRA had something to do with that status. The powerful lobby gives a stamp of approval to any politician who can say they’ve been deer hunting. Take a moment to mentally count how many presidents and candidates for president you’ve seen photographed on a hunting trip. Of course there was a time when hunting meant providing for your family, and any American who couldn’t do it was seriously compromised. But there was also a time when planting a potato meant providing for your family, and when did you last see politicians line up to do that?

These public hunting trips are often woefully transparent efforts to gain status by display. Take Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s exciting performance at the “Deer Opener” in Minnesota last year. He wounded a buck, (which is a lot like shooting it except you don’t get to keep the antlers and it crawls off into the woods to suffer and die). He would have stayed to track it, like every responsible hunter known to man, but he had to be at an event in Iowa so he let his fellow hunters fail at the job instead.

Hunters who were with Pawlenty started following the blood trail, but Pawlenty had to leave for Iowa, where he was headlining a Republican Party fundraiser.

This is as fine an example of False Populism as I can imagine, as it displays a willingness to kill mammals for sport, familiarity and accuracy using a rifle, and true American Consumptionism (why bother to catch what you kill, another will come along). The fact that a true hunter would be mortally ashamed to leave a wounded deer and announce publicly that he “tried looking for it but it was too hard”, well that only matters to true hunters and honestly, how many are there of them anyway?

I mention this because it has become increasingly clear to me that killing beavers fits easily into this false “symbolic” populism. It is with effortless justification that most decisions to kill beavers are made, (“they’re a pest, they’re causing flooding, they’re more than there used to be, they’ll hurt salmon) And almost always the people who make those decisions are proud of them. They’re protecting the community.

It takes a massive shift in public opinion for that to change, and that’s what happened in Martinez. For a politician in Martinez to be a “man/woman of the people” they suddenly had to consider the possibility of letting the beavers stay. When I read about beavers being killed en masse in Georgia or Bakersfield,  I realize what a huge accomplishment that was.

Really, Martinez, you were amazing.


Two double-crested cormorants met up for a rendevous at the Marina Vista Bridge yesterday morning. We had never seen more than one at a time, and wondered if they might be a breeding pair. The one in the front has a speckled chest and is an immature, (but maybe not that immature…) Cormorants are very social birds, and nest in colonies. The unpaired males attract a female by showing her all the cool stuff he found for a nest, although the lucky woman gets to do most of the building. Their nests are scrubby and uninviting to us, and they are known for using seaweed, netting, pebbles and even the skeletons of dead birds. Any place to call home, I guess.

The young are famous for hanging out together in the colony in losely formed groups called “creches”. (No word on whether they also tag buildings…) Our own Cheryl Reynolds says that these little charmers are some of the least loved birds in a rehab center, because they have sharp vicious beaks and no qualms about using them. She also says that they can be platform nesters, like atop power poles. I can’t imagine where these two might call home if they decided to set up camp. It will be fun to watch though.

No sign of the otter yesterday, and Lory saw him Sunday going around the dam rather than through the pipe. I’m wondering just how much fish he’s eaten and if maybe he doesn’t fit through that little pipe as well anymore!


Let’s talk about Martinez. There has been a flurry of recent rule-breaking development in our downtown plan and design. The most recent is the proposal to put 42 units near shell avenue, even though the Mayor admits the road can’t take half that. Beaver friend Phil Ciaramitero is looking for support in helping impacted neighbors oppose this plan. He writes:

Dear Friends & Citizens of Martinez,

It is of grave & vital importance that we all attend next Wednesday’s (Feb. 17th at 5:30pm) joint session of the council & planning commission.  Focus will be on the proposed Cascara Canyon project at the foot of Shell Avenue hill.

Do you remember what happened when the pro-beaver people came en masse? The beavers are still here. This Cascara Canyon project and the direction the council is taking needs to be curbed. Your attendance, if anything, will insure our faithful watchdogs that secure neighborhoods are important to us. We must have an impressive show of strength, if for anything – that we’re not going to go down without a fight. We live & work here and volunteer our time to make Martinez better. Their leadership has not really done a whole lot to enliven this city, nor taken any measures to step away from the polarization they’ve created and continue to perpetuate upon this community.

Please spread the word. We’re not keeping any secrets here. Tell everyone you know.

Phillip Ciaramitaro
925-917-0441

A detailed is response and press release is available here. Any city that changes it’s zoning to make room for favors needs to at least think about what it means to the neighborhoods it alters. This was voted down by the planning commission who knew it was a bad idea. The city council wanted it anyway. Shouldn’t you go to the meeting and inquire how exactly this will help your city?


Our juvenile Otter made the front page of the Gazette today. If you’re planning on taking your valentine for some romantic otter watching, this Worth A Dam video might help.

Juvenile otter standing on flow device: Photo Lory Bruno

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