Let say, (and why not?) that the myopic mean-spirited decision to remove Mario’s beloved beaver from the mural was a “LEMON” of a decision. Not even a sweet juicy meyer’s lemon but one of those really juiceless bitter lemons that will never make it to a glass of tequila or even a salad.
Got it?
Carolyn Jones story this morning on the front page of the SF Chronicle then would be a frosty cool glass of the freshest lemonade you ever tasted purchased for a nickle at the top of a mountain after a sweaty climb up in 100 degree heat. Enjoy!
Martinez mural artist forced to remove beaver
Artist Mario Alfaro looks at his mural, which no longer includes the image of a beaver - or his name.Photo: Paul Chinn / The Chronicle
Everything was looking great in the mural commissioned by Martinez to celebrate its heritage – except for one thing: the beaver. In the latest chapter of the city’s conflicted relationship with its resident beaver family, officials last week ordered the muralist to paint over the depiction of a beaver he had included in his panorama.
GO ENJOY THE RESTand thanks Carolyn! And thank you also to our good friends at the city whose wisdom and decision making keep bringing us such good publicity!
Oh and since the article has already brought us attention from people far and wide who never heard of us up til now, this video will catch you up to date!
Photo by Sarah Morris/Stuttgart Daily Leader A pond near Crab Tree Lane is stagnant and threatens to flood the road at times in St. Charles after beavers built a series of dams stopping up the water flow to the pond.
Ever notice how the word “stagnant” is never applied to lakes or reservoirs? Or that deep fishing hole where you know you’ll catch the best German brown? Stagnant is reserved for things we dislike and it’s tossed around when folks want some new reasons to kill beavers. Stagnant is defined by Merriam-Webster as ” Having no current or flow and often having an unpleasant smell as a consequence”. ( I’m thinking its from the latin root “Staeg” meaning “blame the rodent” but I could be wrong.)
Never mind that beaver dams are actually referred to as LEAKY WEIRS that filter water as it passes through their woven surfaces. In fact if you go research any paper about how to BUILD a leaky weir for the purpose of filtering chemicals or fertilizer it will refer you to the BEAVER DAM as an example! But the good mayor of St. Charles says beaver dams are stagnant and stinky so it must be true. Right?
A series of beaver dams in southern Arkansas has lead to some smelly problems for the small Arkansas County town of St. Charles.“Beavers are building dams in one of the water ways that comes across the city limits and backing things up,” Mayor Robert Patrick said. “When a beaver backs things up for miles, it starts to smell and backs into people’s yards and everything else you could name.”
While there’s no damage yet, he said it is still a minor irritation. Patrick said the beaver dams have mainly backed stagnant water onto residents’ properties which smell and have mosquito problems. It will also creates the potential to flood a city road if it rains.
“That’s what makes it a little dicey when they build,” Patrick said.
Smell and mosquito problems! Say no more. Let’s kill those trouble-making beavers! We can’t have beavers stinking up our creeks and bringing in west nile virus can we? Mayor Patrick probably wishes there was something written about this so that folks could be sufficiently alarmed. How about this?
Beavers and the Environment: This of course leads to natural questions about mosquito larvae, which are known to accumulate in still pools. However, beaver ponds have been shown to actually reduce mosquito population . There are nearly 3000 known species of mosquito but beaver ponds tend to shift composition of larvae – making conditions less desirable for some and ideal for others. All mosquitoes are not created equal, some are much more damaging to human populations. For example, one of the species most associated with West Nile Virus and yellow-fever (Aedes) cannot survive in the permanent water of a beaver pond. Continued involvement by Mosquito Abatement can monitor conditions and help control negative species.
-Dietland Muller-Swarze (2003). The Beaver: Natural History of a Wetlands Engineer. Cornell University Press.-Baker, B. W., and E. P. Hill. 2003. Beaver (Castor canadensis). Pages 288-310 in G. A. Feldhamer, B. C. Thompson, and J. A. Chapman, editors. Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management,and Conservation. Second Edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Oh. Gosh. Well now that you put it that way beavers don’t sound so bad. How does St. Charles usually manage them? Being so close to the state that invented the Clemson Pond Leveler and started us all thinking in a new way they must have some pretty advanced tools. Let’s see what they are?
The Arkansas County Beaver Control Program provides $21,360 to pay $20 each for 1,068 beaver tails. The county provides $11,360 of this fund while the Arkansas County Conservation District donated $10,000. Property owners pay an additional $5 per beaver tail and provide a written statement that the beaver was trapped on their property within Arkansas County.
Wow.
Just. Wow.
That’s some pretty remarkably cruel and short sighted problem solving. Anything like that ever happen in St. Charles before? How about what’s sometimes considered the biggest lynching in the history of America? A series of assaults in 1904 resulted in 13 deaths in a span of a few days.
I guess given its “colorful past” we should be grateful that St. Charles only pays for cut tails.
“That’s the final tab for the recently completed dam in the John Mathison Conservation Area just north of Havelock. The concrete dam has replaced a 10-foot high beaver dam immediately upstream from the village that was holding back an extensive pond encompassing at least 100 acres of the conservation area.
Council made the decision two years ago to build the dam because of growing concern about the flooding and damage that would occur if something happened to the beaver dam, the largest of several in the conservation area. The Havelock arena and the Havelock-Belmont Public School, along with homes and businesses, are only a few hundred feet downstream of the dam and would have been in immediate danger of flooding if the beaver dam was damaged, either by neglect or vandalism.”
Did you get that? This town is putting in a concrete dam in case the beaver dam gives out. No word on whether the beavers themselves approved the work or were harmed during construction. I suppose that no one wanted to affect the dam before because the water would flood the town, although it seems they have constructed a beaver-hampering buffer zone now so I wouldn’t say the beavers were safe. Hmmm you can build an awful lot of flow devices for 400,000 dollars.
I wonder what the trout will say about the substitution? Or all the insects that thrived on the organic floor? Well its done now, and apparently paid for with some fund shuffling. I’m sure it will last forever. It’s not like anyone ever changes their mind about concrete in streams, right?
Beaver Kit Growing Up - Cheryl Reynolds
Oh, and congratulations to our own Cheryl Reynolds who learned this weekend that one of her photos of our stalwart three kits born last year will grace the 2010 Watershed Calendar for Contra Costa. Nice work Cheryl! For at least a full 30 days during some lucky month every single flood district worker and public works employee will be forced to think about beavers belonging in creeks.
You’ll remember that New Jersey Animal Control Officer Mark Johnson took it upon himself to shoot some pesky beavers near the open air theater of Peteranello Gardens, after first pointedly stopping to tell the nice woman who came to watch them of his murderous intent. You will also recall that after thestory broke there was scrambling at all levels to say that the shooting was neither authorized nor ordered at the higher levels. You may also recall that the maximum fine Mark could pay for his castorcide was 300 dollars, but that the local judge couldn’t hear the case because they were bridge partners or some such thing. It has now been nearly four months since the beavers were killed and the paper reports the case is finally going to trial.
Mr. Johnson is accused of illegally shooting two beavers in Pettoranello Gardens in Community Park North in May. Officials have said the beavers were deemed a “nuisance.”
The incident has raised concern because there was no permit issued for the trapping of the beavers or any beaver activity with the state Division of Fish and Wildlife. A permit is needed for the trapping of a beaver. It is illegal to shoot beavers, which are a protected species in New Jersey, according to the game code of the state. Beavers cannot be relocated either.
The case will not be heard at Princeton Township due to a conflict with the judge, said Corinne Sliker-Monda, Princeton Township court administrator. It was also transferred from Ewing Township due to a conflict.
Well good luck Mark, I’m not really worried about you because if for some remarkable reason they DID decide to fine you, you could easily afford it with the four months of uninterrupted salary the city has been paying you. I suppose its vaguely humiliating which is a kind of consequence, so I’m grateful for the kabuki wrist-slap. I’d love to see 20 children with beaver tails waiting outside the courtroom so that some news cameras can add to the burn. Maybe next time you’ll think about using a flow device or calling our friends at the Unexpected Wildlife Refuge.
Oh and good news about Central Frontenac, the story I reported on a couple days ago. The mayor herself wrote me back, committed to using a flow device and getting it right, and she was very happy to learn that her name was passed along to the CBC producer who is in her neck of the woods and looking for a local story to follow. They’re supposed to talk this week. So look for Central Frontenac to be a star in next year’s “Beaver Whisperer” project!
Mr. Johnson is accused of illegally shooting two beavers in Pettoranello Gardens in Community Park North in May. Officials have said the beavers were deemed a “nuisance.”
