Well, okay then.

heidi08 Beavers November 7, 2011

Meet Matthew Morabito, a young man looking for an Eagle Scout project in Monroe CT and interested in helping some neighbors with a big problem. Apparently one fellow had ripped out the dam to prevent flooding on his land and ended up sending the water onto another property. (Not a good way to make friends.) So Matthew talked to the locals and a friendly zookeeper and looked on the internet (obviously everywhere but HERE or HERE or HERE or, you know – Wikipedia) and decided to party like it was 1999 and update the Clemson Pond Leveler X 5.

Well Matthew, you had a lot of folks involved in keeping a pretty beautiful dam, and it looks like the water level should drop. I can’t imagine how you came up with this particular plan but “A” for effort and if you ever want to manage a beaver dam again, give me a call.

On a related note I heard from Wikipedia Rick this weekend that the presentations from the 2010 Santa Clara Creeks Coalition Conference Conference are online. You can see Rick’s presentation on historical beaver prevalence or Matt Stoecker’s fantastic Beyond Searsville presentation. They weren’t sure how to deal with my video extravaganza so they didn’t include media in my talk. I thought that needed changing so I’m working on getting this finished. Here’s part I if you’re interested.

Most Shocking Police Video Ever

heidi08 Beavers November 7, 2011

This bit of urban brutality was taken from the dashcam of the Bridgeville Police in Pennsylvania. No I’m not kidding, in today’s post-911 world even beavers can expect the surveillance of Big Brother in their more private moments.

The local Patch Reports:

“There’s some big beavers down there,” Bridgeville Councilman Jason Sarasnick said.

Several trees have been damaged in the park in the past week, which is located next to Chartiers Creek across from the Bursca Business Park in South Fayette. The beavers caused so much damage to one tree that it fell and another tree had to be removed.

“We don’t have any issues with dams yet,” Bridgeville police Chief Chad King said. “But I drove down there the other day and there are at least a half-dozen trees he’s chewed on, if not more. He’s chewed just about every one.”

One of the critters was seen over the weekend by a Bridgeville police officer on patrol in the park. The police car’s dashboard camera recorded the critter chewing on the trunk of a tree shortly before midnight Sunday.

Borough officials contacted the Pennsylvania Game Commission, but were told that the animals could not be trapped until late December because they’re protected.

Ohh who doesn’t remember waiting impatiently as a child for that late December morning when Santa Clause said it was finally time to kill beavers! Peeking around the doorway in your footy pajamas to see if there were heavy bodies in the conibear under the tree! Fortunately in the meantime EVERY EFFORT is being made to protect these majestic cottonwoods.

In an effort to deter the beavers from inflicting more damage, borough workers wrapped black roofing paper around some of the trunks near the ground.

Wow, Black Roofing Paper! This borough really doesn’t mess around! You know how beavers feel about BLACK! And they hate paper almost as much as they hate what it’s made from! This plan should definitely work! And plus when it rains I bet the paper will add a really interesting dimension to Chartiers Park!

Obviously the fine civic minds in Bridgeville have this all wrapped up (ahem) but just in case I’ll write he mayor, the parks department and the them know about real solutions.

From the Beaver Philes

heidi08 Beavers November 5, 2011

This weekend the Willamette Resources and Educational Network is hosting a community program to raise awareness about the role beavers play in keeping the west Eugene wetlands healthy. They’ll be taking the public out to look for beavers.

Experts say beavers play a big role in the ecosystem itself and its development

“Their major role is to control floods, and so beavers are helping with that when they build the [ahhh this is fun] [sic] damns and so they’re able to sort of collect the water there, and they’re actually really important for the salmon that are in those areas too and helping them give a better nursery,” said Willamette Resources And Educational Network Environmental Educator Lindsay Raber.

And you’ll enjoy this recent descant on the beaver polar bear debate from Jim Richards Radio 1010.

And if you can’t make it to Eugene, I’ve been playing in audio files and thought you might enjoy this lost gem from Dave Ebert’s Living Green Radio interview with the Martinez Beavers!

Interview Begins 3:19

Agents of Change

heidi08 Beavers November 4, 2011

Haven’t bought Glynnis Hood’s new beaver manifesto yet? Well, this should whet your appetite.

In the mean time it’s as good a day as any to introduce my next new plan which is to do a series of interviews with beaver folk discussing how and why they got involved with the animal. I plan on podcasting the series under the title “Agents of Change” referring to the fact that beavers both change their environment AND the lives of people who defend them. I’ve already heard from more than 20 beaver advocates around the globe that they’d be happy to do an interview, now its just up to me to figure out the technology part and practice asking questions. How hard can that be? If you’ve ever done a podcast and you feel inclined to share, drop me a line.

Beaver Foreclosure

heidi08 Beavers November 3, 2011

I guess the city of Vallejo is so used to abandoned housing that they decided to add a beaver lodge to the foreclosure list. Cheryl found the lodge a month ago, wrapped invitingly around both sides of a flooded eucalyptus tree and at the head of a stately pond defended by a low dam in a culvert. It was made entirely of reeds and impossible to photograph in the thicket of tulles. Now it looks like this.

Remember how our old lodge looked after Skip lowered the water level? You could see directly into the interior and I always worried what harm might come their way. Apparently mom worried too because she got to work building on the opposite shore. Here’s how ours used to look:

Dad watching from the old lodge – Cheryl Reynolds

So what was the big problem that made them take a back hoe to a better homes and gardens marsh? One of a pair of culverts was partially plugged and looked like this.

Now that they’ve had their foreclosure fun the Marsh is a trickle and the culvert has a pipe in it that looks like this.

I don’t really know how to classify this installation. It’s obviously a hand-rigged attempt at a Clemson design, but the area is so remote that I can’t see this as an ostentatiously ‘pretend’ effort which proceeds the excuse for trapping. Someone really wants to keep beavers out of the culvert without killing them, or spending any money whatsoever and I guess that’s a small comfort. Or at the very least thinks they can ‘drive’ the beavers away by making the area inhospitable. I wrote the mayor and the director of public works and gave them info and plans for a beaver deceiver, but obviously they decided to wing it or listen to their buddies in Cordelia.

Well good luck fellas, and here’s hoping that your beavers have lots of holes to hide in while waiting for the water levels to re-stabilize. Oh and if you haven’t had time yet go sign the Ottawa Petition below. They’re working hard and they deserve our support.