Month: February 2012

Gumbo ya ya beaver advocacy!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental December 29, 2012

Mandeville is 38 miles away from New Orleans and can’t you just tell already you’re going to love this story? Seems some beavers have taken up residence in the swamp near Hidden Acres neighborhood. And the residents are divided about whether they should keep them around or send them packing. Mandeville is on the other side of lake Ponchartrain (the real culprit of Katrina) and as it happens, about 30 minutes from where my mother grew up and where my great grandmother settled after coming over from Germany to start a general store. There are clearly many folk in Mandeville who know that beavers are Worth A Dam. I wonder if maybe saving beavers is genetic?

“It’s really divided the neighborhood,” said Webb Williams, who lives in the Hidden Acres neighborhood at the end of Penn’s Chapel Road.

The beavers-must-go camp wants them trapped and moved to another area, where they won’t bump into people or possibly cause flooding problems. The let-’em-stay camp wonders what’s the big deal? After all, they reason, beavers were in St. Tammany Parish long before subdivisions arrived.

Anyone else have a wave of deja-vu? This story could be from the sf chronicle about Martinez! Apparently folks in Mandeville have enjoyed having beavers in the area, liked watching their dam change every morning. One grandmother stayed up with her 3 year old to watch them. Others are arguing over the back fence. Of course there are the usual concerns. Flooding. Trees. Population.

But this one made me laugh out loud.

“that the swamp will become a particularly rich breeding ground for mosquitoes.”

Oh no! Don’t tell me the SWAMP will get mosquitoes! That never happens! It was probably such a nice swamp before!

This is as good a time as any to repeat what experts have to say on the subject.

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.

Butts, W.L. 1992. Changes in local mosquito fauna following beaver (castor canadensis) activity—an update: journal of American Mosquito Control Association 8(3):331-332.

At the moment, the ‘I bear no ill will crowd’ is busily defending its compassion creds by asking that beavers be MOVED and not trapped. This is an inevitable stage of kubler-rossian beaver denial where the problem is wished far away with absolutely no thought as to how it will happen or whether or not it will result in eventual death anyway. You saw it happen here in the early stages.

“I think we’d like to see them trapped and moved — sort of like a beaver relocation program,” he added, only somewhat tongue in cheek. It remains a bit unclear how feasible it would be to trap and move the beavers, or what the parish government could do about them.

Ah yes. No idea how many beavers there are. No thought to what device should be used to trap them without harming them. No thought to how important it is to keep family units together or possible sites for successful relocation. Just “Don’t blame ME I don’t want them dead, just gone!”

Well, I’m very proud of the folks of Mandeville and our friends at the Times-Picayune. Worth A Dam would be happy to give advice and information and offer solutions for living with your swampy neighbors.And in the mean time, I’m just going to appreciate your artwork, and thank you for making my morning with “Jesus loves beavers”.

Fancy that!

heidi08 Beavers February 24, 2012

The beaver didn’t come last night. Sam thought that he would. “The beaver can hear the sound of running water; they know when the dam is broken.”

Beaver are damming up the Prairie pond to increase their territory. Sam says if they can cause the water to spread then they can reach the trees while still under cover. The beaver have precious little to dam the pond with so they’ve squished up mud, like a child making mud patties, and made their own little dam.

The little dam didn’t seem a peril to me, but Sam explained the water would back up into the fields and possibly the cabin; the beaver would kill the nearby trees. Already there were trees with bark missing all around; he said the trees had been “ringed.”

And so, under the light of a full moon, Sam took a shovel and broke the dam, and water gushed forth.

Author Shannon Rule Bardwell is right at the cusp of enjoying beavers. You can tell she’s intrigued by their nocturnal creations and interested in their watery imagery. She doesn’t have any idea yet that beavers built the prairie or are good for the landscape or help the wildlife she probably enjoys watching but they catch her fancy. Like they did mine 5 years ago when I just idly watched them in our creek and thought they were “neat”. Like they did yours if you’re reading this. To catch something’s fancy is an archaic phrase and I’m not even sure where it comes from but I will tell you that when it happens it is a powerful thing. You should beware of anything that achieves it. Just look at my life 5 years later.

The beaver reminds me of C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” where the beaver family was the good guys, complete with kindly anthropomorphic characteristics. It’s hard then to think of vanquishing the beaver, but the dictionary describes the beaver in less charming terms: “A large aquatic rodent, having thick brown fur, webbed hind feet, a paddle-like, hairless tail and chisel-like front teeth adapted for gnawing bark and felling trees used to build dams.

Well, I wrote Ms. Bardwell about options because it is fairly clear her fancy might well make her the sight of the only known flow device on the prairie. Since she goes on to write about a friend of her husbands who wants to make a hat by hunting beaver I’m not impractically hopeful, but idle interests are funny things, and anything is possible!

Case in point:this primative video contains the footage I shot the very first time I ever saw a beaver. It was in January 2007 and I believe it was dad. I had just bought a new mac and wanted to make an iMovie but it was too hard for a woman of my skills at that time. Three months later I eventually managed this with the services of Mr. Gates. I eventually mastered iMovie and even hired someone to teach me Finalcut. All I’m saying is that fancy is a powerful thing.

Frankly my dear Scarlett….

heidi08 Beavers February 23, 2012

Beaver dam destruction denounced

By Kate Irish Collins kcollins@keepmecurrent.com

SHAPLEIGH – Residents of Shapleigh are likely to remember a washout of Route 11 in early December. What they may not know, say officials, is that the damage resulted from the removal of a beaver dam, which also caused a large amount of silt and debris to flow into Mousam Lake.

The town is now taking court action against the men it believes are responsible for removing the dam on Dec. 2 – Shapleigh-based contractor Patrick Frasier and landowner William Elwell, whose primary residence is Rochester, N.H. Neither man could be reached for comment Tuesday before Reporter deadline.

My my my. Doesn’t that read pretty? What if every town where a beaver dam was removed hauled the offenders off to court for ruining the pond, or fish habitat, or mink bridge, or heron feeding or any of the myriad other uses a beaver dam offers? The story’s from Maine, which doesn’t exactly have a stellar record of defending the value of beavers. And in this case was really only annoyed that all the water and debris ripped out went ended up flowing over the road. Still, its a start.

Both men have appealed a notice of violation sent to them by Steven McDonough, Shapleigh’s code enforcement officer, that required each of them to pay a $5,000 fine for the destruction of the dam and to create and pay for a restoration plan.

Obviously they are hoping the whole thing just goes away. They couldn’t even be bothered to get attorneys for the hearing. And now Frick is claiming that Frack was never his employee and that he should be responsible for damage he did on his own initiative. Ahh the flailing of beaver-dam destroyers. I never get tired of it.

And if your week has been anything like mine you need some cheerful distraction right about now. I thought I’d share this list forwarded by Sarah Beesley of the Yurok tribal fisheries program of times beavers were mentioned in the Simpson’s. Its a lot longer than you’d think.

[8F01] State seal has beaver on it.

[8F14] Beaver is conductor of Wall E. Weasel band. {cl}

[9F05] Beavers making dam out of message canisters.

[9F05] Homer says he works like a Japanese beaver.

[9F22] State seal has beaver on it.*

[2F12] Chief Wiggum recalls setting beavers loose in furniture store.

[3F01] State seal has beaver on it.

[3F03] Beaver in food chain.

[3F06] Beavers attack Homer doll.

[3F13] Beaver on model recreation of Springfield.

[4F20] Simpsons play beaver family in comedy sketch.

[5F02]# Marge the Witch turns Chief Wiggum into a beaver. {ps}

[5F02] Ralph Wiggum dressed up as a beaver for Halloween.

[BABF10] Beavers by racetrack building dam out of discarded car tires.

[CABF01] Beaver trying to pull its tail trapped underneath Rich Texan’s car wheel.

[EABF13] Homer and Bart declare war on a dam full of beavers.

[FABF18] Seen on cartoon in Dr. Hibbert’s office.

[GABF02] Football player dresses up like beaver and gnaws down goal post.

Bongo #44: Principal Skinner uses a beaver to attack a Canadian RCMP officer.

Given my particular interests I had to go look at an episode describing Homer and Bart “declaring war on a dam full of beavers”. This is what I found. Since the site appears to be in Russian I’m not sure what to do to make it play exactly in the right place. But Homer and Bart are asked by the local indian tribe to demolish the dam at about 10:30. Enjoy!

14;18

c’imhélhe

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, History February 22, 2012

We’ve been watching the Hung a lel ti beaver habitat near Woodfords for more years than I can remember. It is on the very edge of California and Nevada in the high desert Washoe tribal lands covered with sage and pinyon pine. This past year has seen an explosion of activity and the curving dams were so plentiful and delightful I finally thought I’d ask around to see who follows it.

I ended up contacting the editor of the Washoe Newsletter, Don Johnson who thought the whole story will make a delightful column for the March Issue. When he asked for photos I asked that he please include info about our friends at the Sierra Wildlife Coalition just in case the beavers caused any problems. Here, in pre-printed form is the copy he will publish in March!

Who Cares About Beavers?

Don Johnson

Human Resources, Training, Staff Development, Safety Coordinator, Newsletter Editor @ www.washoetribe.us

Washoe Tribe of NV & CA 919 US Hwy 395 S, Gardnerville, NV 89410

We have been following an elaborate beaver habitat on tribal lands near Woodfords since early 2005. It has some of the best examples of curving dams, ‘willow farming’ and habitat rebound. Is anyone else following this colony or aware of their habits or numbers?

We don’t want any harm to come to them? Please help us preserve this natural phenomenon. There are local beaver experts with the Sierra Wildlife Coalition that would help deal humanely with any problems the beavers might cause so that they can continue to provide excellent habitat and store water in this very dry region of the country.

This is an excellent example of high sierra beaver habitat and we would love to connect with someone who has any information. Please call or email me if you have any information on these beavers. We are beaver advocates that are especially interested in the tribal relationship to high sierra beavers. We are currently working with a group to publish a research paper on historic prevalence.

If you have any information regarding this habitat or these beavers please contact Dr. Heidi Perryman, President & Founder of “Worth A Dam” at mtzbeavers@gmail.com. Their website is www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress

What a wonderful column! I can’t wait to see who replies! We know that some folk in the area are aware of them because we saw an older couple walk down hand in hand to ‘beaver watch’ one night when we were there. Hopefully we’ll get some new beaver friends and learn some stories of their handiwork. The Washoe, as it happens, are one of the tribes that are only upland in California, any pre-1930 beaver story from the Washoe happens to matter because of the contested story of their historic prevalence.

Working on the subject, archeologist Chuck James just found a lovely bit of tribal lore in the form of Ethnographic Notes from the Washoe reported by Richard Lowie in 1939 (it was written in 1926 and beaver were “reintroduced” to the area in 1938). One of the stories is about weasel, who is looking for a playmate and when camping at the site of WOODFORDS finds a beaver who says he plays there every day!

Mind you, there is a famous restoring Carson Watershed paper that says beaver weren’t native to the sierras because there’s NO WASHOE word for beaver. Um. Wait for it. c’imhélhe which Rick found at the Washoe Project at the University of Chicago. Don’t know how that escaped the razer sharp minds who said the were no beaver in the sierras!

Anyway its a perfect place for a perfect discovery to be perfectly published in a newsletter. Thanks Don, and thanks fragrant sage and windy mountains for getting me lost there by accident in the first place!

The Importance of Being Earnest Larry

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Massachusetts Trapping Law, Who's Killing Beavers Now? February 21, 2012

County to go after beavers

By RANDY HOGAN

The Helena World

Because farmers are not allowed to use dynamite, beaver dams have multiplied tremendously in the county. According to Larry, the district simply cannot get enough trappers to make a dent in the beaver population

Oh no! Not more exploding beavers! (One of my favorite posts ever, probably it was the ministry of hyperbole that clinched it.) Apparently the problem has spread all the way to Arkansas. Without dynamite there is apparently no way to kill these beavers fast enough, (machine guns?) and its not like anyone there knows a better way to solve problems.

“We have a very serious problem with beavers in the local ditches and road ditches that flood cropland, county roads and timberland,” Earnest Larry, representing the Phillips County Conservation District, told quorum court members Tuesday night.

Can anyone doubt Earnest Larry? With a name like that? I will more defer any additional commentary to Mr. Wilde. But I don’t suppose ‘Dubious Mark‘ weighed in? Or perhaps ‘Critical-Thinking Tom’ offered an argument at the meeting? Apparently Earnest wants a voluntary tax to provide funds for the conservation district to eradicate beavers. (Wow. The number of oxymorons in that sentence alone is like a roomful of detergents for stupid people.) See in the past the conservation district got money from the Natural Resource Committee to help trap beavers..but now there’s less money all around and the voluntary tax would help raise money for mo’ beaver killin’.

I’m just curious. Where ELSE does the money go? If you use so much of the budget for beaver eradication, is there anything left for planting trees or teaching third graders about what lives in pond water? And why on earth would a no-dynamite law make it impossible to kill beavers? You do realize that blowing up the dam doesn’t actually kill beavers right? Because beavers don’t LIVE IN THE DAM!!! I mean you could still trap them or shoot them right?

Well, it’s tempting to make an Arkansas joke, and say that people who marry their second cousins shouldn’t be expected to install beaver deceivers, BUT the problem of beaver-stupid isn’t regional in nature. Its epidemic. Just look at this article from Salem which is 19 miles from Mike Callahan of Beaver Solutions and 61 miles from Skip Lisle of Beaver Deceivers International, in other words — surrounded by beaver-education but apparently impervious to it.

Busy as a beaver

Beavers are causing problems across the North Shore, especially during this mild winter when they have been more active than usual. The most common problem caused by beavers is a flooded land area. The Mass Division of Fisheries and Wildlife offers several options for solving beaver conflicts.

A homeowner does not need a permit to contract with a licensed trapper during beaver hunting season (Nov. 1 through April 15) to place a cage or box-type trap on their own property. Trapping is highly regulated in Massachusetts. Residents are not encouraged to handle a beaver problem themselves. It is strongly suggested that a registered beaver trapper be hired.

I’m sure the home state of Harvard, Cambridge and MIT is mighty proud to be solving problems as well as Arkansas. Of course, they do possess a slightly broader skill set. Just look at the mysteriously unelaborated very last sentence.

There are ways to handle a problem with beavers so trapping really should be considered as last resort after other methods have been tried.