Valuable

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Educational, Environmental, Who's Killing Beavers Now?, Why We Care March 3, 2012

Let’s say (and why not) that you were a mild mannered beaver advocate associated with arguably the most famous beavers in the golden state and a fairly impressive website. What if some unnamed media outlet wanted your opinion on some internal memos obtained into the dealings between a certain beaver-stricken city and the federal agency that usually handles such things. And that after getting mad, nauseated and breathing into a paper bag every 5 minutes while you’re reading this delightful list of beaver-bashings you notice that a major contract for the city isn’t with the beaver-trappers, or with the tree planters, or even with hydrologists.

It’s with the beaver-re-education squad, who will provide brochures, website content, and even classroom visits designed to teach residents how destructive beavers can be and overcome any natural compassion or curiosity in the populace. Money to combat people like…oh..say…ME.

Let’s say that you were to find out that this beaver disinformation campaign is not unique to any particular city, but is part of most every beaver-management response once the public reacts negatively, or the media gets involved, or folks start spouting crazy-hugger humane ideas. Like Martinez for instance. Like the “expert” that suddenly showed up in our city and advised our city staff that flow devices always fail. Remember her? Let’s assume after seeing the amount of money that changes hands for a re-education campaign I have become more certain than ever that she didn’t come to Martinez for the view.

All of this is to say that information is power. And this website, with all its flaws and quirks – with all its solutions and stories and community, is powerful. The powers that be spend copious amounts of money to influence public opinion. And we have spent very little money and re shaped public opinion in a way that will affect thinking about beavers for decades to come. Every time we’re in the news-cycle, or talk to folks at Earth Day, or someone looks up the website because they want humane solutions, or children explain what a keystone species is at the beaver festival to get a charm bracelet, I’m reminded how much.

I guess after all the horrific displays of stupidly reflexive thinking, it was nice to realize that a city spends a vast portion of its time and resources thinking about the knotty problems caused by people like us.

Oh and check out Don’s lovely article about beavers in the Washoe newsletter. (Page 12) Hopefully we’ll make some new friends and I’ll find out some gossip about the beavers I’ve been watching for the past 7 years!

Beavers Make Friends…

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions March 2, 2012

This has been a good week to be a beaver advocate, and Friday is no exception. We are, apparently, still in the “good beaver news’ eddy. This first example is from this month’s issue of the Estuary Newsletter. I asked our friend Lisa Owens Viani who USED to be the editor how it got in there. Apparently Riley (That’s Ann Riley of the most famous creek restoration book ever written) nudged it into the attention of the new editor.Ahh thanks for the nice mention. I can’t wait for there to be a regular beaver column describing where colonies are on the move!

Then this morning I read a reminder on facebook that Beaver Creek will be featured at Kentucky’s Wild and Scenic festival. Amazingly, Ian had this to say about his work. I’m still blown away by the quote.

“Beaver Creek” episodes tell gentle stories about Twigs the beaver and his friends. Timothy’s inspiration for the series came from his interest in beavers and their beneficial effects on Kentucky waterways.

“I’m showing what happens in nature and being an advocate for the beavers, which some people don’t seem to like even though they’re such good animals,” Timothy said. “They do a lot for our watersheds, creeks and wetlands.”

Oh Ian, you are such a fantastic white knight for beavers! I am so happy that our paths crossed and grateful to know you. The entire three page article is an excellent look at the festival which will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. Great work as always Ian!

This next story means as much to me as any I think I’ve ever written about. I would have embedded the video for you to watch but KCRA apparently doesn’t want me to. Click on the picture to go to a video of the meeting and the story of how residents of the four seasons are in conflict about the beaver(s). (I don’t think there’s any way we’re just talking about one beaver!) See if you can identify the very moment where I burst into happy tears.

Isn’t that amazing? Must see TV! And the reporters jibe at the end means that he has learned a lesson or two from Martinez. Did you find my moment? It’s from Jerry and it refers to the useless massacre at Elk Grove just 5 years ago. That was happening at the same time our own beaver story was getting complicated, and I was literally heartbroken when a story in the Sacramento Bee linked to a website that showed tens of trapped dead beavers. Would that happen in Martinez? El Grove was where I first read the name of Mary Tappel, who after advising them that sterilizing beavers stresses them out so it was much better to kill them, eventually came all the way to Martinez to tell our mayor and public works director that flow devices never work, that beavers breed for 50 years and that the father beaver should be killed so that the mother would have to mate with her sons and slow the population growth that way.

Elk Grove was the beginning of everything for me, and having this nearby beaver story unfold, with so many good people involved is full circle in a way I can barely describe. Honestly, nothing would make me happier than to award Worth A Dam’s second beaver management scholarship to someone that learned from Elk Grove that killing beavers doesn’t make them go away.

One for the good guys!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational March 1, 2012

Remember when Amanda Parrish of the Lands Council testified at the capital building about beavers? Well the bill just passed 49-0. How’s that for successful persuasion?

The proposal, described by Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, as a “cute, furry little bill,” allows the Department of Fish and Wildlife to set up a system in which a landowner who wants to improve groundwater or downstream flows can request beavers being captured elsewhere and removed from land where they are creating a nuisance.

Apparently the rare moment of consensus made the senate giddy for a while and they spent time complaining about liberal beavers that won’t build dams and domestic partnerships for same sex beaver couples. Whatever. It was a good bill and a great effort in what is still the best beaver state in the nation!

The bill actually represents a meeting of the minds between city and rural residents in Eastern Washington, Sen. Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said. And it has a serious purpose, as well as a long history, sponsor Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda, said. He and other landowners in northwest Washington were interested in getting relocated beavers to help recharge their aquifers and help regulate stream flows, but the Department of Fish and Wildlife said there was no authority to do that.

Hopefully, the fact that its so unusual to get a vote count of 49-0 for anything these days will spur it into the spotlight and other states (like California for instance) will start to think “hey why can’t we move beavers?”.

The Legislature overwhelmingly passed a similar bill, minus the regional restrictions, in 2005, but Gov. Chris Gregoire exercised the first veto of her tenure to kill it because of objections from Fish and Wildlife. Studies were ordered, and several subsequent bills got part way through the Legislature before running out of time.

(And if you think the Department of Fish and Wildlife was once violently opposed to this idea in Washington, wait until you get a load of how the Department of Fish and Game in California is going to react! Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.)

Since then, the Lands Council has received a grant from the state Department of Ecology to trap and relocate beavers as whole families. Research shows that a single relocated beaver will usually leave its new location to return to its old home and family; a relocated family tends to stay put in the new home. That group will take the lead on the relocations.

And beaver family members will stay on the luxurious grounds of the Joe & Amanda backyard hotel during their brief relocation process! Did someone say field trip? It will take me a while to fully believe this, but in the mean time I may have to move to Washington. The bill was sponsored by a republican from Wauconda.

Kretz would still like a beaver family for a stream on his property at some point, but the issue has gone beyond that, to improving water conditions in dry parts of the state. “I’m just interested in water retention, up high.