Month: August 2012

Beaver Deceiver in Wyoming!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere August 11, 2012

From left, Woodbury Preserve caretaker Jared Genzer, Dave Dunlap and Drew Reed of the Wyoming Wetlands Society work to place a 12-inch-wide pipe into an opening in the beaver dam on Cache Creek in Jackson Hole, Wyo. The pipe will allow water to flow through the dam and out of the fields that have been flooded on the Woodbury Preserve.

Er, well not really a beaver deceiver per se, more of a flexible leveler or castor master, without a round fence, but hey the story was picked up by the AP and is now running everywhere so I guess the point is ‘Beavers can be controlled without trapping” and that’s a pretty good point to make. Yeah!

Even if it doesn’t mention Skip’s name with his invention

The “beaver deceiver” is exactly what it sounds like. Reed’s contraption, pioneered in Maine in the 1990s, regulates flow out of beaver ponds via a 12-inch-wide pipe that penetrates the dam.

There, there. Regular readers of this website will know of course that a BEAVER DECEIVER actually protects culverts and this pipe ain’t it. But that’s okay I guess. A TYPE 1 ERROR (See this article for a reminder of the error types.) I wish there was filter. Then again, maybe there is a filter and the reporter just didn’t understand.

On the upstream side of the dam, Reed extends the pipe about 10 feet so the outlet isn’t obvious. He also drills a bunch of holes into the pipe. “Even if the beaver figures out the pipe, water still flows through the hundreds of holes,” Reed said. “They really can’t block the pipe.”

Which takes the wind outta my beaver-savin’ sails a little since it deserves only one response, “huh?” but hey, saving beavers in Wyoming. That’s pretty cool. I’ll write Drew and make sure he knows about the filter around the end of the pipe to keep the beavers out and that the holes the base of the pipe are to keep it submerged.The article goes on to talk about the dangers of relocation, which I appreciated.

…a 2002 study from the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit analyzed just that. The findings were grim. Only 23 of the 234 Wyoming beavers transplanted eventually built dams in the drainages where they were released. Without lodges to use for escape, many died quickly, whether from grizzly bears, coyotes or humans. The mortality rate for beavers younger than 2 years old was 100 percent within six months. Beavers, it seems, just have it tough.

Yes they do. They really do. Repeat that in every AP feed around the country a few times. In the meantime, congratulations to the Wyoming Wetlands Society whose web page has a section specifically on beavers! Give us a shout anytime you have questions!

Oh and I found this yesterday and like very much the idea that one might stumble upon beavers and find they become a huge hidden influence over much of your life. The painting is by someone named Gabe Wong and he posted it on his website for Canada Day. Enjoy!

Good News!

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers August 10, 2012

Does good news come in threes? It does this morning! We’ll start with the successful unanimous passage of “THE BEAVER BILL” in Washington State. Thanks to the excellent work by our friends at the Lands Council beaver management is now part of state law and everyone will be reminded that their efforts mean water and it is smarter to move them than to kill them.

The Washington legislature has unanimously passed HB 2349, a bill concerning the sustainable management of beavers. The new law will help to improve the state’s water management infrastructure by relocating and maintaining healthy beaver populations. This proposed law is not only sensible, but also cost-effective. Instead of spending billions to construct concrete dams, this bill supports utilizing natural mechanisms to improve and restore Washington’s riparian ecosystems with families of beavers.

Congratulation Amanda & Joe! California is Green with envy – (green meaning the jealous shade, not the environmental friendly shade, because we’re idiots still when it comes to beavers!) I knew when I saw your ‘beaver solutions’ cartoon so many years ago that you were headed in the right direction. Lets hope some of your wisdom seeps down as far as Eureka or dare I Say San Bernadino!

More good news from our Kentucky Beaver friend Ian Timothy, who had worked all year to advocate for the beavers in Draught Park. He writes “The same city that once sternly said ‘This is not a beaver park!’ is now rolling out the welcome mat for the beavers. There is an article in the St. Mathews newsletter about the beavers being able to stay in the park, as long as they are being monitored by the local beaver enthusiast (me). The people in St. Mathews really seem to be embracing the beavers and they have gained a small fan club of people watching them most evenings.”

Before laying out the welcome mat, The City of St. Matthews Park Committee met June 4 with a wildlife scientist from the Humane Society of the United States and the City engineer. The group consensus was to monitor the beavers’ activity for six months to see how it might affect the park and Beargrass Creek. Ian Timothy, a local beaver enthusiast,will help document the family’s industry to track the beaver dam height.

Excellent work Ian! Very well done! We couldn’t be prouder of you and can’t wait for this success to inspire your next ‘Beaver Creek’ Episode!

Finally some SHOCKING good news out of Scotland, a country that had the foresight to assume that just because the ‘gravity thing’ works in every other country it doesn’t mean it works in argyle and spent hard-earned money putting there scientists to work analyzing and testing to make sure. Their shattering findings are reported today in the Scotsman.

Beleaguered beavers are fishermen’s friend, claim scientists

The research by scientists at the University of Southampton suggests that the overall impact on fish of reintroducing European beavers is more positive than negative. While the creatures’ dams do block fish from reaching local spawning grounds in the short term, experts say the same dams also increase habitat diversity, creating new areas that attract other wildlife which many fish feed on and providing refuge for them during periods when river levels fluctuate.

Are you telling me that the last decade of research out of NOAA and the Pacific North West was actually true? I mean NOAA is such a fly-by-night organization, no one EVER listen to their rambling assertions! Gosh, now that Scotland has shown that the theory of gravity holds true for the land of the thistle, what’s next? The sun rises over Ayr and sets over Edinburgh?

Visitor View

heidi08 Beavers August 9, 2012

Glenn & Pat Photo

Glen Smith is a musician from San Francisco who wrote me in July saying he was planning on a trip to see the beavers and asking how best to arrange it. He and a friend came out on a night Cheryl happened to be at the bridge and they saw plenty of beavers. Here are some of his thoughts!

Yes it was an excellent night for viewing our friends! Pat and i have spent countless hours seeking and viewing lots of animals from Mexico, Central & South America, to Indonesia and Fiji, but these are the first beavers we’ve ever seen & We Love Them!!! The youngster took center stage, appearing and disappearing many times for extended periods … very entertaining ….including a tail splash in response to Moses’s indelicate clambering in the growth on the south side of the creek as he attempted to get a closer video view.

The adults didn’t appear until dusk, rewarding our persistence and patience with some nice views before disappearing (downstream, i think). Because i’m not familiar with the individuals, i’m not sure who, or how many, we saw, but they were markedly larger than the kit, who, it would appear, is getting bigger quickly.

Meanwhile, i’ve written a short article (below), inspired by my visit, in hopes of inspiring support of efforts on behalf of the survival and welfare the beloved beavers. Thanks for your correspondence and invaluable advocacy!

Best Wishes & Best Of Luck!!!

The Beavers Of Martinez: Messengers Of Hope

Following a trip from San Francisco to Martinez with the sole purpose and hope of catching a glimpse of the beavers who reside in Alhambra Creek, I returned home with a mixture of compelling thoughts and feelings.

I was extremely grateful to have been treated to a number of excellent views of these remarkable and benevolent animals as they glided silently and peacefully,to and fro, in this small creek, their home.

So near the center of town on one side, and a large noisy train station on the other, I was struck by the fact that, here, in this improbable setting, was a glimpse…a vision of incomparable natural beauty, harmony and tranquility.

This tiny gem of nature’s innocence, is parenthesized, amplified, and, sadly, threatened by the ever advancing and seemingly inexorable expansion of the machinations of “progress”. If, in fact, there is anything “wrong with this picture” I wish to say, most emphatically, the beavers have absolutely nothing to do with it!

Against all odds and adversity, in spite of initiatives to exterminate them, here they still are, these beavers, these messengers of hope…hope for a future where the heart and soul of humanity awaken to the urgent necessity of preserving the immeasurably precious and irreplaceable natural world, upon which all life is profoundly dependent.

Let us not fail to recognize the true gift of their presence in our midst, and the message of hope that it is not yet too late to get it right this time, not to late to extend our circle of concern and compassion, embracing the sanctity of all life.

The life and lives we save might well, ultimately, be our own.

Here’s a slideshow Glen made of beavers photos, set to his own original soundtrack. You’ll definitely recognize the last one! Thanks Glen for the support and for viewing our beavers with such grace and compassion!

Beaver Smiles

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions August 8, 2012

I thought today we’d ease back into beaver media by following some amusing stories that appeared over the past few days. Here’s one of my favorite headlines ever. EVER.

Wife swap beavers shatter illusions

The News.Scotsman

IT WOULD make for a particularly wild episode of Wife Swap. Two sets of beavers involved in the Scottish Beaver Trial have swapped partners – challenging the long-held belief that the animals mate for life.

The couples, named Elaine and Eoghann and Trude and Christian, were originally paired in captivity and are thought to have swapped partners last autumn. Their bed-hopping antics are believed to be the first time such activity amongst beavers has been officially recorded.

Are you really surprised that beavers would rather chose their own mate than allow some burly bavarian biologist to do it for them? Remember this is the beaver you share everything with, the beaver you work with, sleep with, chew with, raise kits with. You better dam well get along if you’re going to be stuck with them. Dorothy Richards (Beaver Sprite) saw her own beavers ignore her mate selections and pick their own partners. It’s not earth shattering to think that beavers know their own minds better than researchers do.

And (Eds note) what makes you think this wasn’t “Husband Swapping” anyway?

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Here’s a very clever new political ad from the Quebec Soledaire (the Independence Party). Watch all the way until the end. Even if you don’t speak fluent French, you should be able to follow the funny plotline.

“There are rumours that members of Quebec solidaire drape themselves in the Maple Leaf and hold questionable ties to beavers,” says the ad’s narrator. “In fact, that’s not quite the case…The Quebec solidaire program is very clear on the fact that it’s independentist.”

CP notes that the ad ends with a joke: “Quebec solidaire says no beavers were harmed in the making of their new spot.”

And finally, I can’t overlook this very surprising research into the castor bean as contraceptive! Nothing to do with beavers (but a naming accident) but apparently they’re saying it actually works! In the US we say there poisonous and lead a big ad campaign against planting then in the 50’s. Hmm….

Researchers validate castor bean as oral contraceptive

The use of castor bean seeds for contraception is a widespread practice among the Rukuba tribe in Bassa local council of Plateau State. It is believed that two to three seeds protected against conception for a whole year. However, local and international researchers have validated the efficacy and safety of this practice.

Adorable

heidi08 kits, Recent Sightings August 7, 2012

Last night we couldn’t resist the allure of uncrowded beavers so we snuck down to take a peek. The Chevron fire cloud loomed dark over the west hills after the first half hour, then passed directly overhead on its way to Concord. Our eyes were stinging after a little while, but who could walk away from this? Look at those little toes!

Jr. was out with suitable beaver forage behavior. Mom and Dad (?) made an appearance too. Apparently Moses saw them enjoying the ‘alpine beaver bouquet’ the night before. I guess beavers don’t need a menu to explain what’s good to eat!

There is lots of beaver news in the world, threats of trapping and a horrible story about boyscouts stoning a ‘ rabid beaver’ to death on the Delaware river, but I’m not ready to play in traffic yet, so you just enjoy!