More Burlington Beavers

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere December 21, 2012

700 miles away from Burlington VT, the beavers of Burlington Ontario are also making headlines. Apparently they consider themselves too humane to trap, but the regulations say no relocation more than a kilometre away, so that doesn’t leave a whole lot of options.

Busy beavers in Burlington

As winter approaches, Burlington residents may see increased activity around beaver lodges near creeks and waterways within the city, according to a press release sent by the City of Burlington.

Beavers are nocturnal creatures that do not hibernate. They are most active during the fall, working to store enough food, piled outside the lodge, to sustain them throughout the winter.

Hunted to the brink of extinction in the early 1970s, the North American beaver has made a comeback and is now found all over Ontario, most commonly in forests, and are protected and regulated by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR).

Beavers have also expanded into non-forested areas, where waterways are bordered by trees or shrubs. This can bring beavers into parks or green spaces created by people. Consistent with the Ontario Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act and the recommendations of the MNR, the city accepts that beavers are part of the natural environment and as such does not engage in lethal trapping.

I’m guessing this means they engage in live trapping and then kill the beavers with a gunshot or a trip to the gas chamber because I can’t imagine relocating a beaver down the block is any body’s idea of a good investment. I know that our old friend Donna DuBreuil of the Ottawa-Carlton wildlife Centre was hopping mad when the “mile-limit” rule was passed, because it means if an animal is rescued from the freeway it has to basically be returned to the freeway.

Beaver diets include the bark of trees, water plants (pond lilies and cattail roots), shrubs, saplings, grasses, herbs, leaves and fruits. Their eating habits change with the seasons according to what food sources are plentiful at that time of year.

They favour poplar, willow, cottonwood, aspen, beech, alder, hickory, and birch trees. A family of five or six beavers may require in excess of one half hectare of dense poplar trees for its winter food supply.

In some beaver habitats, the city wraps selected trees with a wire fabric to protect them. For more information on beavers, visit the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources website.

I just had to go look for myself, and was surprised to see advice about wrapping trees, flow devices and culvert protection! I have to assume that’s a newer addition and thank our friends in Ontario and Ottawa for forcing its inclusion! Do you wanna bet there is nothing like this on the CDFG website? Well, 11 more days and it will turn into CDFW which will be the first step in the right direction!

Ends and Pieces

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Educational December 20, 2012

Humane Wildlife Services of the HSUS Addresses Human-Wildlife Conflict

Most of us think of the Humane Society of the United States as an organization dedicated to the welfare of companion animals and perhaps domestic and alternative livestock. But the HSUS is also very cognizant of the needs of wildlife species and through its Humane Wildlife Services program, works to mitigate human-wildlife conflict in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. Conflict with wildlife is not just an animal welfare issue, it also has many implications for the conservation of wildlife populations.

From the news cover of National Geographic comes this story of the wildlife solutions division of HSUS in Washington DC. It’s the grandchild of our old friend John Hadidian who used to be the head of urban wildlife and is now in the upper echelons somewhere. I particularly liked what it had to say about beavers:

We can also address flooding and other issues caused by beaver, and often consult with communities and municipal entities on humane and effective conflict resolution strategies.

Hurray! At the moment the program is regional but let’s hope they are flooded with so many requests it goes national! I’m all for a humane society that emphasizes SOLUTIONS rather than SENSITIVITY. I’m a firm believer that self-interest is our only renewable resource.

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I wanted to share this stunning image of otters in the surf from our friends at the River otter ecology project:

surfotters — Luc Hosten - Africa Geographic

Also this good news from Worth A Dam stalwart Jean who went down to visit the hard work on the primary dam and ran into Moses who showed her some recent footage:

“terrific video of Jr. and mom nuzzling, playing, swimming together!”

It’s nice to know that everyone has survived the storm and is doing fine! (Good luck this weekend!)

Oh and Teage from yesterday’s story writes that he is grateful for the support and surprised to find that saving beavers is so frustrating! It’s almost like everyone already has their minds made up and doesn’t want to listen to reason! Imagine that!

Oh! The urbanity!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Who's Killing Beavers Now? December 19, 2012

UVM Sets Kill Traps for Dam-Building Beavers in Centennial Woods

Kathryn Flagg

When a family of beavers took up residence in a retention pond in Burlington’s Centennial Woods this past fall, field naturalist Teage O’Connor saw it as a learning opportunity: His students could watch the animals up close.

But the University of Vermont viewed their new tenants — and the dam they built — as a nuisance. Worried about flooding, the university this month set lethal traps to kill the large, semiaquatic rodents.

At least one of the four beavers — an adult male that O’Connor nicknamed Melvin — is already dead. Now O’Connor and others are calling for the university to halt the trapping until spring, when the beavers could be relocated.

Remember our friend watching urban beavers in Vermont? Well he has stepped his campaign up to the media level and is making his case to the public. I wrote to make sure he has Skip’s and Mike’s contact info and I’m hoping for great things.

With this great article by Kathryn, they are well on their way to getting the attention they will need to slow this down. Remember that killing the beavers will work for a season or two, but our flow device has worked for 5 years. Burlington is about a 2 hour drive from Grafton where Skip Lisle lives. If they can’t solve this problem intelligently, it’s hard to hold much hope for beavers anywhere!

Fonsi?

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Massachusetts Trapping Law, Who's Killing Beavers Now? December 18, 2012

I got a letter yesterday at the office from Wildlife Services in MA. As you may remember, right around the time that Tom Knudson at the Sacramento Bee was writing about what a dangerous, wasteful, rogue arm of government the USDA had become, the Bay State was looking at some of there more gristly and dangerous solutions and thinking that “why can’t we do that?”

I wrote back with more than the usual cautions and caveats, as well as a pretty clear reading of history. Apparently I was persuasive enough to get a response from the governor’s secretary and a smattering of reporters. Yesterday I was politely reminded that the wilddeath services of Massachusetts had carefully listened to everyone’s concerns but decided to do what they damned well wanted anyway.

The study is referred as a FONSI ‘finding of no significant impact’. That is – impact to humans. I assuming there would be a significant impact to the beavers themselves, because otherwise what’s the point?

Look what I found!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Festival, Friends of Martinez Beavers December 17, 2012

I know I told you about Owen and Sharon Brown (of Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife) visiting Martinez in October this year. Well the event appears in this issue of their newsletter and I wanted to share. Mind you the COVER story is the grand adventure of Sherry Guzzi and Mary Long and their Tahoe Beaver struggle. It even includes a quote from our wikipedia friend Rick! Here’s our story (click to make it larger) but you really should go sign up for your own copy and be part of Dorothy Richards legacy.Just a reminder that the beautiful artwork on that beaver was painted by the talented children at the Martinez Beaver Festival and the talented, gentle artist FRO Butler. Visit her fantastic studio here: