Some things never change…

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Massachusetts Trapping Law, Who's Killing Beavers Now? February 4, 2013

Massachusetts is making news again by introducing bills to ‘unshackle itself’ from the voters trapping repeal of 1996. Apparently legislation that overturns the will of the voters is common in the bay state, because no one’s acting shocked.

Bills to revisit old trapping laws for beavers

As beavers chew through more territory in Massachusetts, several bills before the Legislature this session would revisit a 17-year-old state law barring many methods of trapping and killing these and other types of animals.

The proposals include better tracking of how many beavers are trapped annually and a repeat effort to repeal a state law banning many types of traps, including the leg-hold trap.

What a great idea! Bring back leg hold traps! Hey, why stop there? Why not bring back the guillotine and the rack too! Apparently Massachusetts is so crowded with people that they need easier ways to kill beavers and coyotes. All these pests aren’t going to kill themselves you know. Of course being as its packed with people it’s probably packed with pets too, right? Maybe they better offer one of these while you’re at it…

Catch and release: Dog owners learn how to free pets from traps, snares

HELENA — Michelle Jenicek loves walking her dogs along the creek near her house in Bernice in Jefferson County. She knew a neighbor set traps for furbearers, but it wasn’t an issue for her — until the day her 143-pound dog was caught with his neck in a snare.

Since the entire article doesn’t contain one mention of our old friend Herbie, I have to ask did Mr.Bergquist use up his indefatigable brand? Or is he on vacation, fishing for dolphins in the Bahamas?

The Massachusetts Trappers Association supports lifting the ban. President Malcolm Speicher said modern traps can catch animals without causing painful suffering.

“A lot of people can’t comprehend how the technology has changed, because in their mind it’s the old barbaric method,” Speicher said.

Now there’s a man who’s learned his lines! Not like that slacker from DEC last year who accidentally let it slip that the traps slowly drown beavers and caused Amherst, NY to stop using them! Well, Mr. Speicher hasn’t learned ALL his lines yet. He certainly doesn’t know when to stop talking.

Speicher said trappers want to see other restrictions lifted. For example, trappers are not allowed to keep beavers killed under emergency permits. With beavers caught in regular trapping season, trappers can sell or barter pelts, meat and castor glands used to make bait and some perfumes, but not other parts of the animals.

“I have people that always want skulls,” Speicher said.

Beaver Misdiagnosis Central

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Video February 3, 2013

Here at beaver misdiagnosis central we’ve seen our share of mistakes, including nutria called beaver, muskrats called beaver, and woodchuck called beaver. We’ve even seen things that we know are beaver called something else. Like this lovely video for example.

This was filmed in Chain of Lakes state park in Indiana, which is actually pretty abysmal beaver territory in terms of knowledge and acceptance. No wonder the videographer assumed he was filming two otters, since one of them is apparently cute. The large burly chewing figure in the back is an adult beaver, and the little figure in the front is this year’s kit.

You can see the little beaver has been working hard to break up ice. Around .50 there is an adorable shot of him with a head full of ice chips. Beavers change things. That’s what they do. Otters, on the other hand, take advantage of things. That’s what THEY do.

The newly open space is enjoyed by one very lucky otter. He climbs lithely onto the bank and is upset by the big daddy beaver who ignores him almost entirely. Listen to his agitated calling as the larger beaver surprises him by emerging from the water around 2:20. He has been diving to get a treasured root and ignores the otter almost entirely.

This is another quality I like about beavers. They have their own goals and purposes. They don’t get distracted or put off course. They are not bothered by extraneous details.

Pocket spirit of Beaver image ‘focus’.

Brace yourselves….

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Who's Killing Beavers Now? February 2, 2013

Orrington sues landowners over beaver dam failure that damaged roadway

10009961_H9760697-600x400[1] — The remains of a beaver dam near Swetts Pond Road in Orrington. The dam broke in March, causing flooding along the road. Buy Photo

This was the worst beaver news I ever reported on, and will remain the cautionary tale for the ages. The unfortunate land owner wanted to keep his beavers, and the dam washed out causing massive road damage a decade ago. The city asked the landowner to eliminate the beavers, but the land owner refused and hired someone to install a flow device. (Last year David Wilkins posted on the beaver management forum that Skip had been saddled with the job). But hard Maine winters had rusted out the filter, the landowner didn’t notice, and the beavers had plugged the pipe again causing the pond to get bigger and bigger. This apparently escalated until last year there was another washout.

Can you guess what happens next? Now the city is suing for damages because ‘they told the landowner to get rid of those beavers and he didn’t comply”.

The town also is claiming the Pelletiers agreed to fix the problem after the 2001 flooding and filed an additional claim on Dec. 13.

“The additional count alleges that the Pelletier defendants agreed to the installation, maintenance and monitoring of certain equipment designed to reduce or eliminate the hazard of a subsequent breach,” the motion to amend complaint states.

A device called a “beaver deceiver,” which resembles a culvert and is designed to control the water level, was installed after the flooding a decade ago, but over the years the beavers filled the device with sticks and it eventually failed, the town manager has said.

“We watched the deceiver start to fail and watched the water start to get higher,” Pelletier told selectmen shortly after the breach last year.

Ugh. Things don’t look good for our heroes. But if I was their attorney I’d demand to see records of all the phone calls or emails the city sent to the landowner saying the pond was getting bigger. And if I were Mike or Skip I’d be drafting a ‘flow device installation‘ informed consent statement right about that I had every future landowner sign. It would say in big red letters “I have been informed that flow devices require yearly inspection to assure successful operation. Extreme weather conditions may make more frequent inspection necessary.” There would be a little space for their initials and signature. And I would keep it on file for just this sort of occasion. Sigh.

Did I mention I hate this story? And hate, hate, hate the chilling effect it will have on the installation of flow devices for years to come? For once I’m glad that more folks don’t read this website. Nothing to see here, move along.

No word yet on when all those lawsuits will come for the devastated fish populations caused by too few beaver dams. You think I exaggerate?

Saving Descendents?

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions February 1, 2013

Looks like two neighboring beaver colonies will have flow devices installed to mitigate their ponding behavior. One on city land and one on private land. Since they are fairly close (as the beaver swims) I’d like to imagine they’re some of the seven yearlings we sent safely off into the world in the last 5 years, spreading beaver goodness along the Carquinez strait from Martinez. Only DNA testing would tell us for sure, but even if they’re not related, we know that their safety is directly related to the highly visible success of the home town of John Muir.

Back when our beavers were in danger, there were two pages about flow devices on the entire internet. One yellow information sheet from Beavers Wetlands and Wildlife, and one fact sheet on limitors from the Haw River Assembly in North Carolina. Now if you google flow devices, the entry on Wikipedia is the first thing to come up. It was written by our friend Rick and featuring photos from Mike Callahan of Beaver Solutions.

Good fortune means that Michael Callahan will be in the area to arrange at least one sight inspection, maybe two, on his way to meet the good folks of Worth A Dam and tour our beaver ponds. Hopefully we’ll even see one of our elusive beavers, though in winter nothing is predictable.