Month: September 2013

D.C. comes to Martinez

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Friends of Martinez Beavers September 30, 2013

Malcolm Kenton lives in Washington D.C. and writes for the rail website “Greater Greater Washington.” He was raised in North Carolina and attended Guilford College. We met because of some beaver business out his way and connected through email and facebook. Knowing he wanted to follow local beaver news, I introduced him to the beavers at Huntley Meadows in VA and to photographer Ann Cameron Siegal who was keeping an eye on them. They have been watching those beavers together since. I also suggested he connect with Owen and Sharon Brown and they met up a few months ago, Now he is maintaining their facebook page for Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife. Malcolm is an avid rail and beaver fan, so it’s no surprise that he jumped at the chance to fly out and ride the capital corridor to Martinez. Yesterday he and a friend got a beaver tour from Cheryl and a visit to the John Muir House.

Although the train schedule meant he couldn’t come for prime viewing time, he was able to catch site of a hungry youngster who just couldn’t sleep in until his parents and siblings awoke. He posted this yesterday from his iphone. How’s that for a tourist amenity welcome to Martinez!

Malcolm and his friend loved the beaver dams in the city, the working flow device and the best view of a kit that’s not from the BBC, and then Cheryl kindly drove them out to the Muir House for a bit of Martinez history where he especially enjoyed photos taken by Muir’s daughter of the railroad! Then it was a quick red-eye home and an exhausting day ahead. I’m so glad he got to visit Martinez and sorry I couldn’t be there. At least he got the full natural wonder tour. Cheryl snapped this that day on the secondary dam.

That’s a double-crested cormorant on a beaver dam and he’s not here for the view.

Double crested Cormorant on secondary beaver dam – Photo Cheryl Reynolds

It’s always darkest just before the beaver dawn

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Who's Killing Beavers Now? September 29, 2013

[Annual Wildlife Control Issue] The Big ‘Fore’

FEATURES – ANNUAL WILDLIFE CONTROL ISSUE

Managing golf course wildlife — including whitetail deer, beavers, muskrats and Canada geese — is a tall order. Here are some tips from a nuisance wildlife control operator who is also a golf course grounds employee.

PCT tackles the big FORE. You know what PCT stands for don’t you? I’ll give you a hint. The first word is “PEST”. Can you guess the second? And the third is just to make it sound like there’s some kind of science to their killing pastime. Pest Control Technology. You know where there based, fight?

Ohio.

Beaver. The largest North American rodent possesses one of the most prized fur coats and, as a result, is highly regulated by the DNR. As with deer, nuisance beaver can be trapped during the regular trapping seasons, which are also in the fall/winter. But they also can be trapped outside those seasons with an additional DNR-issued permit. Beaver damage is usually very obvious even to the untrained eye. Flooding the fairway from a plugged drainage culvert is just the tip of the iceberg because they can chew through trees — which can cause fallen trees and flooding. Beaver are nocturnal with the ability to raise the water level 6 to 7 feet from blocking a single water source. I have stood up to my shoulders in water on a 2-foot diameter culvert pipe trying to pull out debris to bring the water level down to a level conducive for setting traps. Beaver lodges and dams generally will not occur in isolated ponds in the middle of the course because they are too wide open.

There are several methods for getting rid of nuisance beaver. Please note that in almost all cases nuisance beaver will have to be destroyed either by the trapper or the trap itself because there is really no where they can be taken where they won’t cause the same problem (and they are by no means endangered).

The first is shooting but the window of opportunity on any given day is about a half hour since they are nocturnal and you may only see them for about a hour before sunset. Trapping is the best method for removal. The first and probably the most popular beaver trap is the 330 Conibear. These traps are lethal, designed to break the neck and vertebrae for a very quick ending and are placed in the water in the main runways where beaver can swim through them. As you can imagine, these traps also can be dangerous to the user so if you have no experience with them, let a professional trapper handle a nuisance beaver situation.

Foot hold traps also can be used but the newest beaver trap is a cable restraint, which is simply a loop of airline cable placed in runways similar to the Conibear and then anchored to a nearby tree. Both the foothold and cable restraint are live traps so the captured beaver will have to be dispatched with a firearm. Make sure then the traps are checked early enough to be able to use a firearm.

Behold the nuanced stewardship mindset of the golf course trapper. Who with his “untrained eyes” can kill a path for you to put across the green. He has so many lethal options to chose from! And not one of them is humane. No mention of flow devices although installation requires the same willingness to get wet and watch beaver behavior. Still, putting in a flow device has the gruesome drawback of actually FIXING the problem. Whereas trapping will need to be paid for again and again. They’re no fools.

Of course they chose trapping. They have boat payments and mouths to feed.

_____________________________________________

And maybe I was too hard on Illinois yesterday. Check out this throwaway line from the activities at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum

“Animal Secrets” at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum is a new exhibit that attempts to bring children and nature together, with 5,000 square feet of Illinois animal habitats for kids to explore — indoors. The exhibit re-creates the natural environments of a stream, a cave, the woods and a meadow. So while the- children are building a beaver dam in the stream, parents gain ideas and messages they can apply in their daily lives, especially the idea that we all need to connect with nature more.

Building a beaver dam in the stream? How much fun would THAT be at a beaver festival?

Into the Woods

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions September 28, 2013

Lyman Woods’ beaver dam notched due to flooding concerns

DOWNERS GROVE – Beavers have been busy building dams in Lyman Woods this summer, spurring a debate between the park district and a resident about whether the park district should interfere with wildlife in the woods.

That happened earlier this month, when dammed water flooded the soccer fields of nearby Midwestern University, according to the university’s director of operations Kevin McCormick.

“There was probably 2 to 3 inches laying across the soccer fields,” he said.

Midwestern University called the park district, and district workers cut three notches in the woods’ second beaver dam to allow water to pass.

Ahh, the old dam-notching trick. Only slightly less effective than duck taping the fuel pump, or replacing windows with cardboard. Why choose a longer term solution when an easy fix will suffice? Better yet, it will inevitably fail and then you can go back to those beaver-hugging fans at the dog park and say, “We tried a compromise and it didn’t work! Shoot, I guess we’ll just have to kill them.”

Remember this is Illinois where a cynical person might say you could fit all their beaver appreciation and knowledge into a teaspoon and still have room leftover to sweeten your coffee. I wrote them about the appropriate use of flow devices but I won’t hold my breath that things will move in the enlightened direction.

Stay tuned for the exciting developments.

War is Over

heidi08 Beaver Anatomy, Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Environmental September 27, 2013

Saved from the brink of extinction: European bison and beaver stage incredible comeback

THREATENED species such as European bison and beaver have staged remarkable comebacks thanks to man’s help, a detailed study revealed yesterday.

Others to bounce back include the white-tailed eagle, roe deer and grey seal. Birds such as peregrine falcons and red kites have also recovered either after the banning of pesticides or through reintroduction programmes.

Reduced to 1,200 individual beaver in the wild 100 years ago due to overhunting. But legal protection, hunting restrictions, reintroductions, natural recolonisation, and habitat protection and restoration, have helped beavers stage a “remarkable recovery” over the past 40 years.

They are now established in almost all of its former range, and further increases are likely.

The report was compiled by the Zoological Society of London, BirdLife International and the European Bird Census Council in collaboration with experts from across Europe.

That’s right. We did such a good job protecting beaver and bison that they are back everywhere that they belong. You know how you’re always seeing bison everywhere you look. And those two beaver in Scotland and the 26 in Spain. In fact they are SO well recovered that we don’t need one dam more. Better start killing them before take over the world and destroy the place.

I dunno about you but these articles make me tense all over as I wait for what comes next. Much like when the US took bald eagles off the endangered list because of the population in Alaska. Or told everyone that wolves weren’t endangered and now could be shot.

If officials could just bring the right statisticians to the table they could probably prove the Panda recovered.

______________________________________________________

The beavers surgery yesterday revealed multiple lacerations and slices in which flies had laid eggs. They treated him and he is on his way to healing. I will keep you posted. And if you didn’t donate yesterday you really should.

Now a treat from a friend. Wickipedia Rick’s son made this smart look at the value of nature in Filoli country estate in San Mateo and its surrounding gardens & woods. At 1.15 it features an interview with Rick and a discussion of his thoughts on the role of ecology in human life. Remember Rick is the lead author on the beaver papers, the founder of the Institute for Historical Ecology, a stalwart beaver defender, an enormous energy burst, and a cancer researcher in his day job. His son has also published a digital guide to the wildlife that you can search here.

Speaking of friends, Malcolm Kenton is the organizer and author from D.C. who maintains the rail website Greater Greater Washington. He is also an avid beaver defender who maintains the facebook page for Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife and sent us the kit recording from Huntley Meadows. He recently earned a cross country trip and will be stopping in Martinez for a beaver tour Sunday. Unfortunately I can’t be there, but Cheryl will show him around and give him the lay of the land.

In case you need me, this is where I’ll be. (Don’t worry, there’s internet and this view from the hot tub)

Beavers Far and Wee

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver Rehabilitation, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Dispersal September 26, 2013

Cheryl got a call a Tuesday about Sonoma Wildlife receiving a beaver that had been huddled in someone’s back yard for a couple days. She drove up to see it yesterday with some beaver treats and background because this is the first beaver they’ve ever had. 31 lbs, which really seems disperser size for our beavers, but its not really the right time of year to be without a home. A physical yesterday revealed it’s a male with bite and scratch wounds on his back. He’s going into surgery today. Cheryl has been invited to help with the release when he’s on his feet again. If you want to assist with his care and remind them that it’s a good idea to rescue beavers, please donate here. I did, and you should too. Rest assured that all our beavers are on sight and no one is missing. Plus when you watch this video you will be certain it’s not ours.

From a very young age, Martinez beavers know how to hold on to an apple.

__________________________________________________

Liz Wickard talks with children and their parents about beavers during a Nature at Night hike Sept. 20 at the Morrison Nature Center in Aurora. The Nature at Night series is a free environmental education series held once a month. (Seth McConnell, YourHub)

Aurora nature program explores animals, insects

Kaleb Cano, 10, raised his hand straight in the air when the instructor asked for a volunteer to demonstrate what it’s like to be a beaver. He jumped up, stood in front of the room and beamed with his arms outstretched. Liz Wickard, a naturalist at the Morrison Nature Center in Aurora, plopped a thick, brown pelt over Cano.

“This heavy fur keeps him warm. It’s like the underwear coat,” Wickard said to a room full of giggling children on Sept. 20. “But beavers have two kinds of fur, and this fur on the outside is made of coarse, oily guard hairs.”

Well, technically the hair isn’t naturally oily. It’s painstakingly treated by the beaver every day. And really, if you wanna teach what its like to be a beaver you should let people lie about you and pollute your home and blame you for everything before shooting at you in the dark. Then have the children crawl through some body crushing traps and see how many get away.

Have I grown too cynical for this work?

“About two years ago, this dam was about 15 feet tall and 30 feet wide,” Wickard said to the group once they were outside, along the muddy banks. “But it washed out during heavy rain one summer, and no one repaired it.”

Gosh an educational beaver dam that’s suddenly untended for no reason whatsoever. Call me jaded, but I just had to go looking to see what happened to the beavers on Sand Creek two years ago.

These endearments are directed not at me, but at the beaver, which must endure a few more minutes of this alarming final stage of their 200-mile journey to a new home. Tippie trapped this family in a desolate stretch of Sand Creek in Aurora a couple of days ago and has been chatting with them regularly ever since.

This is from the Westword article on Sherri Tippie in 2011. So somebody paid for these animals to be trapped and relocated, which is marginally better than being killed but still an easy answer to the mystery of why the dam’s not maintained. Maybe the Morrison Center itself paid for them to be trapped? Or it was the nearby golf course or Sheriff’s office or some combination. At any rate the story of their removal ran in the most famous 5 page article about beavers in the history of the Colorado Area, so I’m going to expect them to know dam well why the dam isn’t maintained. And be straight about the dangers beavers face.

And, for goodness sake, stop dressing children up in coats and flippers and use your grant money to explain to children and parents that beavers build a neighborhood and this is why they are WORTH A DAM.