Hats off to beavers!

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers elsewhere April 25, 2014

Meet Bolton’s new St George’s Day mascot – the Little Lever Beaver

A NEW St George’s Day mascot — the Little Lever Beaver — popped up in Bolton town centre to fly the flag for England.

The top-hat wearing rodent is the creation of husband-and-wife team Phil and Angie Sutcliffe, who said they wanted to mark the Saint’s holiday by bringing their very own creation to the Town Hall steps.

“We came up with the Little Lever Beaver as we wanted something that rhymed with the place — I was born in Little Lever and now we’ve settled here after travelling for 30 years.”

Add this to the number of stories stacked up for the inevitable re-colonization of beavers in England. I’m not crazy about the top hat, since beavers were exterminated in Europe, Canada and America in pursuit of felt for top hats. It’s kind of like having a baby cow dress up as veal picatta.

But I love the very last sentence in this article.

Beavers are now extremely rare in the UK, after they were hunted to extinction in England during the 12th century.

“Extremely rare” is SO much better than “extinct”. You almost get the feeling that some folks in the country are beginning to accept their fate.

A cautionary tail [sic]

heidi08 Creative Solutions April 24, 2014

Yesterday I got a sneak peak at an upcoming something I’m not allowed to talk about yet, but believe me when I say you will be very, very interested. I sure was. Then it was time to dash off to virtual school with the Bren masters students who had put together a model for beaver dams in the Jemez watershed in New Mexico using Joe Wheaton’s BRAT tool.

IMPACT ON WATER RESOURCES IN THE JEMEZ WATERSHED, NEW MEXICO

The Bren School is the environmental division of UC Santa Barbara, so within walking distance of the salmonid restoration conference, where they could have heard all about beavers restoring watershed if they were interested. The project was a discussion of theoretical beavers in the Jemez, which is a tributary of the Rio Grande in New Mexico where there aren’t too many beavers to spare. They did not talk about actual beavers. They built the 40 dams themselves based on a model of where beaver dams should be expected to go. Using a tool from the Army Corp of Engineers they measured how much water they preserved with the dams. Then calculated the effect on two species of special concern, a rare native trout and a aquatic mouse. The idea being that you have to prove that beavers are a good idea before any will actually sponsor them. There aren’t too many beavers in New Mexico but there are some. I had to wonder what would happen if any slipped into the Jemez study area by mistake?

I honestly tried very hard to not think like a crazy beaver lover and follow the science behind their presentation without getting annoyed that there were no ACTUAL BEAVERS in their BEAVER thesis. But then they showed this slide and I really couldn’t help myself.

How could they know what a beaver looks like if there’s not any in their beaver research? They’d have no way of knowing that photo actually wasn’t one. And it’s not like Dr. Tim Robinson of the Cachuma Conservation Release Board counted 300+ actual beaver dams on the lower Santa Ynez River a half hour drive from their school. There are certainly no resources on the internet that would help them learn the esoteric difference.

Let’s not suggest that WildEarth Guardians whose writing them grants to fund this project should know any better. I mean just because they have an audited statement from 2012 with a end of year balance of six digits doesn’t mean they should know what an animal they’re funding looks like, right? Stop being so picky, Heidi.

There were questions and answers after the presentation and some nice discussion about native fish versus non natives getting around beaver dams. Byran from Earth Guardians talked about the recent legislation in New Mexico about climate change and beaver management, which was largely the work of Wild Earth Guardians and their legal struggle to make the state take beavers seriously.

Since I know what its like to be a graduate student presenting your work, I politely didn’t ask anyone about the nutria or the decision to study hypothetical beavers (rather than the actual ones USDA says they killed in New Mexico), but I did write them privately that they might want to change that photo before putting the presentation on line.

For whatever reason that didn’t happen. So let this be a cautionary tale (tail).

Beavers on PRI

heidi08 Beaver News, Beavers elsewhere, Environmental April 23, 2014

Whatever you’re doing this morning you HAVE to make time to hear this excellent program on the beavers in the river otter in Cornwall. My mom happened to be in the car when it aired yesterday and gave the beaver signal. Reporter Christopher Werth interviews the farmer who discovered them, and then our old friend Derek Gow who has been beating the beaver drum for years in England. Honestly it’s an excellent interview, you won’t regret it. They interview the usual castor-phobic fisherman, and then let Derek respond.

But Derek Gow, firmly in the Yea faction of the beaver debate, has a stiff rejoinder to these concerns.

“That’s just a crap argument,” says Gow, a conservationist who’s campaigned for the reintroduction of beavers since the 1990’s.

Gow says beaver dams would actually reduce flooding by holding water. And he says fears about beavers arise from the fact that, after centuries living without them, people have forgotten what the animals actually do.

“They think it’s some sort of Godzilla-type thing that’s going to rip babies out of prams, and kick down the Houses of Parliament, and chop down every tree there is in the landscape,” Gow says. “And that’s just ridiculous!”

I just adore the visual of beavers ripping babies out of prams, and wrote Derek this morning to say so. But the truth is, people aren’t uniquely irrational in England after their 500-year beaver break. There have been beavers more or less consistently in America and we’re still anxious and stupid about them. They’re pretty stupid in Canada too. Let’s just say that castor-phobia isn’t unique to the British Isles.

(And this was the most fun I ever had making a graphic).

Thanks Mom for the tip! Looks like my comments from last night have been bumped to the top of the page. Now I’m just waiting for them to have a beaver festival in Cornwall!

Capture — This apparent family of beavers are the first seen in the wild in England in roughly 500 years. They were discovered by retired ecologist Tom Buckley, who installed motion sensor cameras, caught the beavers on tape and gave the images to the BBC. “It’s a great achievement that they’ve managed to come back,” Buckley says.

This apparent family of beavers are the first seen in the wild in England in roughly 500 years. They were discovered by retired ecologist Tom Buckley, who installed motion sensor cameras, caught the beavers on tape and gave the images to the BBC. “It’s a great achievement that they’ve managed to come back,” Buckley says.

Remembering an Important birthday on Earth day

heidi08 Earth Day, Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers April 22, 2014

1970367_4028951219430_482136484_n — John Muir at his desk as imagined by Ian Timothy

John Muir was born in Dunbar Scotland 176 years ago yesterday. He was the third of eight children born to strict Presbyterian parents who felt that time spent outdoors in nature was a distraction from time learning the bible. In fact, by the time Muir was a young man he could recite most of the old and and all of the new testaments by heart. When he was 11 the family immigrated to Wisconsin, and Scotland’s native son became America’s treasure. After adventures from Canada to Florida, Muir at 40 fell in love with Louisa Strenzel in Martinez in 1880 and settled into a partnership with her physician father managing their 2600 acre fruit ranch, some of which is still producing today. It was in this house that Muir had his office (“scribble den”) and wrote his seminal works. It was in this house that Muir received countless dignitaries and inspired guests, including the author of the most important beaver book ever written, Enos Mills.

Some 169 years later.Ian Timothy, of the most famous beaver animation series “Beaver Creek” ever crafted also made a pilgrimage to Martinez with his parents. He squeezed Muir’s hometown in right between his homage to Pixar and his appearance at the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Nevada City.

A life long admirer of Muir’s message and work, so it’s hardly surprising that his Freshman year film project at Cal Arts’ is a piece about Muir.

Looking at the stills, I for one can’t wait to see it.

Oh, and if you want to celebrate Muir’s birthday and legacy in person, you should join the party on Saturday.

Trapped beaver(s) finally rescued! er, trapped?

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental April 21, 2014

A beaver ostensibly trapped in a lock chamber of the Rideau Canal at Merrickville had locals fretting about its fate over the Easter weekend. It was finally rescued by local volunteer firefighters.

Trapped beaver tale has a happy ending

On a weekend better known for bunnies, this beaver tale had a happy ending.

After hearing reports from customers that a beaver was trapped in a nearby Rideau Canal lock early Saturday, Deanna Whaley went to investigate.

To her dismay, Whaley, who runs Gad’s Hill Place Eating House in Merrickville, found the furry creature padding back and forth in shallow water at the bottom of the lock, trying to find a way out.

“I didn’t know what to do,” she said. “This poor animal is languishing. He’s going back and forth but he can’t get out.”

Whaley kept checking on the animal all day. Finally, out of concern for its welfare — “I know he’s just a beaver but I feel sorry for him” — she phoned for help, calling everyone from the Ontario Provincial Police and the Smiths Falls Humane Society to the National Capital Commission, Parks Canada and the Rideau Valley Wildlife Sanctuary.

Ack! I’m glad she was worried about that beaver, who knows how long he might have been trapped in there without a meal? The historic Merrimack locks were designed after the Middelsex Canal opened route to Boston in 1803. From Merrimack to the canal were several waterfalls and obstructions that the locks circumvented. By 1817 the work was done and the long series of locks provided an efficient passage.

But not for beavers.

Turns out that no one wants to be bothered with a beaver rescue on a holiday weekend, and Whaley kept getting the run around when she tried to call the authorities. She finally reached a responsible soul at Rideau Canal National Historic Site’s answering service and “half an hour later, Scott Tweedie, the northern sector manager for the agency, called the Citizen and promised action”.

Tweedie delivered. Four volunteers from the Merrickville Fire Department showed up with cages, climbed down into the lock and, to everyone’s surprise, found three of the creatures. Two were soon caged, though one remained — well, cagey.

At 6:30 Sunday, Whaley called the Citizen: “Mission accomplished,” she said. “Beavers rescued.”

The article ends without telling us where those beavers were released, so I’m not ready to celebrate just yet. Still, I’m very happy that Whaley cared enough to keep calling, and that the firemen came through.

I can’t help but wonder what they were all doing together. And looking at that long series of locks I hope they weren’t dispersing and managed all that way- like a kind of watery mario brothers – only to be returned back to the start again!

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Our own beavers put on a nice show last night, with two yearlings demonstrating that beavers don’t always share.