Month: May 2014

Beaver History Lesson

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Who's Killing Beavers Now? May 11, 2014

Yesterday started on a very high note with Jari Osborne being interviewed for The Animal House about her upcoming beaver documentary on PBS Nature. I loved the interview, especially the part where she said “if we put a monetary value on water, the same way we do for oil, we’d be protecting these animals.” (Good one Jari!) But when the perfect interview was over, the announcer wanted to tie it in to the obliquely related story of beavers being back in the river Otter in Cornwall. So what did he say?

He said “beavers mysteriously disappeared in the 16th century. No one knows why! And now they’re mysteriously reappearing in the Otter River.”

To which I could only reply:

I wrote Jari and very politely asked if he was, in fact, HIGH. Because, honestly, saying that beavers mysteriously disappeared in the 16th century is like commenting that oil mysteriously used to be underground and now it isn’t anymore, and what could have happened to it? Or whateverever happened to all those buffalo? Or those nice Kennedy boys? They used to be everywhere and now they’re missing?

Anyway, Jari took my alarm very seriously and is going to talk to the announcer, so maybe that will be changed by the time it goes on line. Let’s hope.

Nice day at Wild Birds with lots of people asking how the beavers were doing, and lots of excitement over the upcoming special. I almost felt like the world is starting to understand the beaver message. Almost. Then I came home to find this article from Connecticut.

Beavers gnaw, trees fall at Rogers Park

^{DANBURY — When beavers got busy at Rogers Park, they made short work of the native poplar trees, girdling some and felling others completely.}

^{Nearly a dozen trees are dead or dying. Frequent visitors to the pond reported seeing eight to 14 beavers swimming in the pond and popping up from their lodge on the pond’s west bank.}

^{“I didn’t realize beavers could do this much damage,” said Danbury mom Mary Sanperi, who was visiting the park with her husband, Nicholas, and son, Nicholas Jr. “I’m very sorry to see this happening. It kind of ruins the beauty of the park.”}

Where to begin. First of all if folks saw 14 beavers swimming around the lake they should call in a team of Yale researchers right away because they have clearly discovered a new breed of abundant, non-territorial beaver, and let’s not forget the outback-worthy new observers who are patient enough to count to 14 and be sure that it’s not the same beaver popping up 14 times. Second of all- honestly? Did a resident of Danbury really say out loud that it’s a shame that something natural would get in the way of all that nature? What is the matter with people?

“We have engineers looking into the problem and Public Works will dismantle the dams,” Boughton said. “We deal with this somewhere in the city every couple of years.”

HA! The only engineers you need looking into this situation have webbed back feet and they’re doing just fine, thank you very much. You know, I thought the name Danbury sounded familiar so I went and looked it up. I wrote about their dramatic beaver-stupid a couple years ago too. Apparently they haven’t gotten any smarter during their hiatus. Now’s their chance. Look at this photo and tell me that this park could do anything better for wildlife, terrain, morale or public interest than feature some beavers? Imagine standing on that bridge and watching the family!

Beaver damming has been common in Danbury waters for generations, but it wasn’t always a problem, Mayor Mark Boughton said. Danbury became the hat capital of the country because of its abundant supply of beaver pelts.

Off to work.

Make new friends, but keep the old….

heidi08 Beaver News, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational May 10, 2014

Off to Wild Birds Unlimited Mother’s Day event this morning to make new beaver friends. Thought I’d put this together and bring it for our display so folks know what’s coming next week. There are new clips released to day here. Have fun. Meanwhile I just heard from Jari that her interview will air on animal house at noon today, which is 9 here. Catch the interview online WAMU here or catch it online later here

@JariOsborne talks about her new @PBSNature film “Leave it to Beavers” today at noon on @wamu885 and @wamuanimalhouse pic.twitter.com/gwCxV0ToZ6

I’ll be busy promoting how important birds are to beavers and plugging the documentary. I’m trying to prepare myself for the number of well-meaning phone calls and emails I will receive when it airs, telling me that there was ‘something about beavers the other night’. It’s evidence of a message getting out there, and it’s good that people think of me but to be honest, it kind of drives me a little insane that people wouldn’t think I know already.

The owner of Wild Birds Unlimited, Mike Elliot, is a generous host, and the exhibits get shade, drinks and pizza. Mike has already committed to the beaver festival, which is very nice of him. It should be a lovely and cheerful day. There was a blurb about it on Joan Morris earlier in the week, and it will be fun to see Gary Bogue again.

Amazing article from Vermont where there was a dam washout and road damage. The reporter talked to all the right people and still managed to make it a pro-beaver piece, quoting our old friend Skip Lisle, who I haven’t heard from in ages. Delighted to see he’s still doing God’s work and spreading the word aptly. Nice to see Patti Smith stick up for beavers too, wonder how the book launch went?

Want to reduce flooding? Leave it to beavers

Breaches can be avoided through the use of flow devices, which keep culverts open. Skip Lisle, a Grafton, Vt., resident, is known for inventing two beaver dam pipes that he said create “permanent leaks” in beaver dams and prevent reservoirs from getting too big. Lisle’s inventions — the Castor Master and The Beaver Deceiver — allow for a steady release of water. He told the Reformer a dam breach is usually a sign that beavers have left the area, because the animals constantly maintain the structures, which are in a never-ending state of decay. This decay that beavers are always working to counter causes dams to become uneven and erode in certain spots.

Great article, we need that reporter in California. Now we’re off to preach the beaver gospel to bird lovers. Should be a great day.

A preview with heart!

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers elsewhere, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers May 9, 2014

More excitement from the upcoming Nature special on beavers, this one a profile of Sherri Tippie. I have it on the very best inside authority that she was their favorite part of the documentary, so it’s no surprise Nature producers decided to lead with their strength. It’s great to see her doing what she loves most. The clip is un-embedable, so click on it to go to where you can watch it in person. I promise it’s worth it.

There’s also a nice letter about pointless beaver trapping from Montana that you’ll enjoy.

Lee Metcalf Wildlife Refuge: Killing busy beaver was unnecessary

Re: The recent demise of a North American beaver (Castor canadensis) on the Lee Metcalf National Wildlife Refuge.

According to Metcalf management, the bad-luck beaver was interfering with the refuge’s ability to manage water levels and they had to take appropriate, corrective government action.

I guess I’m a bit confused because in my wildlife biology training, I was taught that beavers provide beneficial habitat for ducks, which ultimately improved waterfowl breeding success. If water control becomes a problem, there are two popular devices for controlling water levels in beaver ponds:

1. Install a temporary device such as a three-log drain.

2. Install a permanent device like the Clemson Beaver Pond Leveler, which reduces damage from flooding.

If these measures aren’t feasible, then beavers can be easily live-trapped and relocated elsewhere. Killing them in a conibear trap would be a last resort. I’m sure the folks at Trap Free Montana Public Lands aren’t excited about this recent activity by an organization that is part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The mission of the USFWS, as stated on page five of the Lee Metcalf NWR Comprehensive Conservation Plan (September 2012) is to “conserve, protect, and enhance fish and wildlife and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.” Unless you’re a beaver bothering the busy field technicians working at the refuge.

Jim Hamilton, Florence

Go Jim! Thanks for standing up for beavers. You’ll be on the right side of history. I’m glad you have the flow device idea, but I’d love to introduce you to more modern tools. Still, we’re grateful!

Speaking of flow devices, our own Castor Master installed by Skip had been showing no signs of life lately. In the past, even when the water from the secondary was backed up above the pipe outflow, we could usually see little ripples from the exit. Lately there’s been no activity and the pond was looking higher. We were starting to get nervous that it wasn’t working or maybe the beavers had plugged it. Yesterday Jon went down to measure and saw that it had “UNclogged” and was flowing freely. The dam is still air tight and unmeddled but that pipe is back to doing it’s job. Maybe a plastic bag or something else got lodged? Looking at the sheetpile you can see how the level dropped. I’m just glad it happened naturally before the city got involved. And that they will have a beautiful tight dam and pond for the new kits.

Beaver beginnings and endings

heidi08 Beavers, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers May 8, 2014

At least two very important things happened yesterday, both of them Canadian in nature. Jari Osborne’s promotional interview for “Leave it to beavers” aired on Metro Focus. It featured a discussion of why beavers matter and some of the most intriguing clips from the film. The beaver part starts at 13:21. Enjoy.

Are you excited yet? I can’t tell you how thrilling it is to see a powerful filmmaker and a prominent interviewer casually discussing beaver benefits on national television. And that adorable footage of the kit hopping eagerly in the lodge is, I believe, the cutest event ever recorded since the development of film. (Or eyes.)

I heard from a very excited Jari yesterday. It must be a little weird to have your second premiere nearly two years after finishing the film. An American debut is a big deal. She even talked about getting Sherri, Suzanne and Carol together for a meet up reunion at the beaver festival. (!!) That is an impossibly wonderful idea to imagine, we’ll see. In the meantime, plan your superbowl-beaver party, tell all your friends, and get ready for next Wednesday.

______________________________________________________

The other very important thing that happened yesterday was the death of 92 year old author, Farley Mowat. Up until the last moment of his life he was a fierce advocate for nature and a dedicated writer. You probably crossed paths with “Never cry wolf”, a story I drew on internally again and again when fighting for our beavers – from the idea of leaving a familiar job for the complete unknown, to the joy and brutality of an unexpected encounter with nature, to the bumbling of failed bureaucracies and corrupt politicians lurking under every stone. His writing prepared me for what I was going to face.

Even though my journey was only 8 blocks from my home, it was still a great distance from what I was trained to do. I needed an experienced guide to show me the way. He knew what challenges I would face there, and why it was worth the effort. He even understood how my life could feel at once completely taken over and more like my own than it ever had been. How fitting that his deer friend, Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd, remembers his important life by comparing him to Canadian icons like “Grey Owl”.

The world is such a better place because you were in it, Mr. Mowat. I hope I am a better person because you’re writing is inside me.

In the end, there were no simple answers,

no heroes, no villians.

only silence.

But it began the moment that I first saw the wolf

By the act of watching, with the eyes of man,

I had pointed the way for those who followed.

Beaver Patriotism

heidi08 Beavers, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental May 7, 2014

Finally an embeddable version! Here’s the link so you can email it to all your relatives and friends. What I love most of all about waiting for its broadcast is seeing it be promoted in all 50 states including our own. From WNET in New York, to WXEL in Florida, WGBH in Massachusetts, WVIZ in Ohio, IPTV in Iowa, to KLVX in Nevada – even KHET in Hawaii! All these states that I have covered over the years, valiantly resisting beavers, or exaggerating their problems, or frankly lying about the harm they do. They will all have an hour of beaver benefits on their TV whether they like it or not.

I love that it will be streamed across the airwaves to stubborn people all across this great nation, and even if people are too closed minded to watch, it will still be be there, taking up real estate in their awareness and reminding them that folks are paying attention to this animal. Maybe some child or house wife will watch absentmindedly, but when their city council lies to them in two years or six months they’ll think, wait, didn’t I see some special about that? And they’ll look it up or remember and then talk to their husband of friends and next thing you know there will be a new Martinez to contend with.

Maybe more than one.