Quietly moving the Goal Posts

heidi08 Beavers November 15, 2014

Government softens stance on Devon’s wild beavers

The environmental charity Friends of the Earth claimed the government, which is planning to trap the animals, has softened its stance towards the beavers, believed to be the first to live in the wild in England for centuries.

Until now the government has argued that the beavers are a non-native, invasive species that could be carrying a disease and should be removed from their Devonshire home and tested. It has been at pains to insist it will not cull the beavers but will find a home in captivity for them.

FoE has launched legal proceedings challenging the government’s plans, claiming that because Britain was part of the beavers’ natural range before they were hunted to extinction, they are protected under European law. Most local people who share the banks of the River Otter with the beavers appear to want them to be left alone.

The charity said on Friday that the government had told it the plan now is to test the beavers for disease closer to their west country home rather than 300 miles away in York as it had intended. FoE said this would make it easier for the animals to be re-released in Devon.

Tested closer to home is good. Released back into the River Otter is good. And admitting they’re native is good. But I’m not going to be content after DEFRA’s own released emails says EM has never been a threat and they weren’t really worried about it anyway. My guess is they’re hoping that one or both beaver adults will die from the stress of being captured. The family will be separated in the process and their beaver problem will be over without a huge battle.

Friends of the Earth is promoting its own victory by deftly moving the goal posts. And using the whole charade as a massive fund raising event even though the only thing it did was send a letter. And DEFRA is letting them take credit for preventing the calamity because they are eager to get angry citizens off their miserable backs.

A spokeswoman for Defra said: “Our priority has been to ensure humane treatment for the beavers while safeguarding human health, so we’ll be testing the beavers close to the River Otter which will be better for their welfare than moving them elsewhere.

First of all, you’re lying. You aren’t worried about EM. And the Guardian is allowing you to pretend to be worried even after they already reported on the damning emails that proved you weren’t worried in the first place.

“PHE (Public Health of England) accept that the main risk of an incursion is likely to be through international movements of pets, both legal and illegal… Therefore they are not convinced that the three Devon beavers necessarily represent a significant increase in overall risk,” a Defra official emailed colleagues after meeting with Public Health England.

This was only a month ago. Do you really think no one can remember what you wrote thirty days ago and you are now free to make up any lie you want? Don’t bother answering that. You already have. Second of all, everyone is acting like this merits a ‘game over’ happy dance when it hasn’t even happened yet!

“Natural England is currently considering an application for the beavers to be returned to the River Otter and is expected to make a decision soon.”

What rubbish.

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, there was a city named Martinez where the overlords wanted to get rid of some beavers. All the people asked them not to kill them. They asked so much that the poor burdened representatives couldn’t walk down the street, pick up their dry-cleaning or step into a restroom without someone asking. Their lives became living hells. The city manager retired early because of the hell. Their higher-ups repeatedly said that they’re were no other options in California, it was kill or be flooded. But people kept complaining and somehow magically there was suddenly this ‘option’ to move the beavers alive. (That is, 2 out of a family of six).

And I was quietly told it was a victory and not to make a fuss.

But guess what? I’m not the only one who saw through that pasty charade, even through the media swallowed it whole and begged for seconds. Some 200 people stood up at that November 7th meeting and said, we don’t want you to kill our beavers. And we don’t want you to MOVE our beavers either. You need to find another way to fix this problem.

I’m going to guess that there might be some good folk in England who know better, too.

And since we’ve seen this all before, you need to see something today that you’ve never seen before. In fact, you need to see something that no one’s ever seen before. That very probably has never been near anything with eyes. This is the first photo taken in this history of history from the surface of a comet.

The Beaver State Beckons

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers November 14, 2014

The agenda is out for the State of the Beaver Conference 2015 and it looks amazing. Starting with the Keynote speaker Lixing Sun, the co-author of the most famous beaver book yet written. (Books really, because it’s so popular there’s a second edition.)

Now maybe you’re thinking”why should I care” or “I hate Oregon in February” and “I don’t need to hear the latest beaver research”. But if you were thinking that you’d be thinking wrong. I’m going to assume that whoever you are you drink water, live on a rapidly heating planet, and are a citizen of a government with limited resources for fixing those things. The world needs beavers, and the only way it’s going to get them is if people like you stand up and teach people why they matter and how to live with them. This conference will make you better at that and you’ll hear from great minds like,

Instream Salmon habitat restoration and unintended benefits for west side beavers Robert Nichols, USDA Forest Service Fish Biologist

NWRC Beaver Research Update: From the Beaver State to the Heart of Dixie Ph.D. Jimmy Taylor,National Wildlife Research Center

Mathematical Ecologist, NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center Ph.D. Chris Jordan

Flow Devices – Controlling Beaver Dam Flooding, and Facilitating Salmon Passage Michael Callahan, Beaver Solutions Inc

Beaver Restoration in Urban Creeks Ph.D. Heidi Perryman, Worth a Dam, Martinez Beavers

Not to mention that it looks like this morning I just managed to get Derek Gow from Cornwall on the schedule. So you’ll be personally updated on the most famous beavers in the world. As well as a watershed-beaver introduction by this persuasive gentleman:

The conference is truly one-of-a-kind, inexpensive, and ecologically invaluable. The hotel is nice and beaver friendly, the casino thinks beavers are good luck, and you will meet amazing people that will become amazing friends. Register here and I’ll see you in Canyonville!

Now there is lots more to say, including beavers being threatened in BWW’s home town, (if you can believe it) and moderately good news from DEFRA about the Devon beavers. but I wrote this post this morning at 7am, worked on the graphics for leonard and promptly lost it the entire column in the ether so had to do EVERYTHING again.

This beaver reporter needs a break.

Beaver, Nutria, Otter, what’s the big diff?

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, History, In the News November 13, 2014

Our retired librarian from the University of Georgia beaver friend tracked down the entire video from that beaver clip yesterday. And the mistake wasn’t a bug, it was a feature. Apparently no distinction is made between beaver and nutria at all. Well, they’re both rodents I guess.

No wonder people can tell them apart. And when you realize the the word “Nutria” in Spanish actually means “Otter” it gets even more exciting. In fact, when the Spanish were settling in California they killed lots of what they were calling Nutria, that was probably beaver. The confusion just spreads in every direction.

Turtle Bay’s new beaver gets acquainted with aquarium

So the orphan of Torture Bay has now been stuffed into a tank for children to peer at through the glass. Apparently he’s so lonely he’s chasing fish. I particularly love her response when the children express concern that he has hit his head on the glass. She explains that beavers have very hard heads because trees fall on them all the time. Obviously, the whole thing is very educational.

And just in case you wondered, I hate this with the white-hot heat of a thousand suns.

How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.

I hate thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I hate thee to the level of every day’s

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I hate thee freely, as men strive for right.

I hate thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I hate thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.

I hate thee with a hate I seemed to lose

With my lost saints. I hate thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,

I shall but hate thee better after death.

Mistaken for 75 years

heidi08 Beavers, Who's saving beavers now? November 12, 2014

This is a nice video about the value of beaver wetlands from England. One of the best parts of the beaver dramas in Scotland, and now Devon, is that it allows really smart people to get time on the news explaining why beavers help us. This shows not only great habitat but a great explanation of ‘peaty soil’ soaking up the water. To make its case it inserts a news reel from 1939 about using beavers to build creeks in America. It shows beavers vigorously building dams, and then gives a closeup of one munching away. Guess what the closeup is of? Go ahead, guess.

The stunning part is you can even see the TAIL of the second nutria. Obviously the filmmaker was on his way to lunch and the producer didn’t care. It’s just a film reel. Who would notice?

Just us.

Beavertime

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Who's saving beavers now? November 11, 2014

Beavers are busy preparing for winter

With the arrival of killing frosts, animals have gone into high gear preparing for the tough conditions soon to follow.

Those who are feeding birds have observed their sunflower seed supply rapidly dwindle as Blue Jays repeatedly fill their crops only to fly off and cache their loads. Gray Squirrels are also busy, frantically seeking the last of the acorns to stash in the ground.

And Beavers are busily harvesting trees as they build their winter stores.

The author of this article, Michael Runtz, is a friend to wildlife and to beavers in particular. We’ve connected in the past and corresponded about his work. He’s been photographing and watching beavers for 20 years, and his lovely photos were featured in the recent beaver documentary on PBS. The last I heard from him his book on beavers was due out any minute. But I guess while we wait for that we should savor this interesting fact.

Surely the presence of alders in food piles is sufficient evidence that Beaver’s prefer them in their diet?

Actually, it is not. When food piles are examined, the surface portion often contains inedible items such as cedar and fir branches. And previously enjoyed (barkless) branches also adorn them.

The most edible items are actually hidden deeper under the surface of the pile where they will not become locked in ice. That is where poplar and willow branches reside; these will be extracted from the pile all through the winter.

This is worth remembering. The good beer is always hidden in the back of the refrigerator.

This is the Elihu Harris building in downtown Oakland. It houses some of the most essential state government offices, like the Equalization board, the Alcohol and Tobacco board, The Unemployment board, and the Water Quality control board. That’s where Ann Riley works as a Watershed Stream Protection Advisor.

One portion of the Water Quality board is dedicated to what’s called the “Beneficial Use of the state’s waters”. Which covers areas like fish and water-dependent wildlife. Riley is a huge beaver supporter and invited me to be part of her panel at the Salmonid Federation last March. Now come December guess who just got invited to talk to them about a new potential partnership with beavers?

I can’t tell you what a big deal this sounds like in my head. I immediately thought of all the things that could go wrong: I could mess up, lose my voice, my computer could break, it could be cancelled, there will be no one there because it’s the holidays, I got invited because something bad is going to happen, etc. But it doesn’t matter. Beavers are coming to the water boards.

And it’s a big deal.