Month: March 2015

Beavers, water, & the learning curve.

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Who's saving beavers now? March 29, 2015

Another red-letter day for beavers. They’ve been happening so often I’m going to start calling them red beaver days! The first from NBC.

Beavers Are Great for the Environment. As Neighbors, Not So Much

The dam-building rodents are getting a boost across the West, thanks to their signature water-blocking homes that, it turns out, can have a positive effect on the local environment, and have gained the critters support from local tribes and wildlife biologists. Their dams hold back water flow in elevated regions, propping up groundwater supplies in areas hit by drought and reduced snowpack. They provide habitats for salmon. And while there are other, less natural ways to achieve the same effects, there’s one big advantage to beavers: They work for free.

A team led by Kent Woodruff, a U.S. Forest Service wildlife biologist, has spent eight years refining beaver relocation in Washington’s Methow Valley. The goal: Make sure that the beavers being brought together are compatible. Think of it as a Match.com for beavers.

The target areas are mostly public lands at higher elevations — exactly the areas that supply much of the water for humans across the West. “We’re desperate for water storage,” said Woodruff, and “that’s easily enhanced by beavers.”

Okay, first the good Heidi. I absolutely LOVE when beaver benefits get highlighted in a major NBC story. Kent has done great work in the Methow and I’m thrilled to see that project get the flagship recognition it deserves. Now the not so good Heidi. More beaver stories saying we care about water so we’re moving beavers into the mountains instead of killing them? Really? Hmm. Mighty white of you.

Will someone please tell Miguel the reporter that ‘good neighbors’ are like good marriages. They don’t just happen but are made every day by people who care. Like the people in Martinez for example. And maybe next time you should make a report about that.

Hrmph!

Onto more good press for the Beaver Believer documentary. This time Sarah’s on PRI.

Beavers are being looked at as little climate change fighting machines

Sarah Konigsberg is documenting the efforts of six people across the US who are working to bring the big-tailed and bucktoothed beavers back to lakes and rivers across the country.

Like beavers themselves, the human subjects of Kongisberg’s documentary, The Beaver Believers, are climate change activists.

“The Beaver Believers” features the stories of people who share the common passion of restoring the beaver in the West by trapping and relocating the animals to habitats that could use a beaver’s touch.

Beaver dams change the landscape of the waterbed. Whole ecosystems with rich, biodiverse habitats and species build up in the area around a beaver dam, Kongisberg explains.

Streams are slowed and deepened, which allows the water bodies to grow and widen. The dams hold back sediment, raising the water levels for vegetation growth. The slowed water seeps into the ground and recharges aquifers.

“It basically creates a much more varied habitat for many, many more animals to live on,” she says.

The grand filmmaker actually made a stop last night to refilm some urban beavers and their guardians in Martinez. She was staying nearby in Pt. Reyes and thought the earlier footage she got when her crew came to the festival two years ago just wasn’t good enough. She’s been excited by the response and thinking the film would be ready for music and final touches this summer. I, for one, can’t wait.

Click on the headline above to hear the interview.

What news stories will there be about beavers tomorrow? I wonder. It’s a little harrowing trying to keep up. That’s the very best kind of harrowed, I admit. But we need a treat this morning, and Cheryl just posted this to my timeline on facebook, so I thought I’d share. Brace yourselves, this is alarmingly cute.

11054798_847425898637241_3186376133301981584_n — Western Arkansas Wild Rescue Alliance

Almost making the point

heidi08 Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers elsewhere, Environmental, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? March 25, 2015

Beaver Trapping Leaves Environmental Damage Legacy

A Beaver trifecta from Oregon Public radio. This one informed by Stan Petrowski who, along with Leonard & Lois Housston, organizes the state of the beaver conferences. It’s a fine 2 minutes to think about, but honestly my favorite part is the title. Because it doesn’t say ‘historic’. And it turns out to be just as true today.

(Ahem.)

Speaking of trapping, Robin-the-intrepid received records on her FOIA inquiry from USDA for beaver depredation over the last 10 years. Remember, USDA executes about a third of the depredation permits overall. Unlike other private trappers, they are required to report method and take. And unlike CDFG their records are pretty meticulous. It took them almost no time to send her this.

Robin points out that the list was compiled March 3 so the 2015 numbers are just for January and February. She wonders ironically if USDA will kill the most beavers of all during the very year of California’s worst drought. And that seems like a good question to me.

Speaking of drought, have you seen the beautiful new web campaign the Nature Conservancy just launched about water? I wish I could embed it but you are just going to have to click on it to see for yourself. Honestly, it’s gorgeous. And must have cost a mint.

It prompts what may be an age-old question: Is the Nature Conservancy just made of money? And whether they are or aren’t, why don’t they do more for beavers? There are places on the east coast where they’re trapping them to save trees.

I took the liberty of fixing one of their ads. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the improvement.

Dangerous Blessings

heidi08 Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Who's saving beavers now? March 24, 2015

So you recognize this picture?

I usually post it before the beaver festival when several good things are happening in a row that I did not possibly foresee or imagine. I am used to learning into the wind, dreaming of what might be, striving for change, working hard to get what I so desperately want. I am completely disoriented by unexpected good news that is outside my reckoning whatsoever. And I feel eerily like something bad will happen.

Yesterday started out well enough by getting an email from Mike Carlson of the Contra Costa County Flood Control. He presented at the same workshop I did for the Salmonid Restoration Federation. He said that my presentation had been wonderful and asked me to think about doing it for the County-wide symposium next year, with an attendance of about 250 people.

This was thrilling news. Mike is the new Mitch at CCCFC, and I was very happy he got to hear my talk because persuading the new Mitch about beavers was one of my 792 goals. (The original Mitch Avalon was on the beaver subcommittee). So for him to want me to present to all of Contra Costa was wonderful, but certainly not beyond my most avid hopes. Also the two beaver depredation permits that were issued in Martinez were requested by CCCFC and it would be an ideal place to educate.

Adding to this, it was far in the future, and not conflicting with anything else. A perfect amount of good news. So far so good,

Then I got the email from John Sikora, the Vice President of the El Dorado chapter of Trout Unlimited. They are planning their big State wide meeting for all the chapter heads in California next month in Coloma. And he wanted to know if I would present to all the Trout Unlimited presidents in California about beaver.

I had an unbelievable conversation with John who knew everything about Michael Pollock’s research, hypoheic exhange, beavers and salmonids and riparian restoration. He wanted all the chapters to know it too. It’s at an insanely busy time and I’m being asked at the last possible minute. Obviously their original speaker broke a leg fly fishing or something, but would I be willing to do it?You ‘re dam right I would.

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Now this morning is bedecked with the good news that the Devon beavers have all been cleared of the imaginary disease and re-released.

England’s only wild beavers returned to their Devon river home

The only wild beavers in England have been released back into their river home in Devon after being given a clean bill of health.

The beavers were temporarily captured for disease testing from the River Otter, where they have been living wild for at least three years and possibly up to a decade.

Experts at Devon Wildlife Trust, which has been given a licence to monitor and manage the population, said they were “delighted and relieved” that the beavers were disease-free and were being returned to the river.

The return to the river signals the start of the River Otter Beaver Project, a partnership led by Devon Wildlife Trust and involving Clinton Devon Estates, Derek Gow Consultancy and the University of Exeter.

The project will measure the impact of the animals on the local landscape, economy, communities and wildlife, with information presented to Natural England at the trial’s end in 2020 for a decision on their future.

Whoohooo! I couldn’t be happier! Well, maybe a little happier if Devon celebrates with its first beaver festival. Just look at this comment I snagged off the English beavers facebook page this morning by Sylvia Meller}

Now we have to continue spreading the word about the good the beavers are doing, get locals involved like Heidi has been doing in America. Get the kids interested first, so the parents and grandparents get drawn into it via them. Have some activities, a festival ……The options are endless, just have to get things going!

Ohh. Will someone please save this for my eulogy? It is everything I wanted to achieve. Thank you so much Sylvia. And thank you Devon Wildlife Trust for stepping up for this important work. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

And lastly there is one piece of VERY IMPORTANTLY GOOD NEWS that I am dying to share this morning, but am sworn to secrecy. Stay tuned.You don’t want to miss out.

Believe me when you hear it you’ll be looking for that piano too.

When it rains it pours!

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, City Reports, Who's saving beavers now? March 24, 2015

And then there were three. How’s this for keeping the story in the public eye?

How Beavers Help Save Water

In the drought-ridden West, some people are partnering with beavers to restore watersheds, where, before trappers arrived, the large rodents once numbered in the millions. Film-maker Sarah Koenigsberg captures various efforts to reintroduce beavers to their former habitat in her documentary The Beaver Believers and tells host Steve Curwood why beavers are essential for a healthy ecosystem.

Congratulations to Sarah Koenisberg who’s Beaver Believer film made it all the way to living on earth of NPR this week. Sarah and her crew were the documentary that filmed at the beaver festival 2 years ago, you might remember them hanging around at the time. Her film is sure to be thirstily received in the west, and I’m thrilled the Martinez Beavers were a part of it.

The Beaver Believers Kickstarter Trailer from Tensegrity Productions on Vimeo.

It’s pretty exciting when there are so many good news stories to keep up with it’s hard to update the website fast enough! This weekend I was hard at work for beavers Friday with the grant application for Kiwanis, Saturday with the grant application for the city and yesterday putting together a presentation for Derek Gow of Devon so he can build momentum for a beaver festival in England. I tried to do it in under 15 minutes so I had to leave tons out, but it’s a fun way to share with folks who’ve never seen my talk in person. And I saw almost nothing snarky about the city, so that’s refreshing. Feel free to pass it on to friends or enemies who need to hear the story.

Water-savers in the big lights

heidi08 Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Who's saving beavers now? March 22, 2015

Another great beaver interview from Oregon Public Radio. This time with the dynamic geomorphologist, Suzanne Fouty.

Beavers Can Boost Water Supply

Suzanne recently gave a talk to the Deschutes Land Trust in Bend Oregon, which does incredible work and may be guest posting soon. Obviously OPB tracker her down in the process. She wasn’t entirely thrilled with this interview and thought that many of the best things she said wound up on the cutting room floor. Of course we know how that feels, but this interview is perfect. She’s silly. (Just so you remember how much fun Suzanne is in person here we are with a bottle of wine after the State of the Beaver Conference this year.)

I sent out a press release yesterday for the tree planting project that’s going to happening next Friday along Alhambra Creek, thanks to the California Conservation Core’s Watershed Stewards Program and some beaver friends behind the scenes, our beavers should have plenty to eat. I’m hoping some nice paper takes the bait and you’ll read all about it next week, but if not, I’ll make sure to post photos from our own Cheryl Reynolds when it happens!

More good work on the beaver front. Bruce Thompson sent me a photo of this new exhibit at the Dubois Museum in Wyoming. They’ve obviously had a long time to learn from him over the years. How cool is this? I love the alliteration! Thanks Bruce!

And speaking of poetry, I got inspired on the drive home thursday and put this together. Appreciations are due to Dr. Seuss and Joe Wheaton, in no particular order.