Month: April 2016

WHEREAS beavers are cool and Heidi won’t shutup about them…

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, City Reports, Who's saving beavers now? April 5, 2016

Yesterday they finally released the agenda for tomorrow night’s city council meeting. I’ll be presenting on the mural project and the city council will vote on whether or not to approve it so it can start happening. It was October when I first talked with artist Mario Alfaro about the idea and we’ve jumped through many hoops since them. He is being a very good sport and driving up AGAIN from San Jose. Worth A Dam folk will be there to show support, and we will all gather on my porch afterwards to toast the BEST DAM MURAL in Martinez.

Literally.

This part kind of made me dizzy. I’ve never been named in a WHEREAS before. Whereas is legal speak meaning something like ‘due to the fact that’ and this proclamation won’t be approved until they vote that night. But there’s a space for signatures AND two lovely images of the mural and where it will go. Which has got to be good news, right?

The whole process is a little intimidating, but when I feel awed I just remember that Mario was forced by the city to paint over an unauthorized beaver, and they still fight every year to get him to paint over the tail on his signature.And now the city council is voting on letting him paint a bridge full of them.

That is a dish best served cold, I think.

The horror!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, What's killing beavers now? April 4, 2016

Are you sitting down? Are there children in the room? You may want to shield your eyes from this horrific and dystopian glimpse of a future no city should have to endure. Consider yourself warned.

Ew! Ew! Ew! I bet that creek stretches for miles with low dam after low dam stepping its way through the carnage and ruining all that potential drought and future FEMA money! Thank goodness Mr.Hammonds was on hand to alert authorities to the damage. I’m sure it could have gotten much worse.

Beaver solution sought

Austin Acy and Dwight Chavis have been hired by Saddletree farmer Ronald Hammonds to bust down dams and get rid of beavers that have built as many as 32 dams along a two-mile stretch of Saddletree Swamp between Saddletree Road and Mount Olive Church Road. Chavis said that he recently got rid of 28 beavers in one day near the dams that Saddletree property owners say need to come down to prevent roadways from flooding, bridges from being destroyed, farmland from being turned into fields of mud, and trees that could be harvested from being drowned

No one can say exactly how many beavers call Saddletree Swamp home, but that the number has increased following recent heavy rains in Robeson County.

“It’s out of control,” Hammonds said. “We need some help to bring these beavers down to a manageable level. I’m not against beavers. When controlled they are good for the environment. But what is happening concerns me. I don’t want to leave behind for my grandchildren an environment that isn’t in good condition. We have to take care of our environment.”

After which, Mr. Hammonds shook his cane and angrily added, “Get off my lawn!”

This article provoke a rage in me as few can manage, it not only merrily reports on the deaths of hundreds of beavers, it has a photo of the plucky trappers shooting at one. Mr. Hammonds is such a miscreant and angry reverse-lorax, that he even makes USDA seem reasonable by comparison. And that’s saying something. But this is the part that still has my jaw dropping.

David Wallwork, who owns property near Saddletree Swamp, agrees that controlling the local beaver population is necessary to protect the beauty and integrity of the swamp.

“This is a beautiful ecological area with an abundance of wildlife,” Wallwork said. “We will not only help property values but help the ecology and environment in Robeson County by controlling this rodent.”

Saying that the presence of too many beavers is ruining the all the ecology and wildlife in the creek is like complaining that too much sand and water is ruining the beach. It’s like saying that your forest has too many trees, or you couldn’t see anything when snorkeling because they’re were too many fish blocking your view.

Must I go on? It’s the comment of someone who understands nothing whatsoever about the natural world. Nothing!

“The commissioners are concerned about beaver problems and are addressing them,” he said. “For the past 18 or 20 years they have been participants in the Beaver Management Assistance Program.” According to Benton, the commissioners are currently paying $59,000 a year to participate in the Beaver Management Assistance Program, including $4,000 to join and $55,000 for manpower and equipment to remove beavers and destroy dams.

Benton said that he has worked on 42 projects throughout Robeson County since June, removing 160 beavers and 50 dams. “There is a mess in there,” Benton said, referring to Saddletree Swamp. “The swamp is overpopulated with beavers.”

For a mere 64,000 dollars you can maintain your current level of ignorance. But if you want to get even stupider it’s going to cost you. If you pay a bounty as well, you can hand out money to more idiots who will help you deplete the streams and wildlife. Your practice in the past has been to cut off a tail as proof, but why not just take a soil sample from the dry stream, or a photo of where the fish, woodducks and the otters aren’t. That will work fine,.

What a surprise. I commented on this site yesterday to helpfully point out the daylight coming through the many gaps in their thinking, and today that comment is gone! They must have taken it down to treasure it always and keep someplace safe.

Grr.

Words with Beaver Friends

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, History, Urban beavers, Who's saving beavers now? April 3, 2016

Alexandria Costello is a masters student st Portland University studying the geomorphic influences of beavers in urban streams. She just came to the geology conference in San Francisco to present a poster session. Then went to Napa to meet Robin and Rusty and walk the beaver habitat. She posted this on Facebook and I asked for a closer look to share. Can I just say how much I love the idea that folks are talking about “urban beavers” at a conference?

Oh my goodness. I’m intrigued already. Aren’t you? It’s a funny thing to think about the educated, generous, ecologically-minded city of Portland learning anything at all from a stubborn ol’ refinery town like Martinez, isn’t it?

Recognize those puppets? I am so proud of us sometimes. I especially like the part where she says cities in Oregon should invest in similar programs around the state to help people learn about the benefits of beaver. You know like the city of Martinez invested in us with all the funding and sponsoring they did of our message and effort. Haaaaaaaaaa Ha Ha Ha.

Sorry, I just suddenly thought of this comic for some reason and needed to post. I’ll allow Alex to continue.

I’m so impressed with this presentation, and with Alex for putting it together. Everyone had a grand time in Napa, and I am so pleased they connected. Apparently even WS is the best behaved it will EVER be in Oregon, under the steadying hand of Jimmy Taylor. I’m so grateful to have contributed to the story with our playful puppets.

While we’re on the topic of the successes of friends, I heard the other day that Wyoming beaver believer Amy Cummings, and Washington advocate Joe Cannon of the Lands Council are headed for an Idaho event sponsored by our beaver friends at Watershed Guardians. The event is cleverly called A Reverse Rendezvous, and is held on the day the trapping season ends. (History lesson: The original rendezvous were gatherings of trappers where massive furs and goods changed hands, and where you could connect with a new company or glean some insights of areas that were trapped out. There was lots of bragging, drinking and whoring too, I’ll wager. Probably more than a few fights or fatalities, as minimally socialized loners found themselves in a sudden crowd where impulse control was required.)

Anyway, this reverse one is going to be way better.

In the summer of 1826, the American Fur Company set up a small camp in the Powder River basin in western Wyoming to buy furs from various trapping companies and free trappers. There were gifts, story telling, contests and music. All to celebrate beaver that had been killed. We’re going to do something similar but opposite at the Reverse Rendezvous. On April 15th, 2016, we’ll be doing something similar, but with a twist. We’ll be celebrating the beaver that WEREN’T killed. Come join us!

Our story tellers are Amy Chadwick and Joe Cannon. Amy is an environmental consultant specializing in rehabilitating damaged ecosystems. Joe Cannon is part of the most successful beaver re-introduction program in history. We are excited and pleased to have them both.

I’m so jealous I won’t be on hand to hear all the stories. Maybe someone will be taping? Worth A Dam wishes you the hardiest of successes.

Meanwhile, I’m hard at work with an idea for this years festival. Over the years I’ve probably gathered every wonderful graphic, historical image or photo of beavers, now I just need to find some old scrabble games!

It’s all fun and games until somebody loses a beaver

heidi08 Dispersal, Who's blaming beavers now? April 2, 2016

*LEAVE IT TO BEAVER – St. Albert resident and owner of Mission: Fun and Games John Engel had a run-in with a beaver late Tuesday night, which sent him to the hospital for stitches.*

Beaver versus bike

After a long day at Mission: Fun and Games, Engel was cycling home along his usual route on the Red Willow Trail system. He reached the underpass for the Perron Street bridge around 11:30 p.m. when something bolted out of the shadows and across his path.

“It was under my tire almost immediately,” said Engel.

The wheel went left; Engel went right, falling hard on his elbow.

Cursing, the business owner spotted a large dark mammal on the pavement next to him. It was that bucktooth symbol of Canadiana – the beaver – that had wedged itself under the front tire of Engel’s bike.

Stunned, Engel watched the animal pick itself up, and once again bolt – this time down the embankment and into the Sturgeon.

“I heard the splash into the river and I knew it must have been a beaver,” he said. It appeared unhurt as it swam away.

When he went to check in at the Sturgeon Hospital’s emergency department, he told the triage nurse that he had a collision with a beaver on his bike.

The nurse turned to Engel’s wife with a smile: “What did he say?”

“A beaver,” said his wife.

The triage nurse then asked Engel if he’d been drinking or if he was taking any medication.

Ba-dump-ump!

It’s not bad enough that dispersing beavers have to contend with cars, mounties and drunken Belarusians trying to pick them up for a photo, now they have to worry about the whizzing cyclists too! I guess if you’re biking home beside a waterway, you should keep the potential for a beaver collision somewhere in mind. Which reminds me, Jon crossed paths with Bob Rust (maker of the wattle beaver, the giant inflatable beaver, and other wild inspirations) and he’s working on a beaver-cycle for this years festival.

I can’t even imagine.

Not an April Fool’s Beaver joke

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? April 1, 2016

*On the river Isla: beavers’ bankside felling and stream damming creates a complex habitat that feeds many species. Photograph: Louise Gray*

Beavers pool effort in watery DIY

The dipper bobbing along the top of the dam looks oddly smart in this drunken landscape, his clean white bib reflected in the water below. All around is chaos. The beavers have felled most of the bankside birch, sycamore and other trees they like to eat and use for their dams.

Beavers work at night. During the day it is only humans tap-tapping away with their hammers, building a hide above the Cateran trail to allow walkers to catch a glimpse of the creature that engineered this bog.

Pink-footed geese fly overhead on their way back to Greenland, rooks caw in the beech trees, a charm of chaffinches sing from the dead branches of an alder, and black-headed gulls follow a tractor ploughing in the distance.

Spraint smeared on a rock announces that otters are here too. They have a rather one-sided relationship with beavers. The otters benefit from the increase in fish and invertebrates around the dams. Come spring they will also hunt the vulnerable beaver kits, obliging the mother beaver, twice the size of the predatory mustelid, to patrol the lodge.

The dams, constructed of twigs and branches laid on top of one another, are constantly being repaired and rebuilt to create a series of pools and canals where the beavers can move safely undetected and build entrances to their lodges and subsidiary burrows underwater.

The Burnieshed has been re-braided: forced into narrow rivulets it rushes and tumbles, waiting in pools it fizzes and foams. On Baikie Burn, another tributary of the Isla, the beaver dam has been cleared away, but not before a field nearby was flooded.

A swath of winter wheat is dead, drowned and scorched by the sun. The only sign of life is the tracks of a roe deer pricked into the earth. The burn flows quietly now, past a mink trap and beneath the road.

This article by Louise Gray is a vibrant look at the beaver pond and the many creatures who benefit from it. Environmental writer to the Telegraph and freelance author, Louise has really captured the pond here. I couldn’t be more impressed. She must have spent many hours at the Ramsey’s beaver pond or read this website over many consecutive days! Honestly, she hits every beaver improvement made, right down to the invertebrates and re-braiding rivers. This article is so well written and beautifully phased it reminds me of this:

Onto a slightly less informed but no less passionate article from the editor of the New Carlisle News in Ohio where a Wetlands is being monitored and attended to just outside the town of New Carlisle.

Group Promotes Appreciation for New Carlisle Wetland Species

So there’s a wetlands site in New Carlisle, and it’s kind of a big deal. Laden with unique and threatened plant species, the Brubaker Wetlands is hidden away just a stone’s throw from downtown, and I feel very comfortable calling it the city’s best-kept secret.

Tucked away just off the bike trail that runs through Smith Park, the wetlands truly are a separate microcosm within the city’s hustle and bustle, as the setting is somewhat surreal—full of strange, sometimes stinky plants popping up from the sodden ground—giving the visitor the impression that they’ve stepped far back in time.

One New Carlisle family is devoted to studying the wetlands and sparking an interest in the unique site among fellow residents. Having plans to schedule monthly cleanups along the trail and at the edge of the wetlands, as well as an upcoming snake survey, Nathan Ehlinger has lead the charge of bringing awareness to the unique site rich in biological diversity.

Ehlinger is a biologist who grew up in New Carlisle within sight of the wetlands. Now raising his own three children, he realized how significant the site is for its diversity and positive impact on the city’s drinking water, so he decided to promote it, hoping to instill appreciation for the wetlands in the younger generation.

Hurray! Appreciation for wetlands! In Ohio! A biologist who’s looking out for them! Monthly trail cleanups and classroom education! He invites the editor down to have a look at the outdoors he’s trying to defend. I’m almost entirely thrilled.

Almost.

He noted that the city even has its resident beaver, which has constructed at least five dams in one section of the wetlands. He pointed out that the beaver hasn’t caused any problems, but instead, works to control water levels and create open areas that are ideal for other animal species.

“The engineering of his den provides a habitat for migrating birds, and fish,” Ehlinger said of the beaver’s natural instincts to build.

Raise you’re hand when you see the worrisome part. I’ll wait. Read it again if you need to. “The engineering of his DEN provides habitat for migrating birds and fish.” That’s right. I just connected with Mr. Ehlinger and he assures me he was misquoted. He understands beavers don’t live in the dam and he’s very interested in what we’ve done in Martinez. It never ceases to amaze me, though how many people confuse the concept of lodge/den and dam. I would think some part of them would harken back to their days playing in the mud or building sandcastles as a child. How much water can you possibly hold back with a hollow wall? Beaver dams are solid. Nothing lives inside them, except some very happy invertebrates I guess.