A new study researched in Scotland reveals beavers’ ability to engineer desolate land into thriving wetlands.
Four beavers were re-introduced to the land and observed for a decade. The observations found that the beavers created almost 200m of dams, 500m of canals and an acre of ponds. The landscape was “almost unrecognizable” from the original field, which now includes an increase plant species of almost 50% and richly varied habitats established across the 30 acre site.
The researchers say that their study is solid evidence that beavers can be a low-cost option in restoring wetlands, an important and biodiverse habitat that has lost two-thirds of its worldwide extent since 1900.
“Wetlands also serve to store water and improve its quality – they are the ‘kidneys of the landscape’,” said Professor Nigel Willby, at Stirling University and one of the study team. Earlier research by the team showed how beaver dams can slow water flows, reducing downstream flood risk and water pollution.
Beavers build dams in order to create pools in which they can shelter from their biggest predators, besides humans. These predators are bears, wolves and wolverines. The research was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment. The site was regularly surveyed and located near Blairgowrie in Tayside where two beavers were released in 2002 and began to breed in 2006. The lifespan of beavers is 10-15 years in the wild and the average number of beavers around during the study was four.
After 12 years of habitat engineering by beaver, the study site was almost unrecognizable from its initial state,” the scientists concluded: “The reintroduction of such species may yet prove to be the missing ingredient in successful and sustainable long-term restoration of wetland landscapes.”
Well of course it was! That’s what beavers do! But go ahead and study it again just to make sure. I like reading things like this over and over. It’s like going back to the “wooing stage” of a relationship. Who doesn’t love that?
He said wetland restoration usually involves ditch blocking and mowing or grazing to maintain diversity: “Beavers offer an innovative, more hands-off, solution to the problem of wetland loss. Seeing what beavers can do for our wetlands and countryside highlights the diverse landscape we have been missing for the last 400 years.”
Now that’s what I want to hear! Of course it’s the perfect day for giving Heidi at least some of what she wants (and since Mueller doesn’t appear to be done investigating yet, Scotland will do nicely!)
Thank you to Leslie Mils our newest Worth A Dam-er for this awesome Birthday card. OF course I looked up the artist who lives in Grass Valley. I thought about hitting him up for a donation but then I saw some of his other cards like a moose saying “Nice hooters” to a pair owls and I thought maybe no? Anyway I am always very impressed when someone manages to find me a beaver card I haven’t seen before!
English Wildlife Painting Hd HD Desktop Background
I was searching around for images of ponds. I came across this lovely one that seemed to be missing someone important. Ahem.
I posted it on FB and said as much. Which prompted our beaver friend Art Wolinsky of New Hamshire to fix it with photoshop. Much better.
My enthusiasm must have egged him on because then he put this short film together.I liked it so much I talked him into adding the last bit. I think you’ll know why.
We are having quite an adventure in beaver-less Mendocino. (Some were introduced in little river in the 20’s but they have mostly died off or were killed. We did see one beaver once on Big River nearly 20 years ago when we were canoeing. And were rewarded with are very first tail slap.
Ahh memories.
No beavers now, but we did have a special visitor yesterday, which I was told by Megan Isadore of the River Otter Ecology Project is a Sheep Moth. Isn’t she beautiful?
As the crow flies beaver swims, MVSD is not far away at all from the Alhambra Creek home of our beloved family. But just a few miles southeast is the home of Mountain View Sanitation District, which is such a haven for wildlife they have been w0rking with the River Otter Ecology Project to have night cameras spot their otter visits. Looking at hours of footage every day has made Karen Marie James aware that otters aren’t the only thing using their ponds and slough.
This summer she recorded an entire beaver family!
Yesterday she posted this lovely photo on FB. Karen often says she has the very best job In the world, and looking at this I believe her. This beaver is hurrying down Peyton Slough going North from the MVSD property to the Shell property. She looks like she’s in a hurry too! Check to that wake, her very wide eye and her obvious speed.
My guess is Karen snapped this in the morning when she got to work. And young Cinderella realized she stayed too late at the ball!
Time for some UK praise of beaver gifts. I’ll be so wistful when they finally make the right decision. It’s wonderful to see articles like this in the Guardian.
Beavers could be put to work building dams to stop a village from flooding in the Forest of Dean, in what would be the first such scheme on government land.
The Forestry Commission has been an enthusiastic advocate for the release of a family of beavers into a large fenced area surrounding Greathough brook above the village of Lydbrook, on land owned by the commission.
Villagers are mostly supportive, hoping the scheme will not only protect the village but boost local wildlife and tourism. “It’s a brilliant idea,” said Stuart Aken. “There were about 100 people in the village hall when they made the announcement and there wasn’t a single dissenting voice. People are in favour because of the potential to help against flooding and most are interested in the increase in wildlife that it will bring to the area.”
Everyone seems excited about the day, what’s the hold up?
But despite the beaver scheme not costing the taxpayer a penny – it would be funded by landfill taxes – it was abruptly postponed last month. A source close to the project said it had been blocked by a minister in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – and the Forestry Commission was “hopping mad”.
A spokesperson for Defra denied that the scheme had been blocked by a government minister and said that the Forestry Commission would announce the next steps in the coming weeks.
Derek Gow, a beaver expert who has worked on reintroductions in Scotland and England, said: “This is a tremendous opportunity. The science suggests these animals will hold back 6,000 cubic metres of water.
“This has the potential to prevent a once-in-30-years flood event. These animals will also open the forest canopy to light and create a biodiversity jewel in this forest.”
This “natural” flood defence works only in small streams in upland areas. In deeper rivers, beavers do not need to rapidly create dams. In lowland areas, beaver activity can also cause flooding.
But those in favour of their reintroduction to England and Wales say beavers can be returned to western river systems and will not spread to low-lying eastern areas, such as the Fens, where their activity could cause valuable agricultural land to flood.
Ahhh what a fine article! Where to begin? You have such great beaver advocates in the UK. But did someone really say that beavers would not spread and populate themselves into low-lying areas? I hate to break it to you but (ahem) beavers are very good at finding their way into new territory. It’s what they do. Their raison d’être , so to speak. I just don’t think it’s a great idea to tuck in the unsuspecting British population with cozy dreams of beavers who always stay where you put them. I agree about flooding. And I agree 100% with the lovely statement that “they’ll make a biodiversity jewel in the forest”.
But I wouldn’t say they won’t relocate. Never make promises beavers can’t keep.
I’m sure whoever said that it wasn’t Derek Gow, who is as fine an advocate as beavers could ever hope for. Looks like he’s giving a talk soon to spread the beaver gospel even farther.
National beaver expert Derek Gow will be in Cheshire to give a talk on the how the animal’s re-introduction could impact the countryside. Cheshire Wildlife Trust is hosting the one-off talk at its headquarters at Bickley Hall Farm, between Malpas and Nantwich.
Several reintroductions of beavers are now either underway or being researched across the UK including in Scotland, Dorset and Wales.
A growing body of evidence suggests beavers have a key role to play in restoring nature in our countryside. They are a native species, which was hunted to extinction in the UK 400 years ago. They are a keystone wetland species, known for their dam building and tree-felling activity. This not only creates their home, but also provides the ideal habitat for many other plant and animal species and can play a role in flood prevention.
Derek Gow is at the forefront of beaver re-introduction and will be joining us to tell the story of the beaver comeback in the UK, sharing his experiences of the projects he has worked on along the way. His talk ‘The Return of the Beaver to the UK’ will be held at 7.30pm on Thursday September 28 at Bickley Hall Farm, Malpas, Cheshire, SY14 8EF.
Don’t you wish you could be there? I sure do! Derek is as fine a spokesmen as beavers could ask for and I know they have ever confidence in his work. Why just yesterday I found an awesome wetland illustration and was confused by one creature in the bottom right hand corner. He clarified helpfully that it was a water vole, and very common in England. Oh, and of course you know he came to Martinez after the beaver conference right? Because it turns out we are a kind of beaver Mecca too.
I thought I’d share a little about the odds and ends that followed my last few postings. One was about the water week events in Whatcom WA. You might remember that the paper said there’d be a showing of the film “Beavers in the Ecosystem” which I wanted to find out about. Turns out the paper got it wrong, it wasn’t actually a film but an event lead by the North Sound Baykeeper for Clean Water Services, Lee First. I got in touch with Lee through our friend Ben Dittbrenner of Beavers NorthWest. Seems Lee contacted Ben looking for properties with beavers on them that might allow a tour for his guided event and talk.
Lee impressed me right away with this response to my letter:
Hi Heidi, it’s not a film, it’s a site tour. I’ll take photos during the tour, and I’ll probably write a little story about the tour. I love beavers!
As far as I know there are two people in all the world who collect a city salary and love beavers. And now I know both of them! There surely aren’t any such people in Martinez.
Thank you Heidi, that means a lot. I was so annoyed when I read the original article, beavers being blamed without any evidence! Someone has to stick up for them! I love the graphic!! That’s brilliant! Would it be OK for me to use that graphic in our talks or on our website? I also love the beaver cushion that has been sent to you from the Ukraine. I am going to have to buy one for myself!
I told her of course she could use it, and showed her the photo of our kit where it’s from. Graphic Designer Libby Corliss didn’t work with us long, but the silhouettes she made that summer from Cheryl’s photos have been a lasting treasure I rely on again and again.
Onto the treats of the day, this time Parks and Recreation Department of Calgary, which is about 400 miles north of Montana across the Canadian border. Seems they just updated their beaver webpage and WOW they did an amazing job. Even when I read it the third time this morning, I was still surprised and impressed.
Beavers have found an inviting home in Calgary, with its two rivers, abundant green space, and lack of predators. In recent years, their population has grown, with lodges in various locations along the Bow and Elbow rivers, in storm water ponds and wetlands.
Beavers are good for our environment
Beavers play an important ecological role in Calgary’s waterways. Their dams can create ponds that provide habitat for other wildlife and help surrounding vegetation to flourish. The ponds and wetlands are very good at storing water, and can help reduce the effects of smaller floods and hold water during droughts.
Water flowing through dammed areas is naturally purified, and after a dam has broken, fertilizer created from the decomposing material in the dam will spread downstream.
I promise I haven’t embellished this or edited to make it look better. This is the ACTUAL website for Calgary and it starts by describing how lucky we are to have them. Then it gets around to talking about problems, but in a pretty reasonable way.
Beavers also present some challenges
Because conditions are so good, Calgary’s beaver population has grown in recent years. This can cause problems for our forested areas, infrastructure and property, and the beavers themselves.
A single adult beaver can cut down about 200 trees in a year. With each lodge housing four to six beavers, wooded areas can be devastated in a short period of time. This is harmful to other wildlife that rely on the trees for habitat. Beaver dams can also cause flooding that affects property, and in some cases, can damage storm drains and weirs that can be very expensive to repair.
Okay, that’s most reasonable. People can legitimately have concerns about these animals. There’s only a single sentence I take issue with.
“Without natural predators, beaver populations can grow to be unsustainable.”
Ahh Calgary, you were doing so well up until them. Did you never read that beavers were territorial? Did you never think that when the streams were full of beavers the new ones would have to look elsewhere for a place to call their own? I would be disappointed in them, but they quickly redeemed themselves.
The City’s approach to beaver management
The City’s practice is to try and strike a balance between health of the surrounding areas and the wellbeing of the beavers.
When required, The City uses different measures to protect trees and property to make our river parks unappealing to beavers. Depending on the situation, we may use a combination of the following:
Placing metal wiring around tree trunks.
Planting varieties of trees along the shore that are less palatable.
Placing under-dam drains to control water levels.
We consider all other options before turning to trapping. However, in some cases it is required. When we do remove beavers, we use traps that are designed to kill instantly. The traps are placed under water for the protection of dogs, park users and other wildlife, and are checked daily.
There’s a final paragraph on why they can’t relocate beavers that are causing issues instead of trapping them, but honestly this is ALL I WISH from any city beaver management policy. Protect trees. Plant Willow. Install flow devices.
Consider it my version of “Eat. Pray. Love.”
If every city tried to do these things before trapping I would be over the moon with joy. Honestly, this is the best and most sensibly proactive policy I have ever read.
They even have a video teaching how to wrap trees. Be still my heart.
I expect a mass exodus of beaver supporters moving to Calgary right away. Honestly, my bags are nearly packed.
One more present for Heidi in the Odds and Ends category. This lovely website I came across in my travels is called beaverlikemammals.com, with the actual tagline “A friendly place to post sightings of beaver-like mammals” which she dubs BLM’s.
Everyone wants to make a contribution to society, to leave their own little mark on the world. This website is my mark. It provides a public space where people can post sightings of beaver-like mammals (BLMs). Did you spot a BLM at the corner of 10th Street and West Main? Does a BLM emerge from the bushes by your back porch every evening around 6pm? Did you catch a glimpse of a BLM out of your car window on the way home on Thursday night? Submit your sighting to beaverlikemammals.com!
There is a page for submitting a sighting and your observation will be listed by your state. Most of the entries she has look like woodchucks with the occasional squirrel. I don’t see any actual beavers since back in 2007. But she definitely gave me a gift.
From now on, the next photo of a nutria I see on a news article about beavers I’m calling it a BLM.
Thank you to Leslie Mils our newest Worth A Dam-er for this awesome Birthday card. OF course I looked up the artist who lives in Grass Valley. I thought about hitting him up for a donation but then I saw some of his other cards like a moose saying “Nice hooters” to a pair owls and I thought maybe no? Anyway I am always very impressed when someone manages to find me a beaver card I haven’t seen before!
Beavers could be put to work building dams to stop a village from flooding in the 
National beaver expert Derek Gow will be in Cheshire to give a talk on the how the animal’s re-introduction could impact the countryside. Cheshire Wildlife Trust is hosting the one-off talk at its headquarters at Bickley Hall Farm, between Malpas and Nantwich.
BLM
