Looks like those pesky beavers have been up to no good again. This time in Sheridan Wyoming which is almost far north enough to be in Montana. Apparently they took care of the problem JUST in time.
Beaver dams, apparently built this past summer, caused some flooding over Slack Road, a county road in the northwest part of Sheridan County. County Engineer Ken Muller said three beavers have been removed, although a fourth may still be in the area, and county crews plan to take action this week to deal with the dams.
Muller said a state trapper was called and trapped three of the beavers. He said they’ve been relocated. The dams were built in nearby West Pass Creek, and Muller said the road is currently in pretty good condition. However, he said, the water is right up to the edge of the road on both sides, and crews need to deal with the situation before winter sets in.
Muller said this kind of situation doesn’t happen too often, but about four years ago, the county had an issue with a beaver dam flooding South Creek Road. In that situation, he said, the water actually crossed the road. Fortunately, he said, the road wasn’t damaged.
Relocated? Really? Do think Wyoming is ecologically sophisticated in ways for which we don’t give them credit? Or do you possibly think that trapper is just spinning a tale and blowing some smoke up our skirts by alleging that they were like that puppy our parents said went to ‘live on the farm”? I’m guessing that those beavers were relocated to Hamlet’s “Undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveler returns“. But either way it’s a death sentence because it’s 34 degrees there this morning, with poor conditions to build a lodge or establish a food cache.
Still the lying irks me. So brazen. This song popped in my head as I read it, although different Sheridan, I imagine.
Ohh you cannot get to Sheridan, says the false knight on the road
Speaking of my husband’s homeland, God bless BBC programs like Autumnwatch which is broadcasting an admirable program filmed on the Devon beavers with a rare local farmer who isn’t a beaverphobe. I love seeing the wonder with which they watch as Autumnthe beaver does the most mundane beaver things. It is how i felt the very first year watching our beavers alone every morning. Turn your sound UP for this just to hear it in their voices.
Yesterday was a new experience but strangely familiar. I’ve talked about our beavers many, many times, but I’ve never been unable to see faces or hear laughter before. What I could see were the number of attendees and their comments. I could also see that some of them were known to me, like our friend Janet Thew who has worked every beaver festival for years, or Steve Murschel, who runs the beaver ambassador program in West Linn Oregon. But some were unknown to me entirely. The host, Michael Howie has a background in media and was very comfortable with the format. He said nice things and made it easy. (Afterwards he said privately that I was a rock star! But of course he might say that to all the presenters.) Before I started talking he helpfully pointed out that you could hear me breathing on mic and since I am a incorrigible smart-ass I said “Oh no, aren’t I supposed to be breathing?”
Anyway the whole thing will be uploaded to youtube soon so I should be able to embed it here. One attendee was the woman from Point moody outside Vancouver and she commented afterwards that she was coming to the next beaver festival!
The entire experience was one of surreal accomplishment. Who would have ever thought I’d be talking about our beavers 10 years later in another country? Not I, that’s for sure. The universe gave me another present afterwards because the phone rang and it was our beloved sound guy John Koss who has helped us every festival for so many years and who is adored by every musician for his extraordinary competence. I had thought that by moving the time and the venue we would lose his help and was bracing myself by hunting for a replacement.
But John said June 30th would be great! He should be between shows and he’s was marking it on his calendar! Hurray! That means 6 for sure -Amy the artist, me and my husband, the sound guy, the bagpiper and the woman from Canada for sure.
Sometimes, for their own nefarious reasons, the powers that be decide to do a heinous, horrible thing just because it’s in their interest – even after they fucking promised not to. And because it’s horrible and they are breaking their worthless promise, they send their most ghoulish henchmen out to perform the treachery on the sly. Now because the only goons they could possibly get to help them in this dastardly act are the knuckle-dragging imbecile types, the whole thing goes TERRIBLY wrong and winds up causing more attention in the end than if they had just did it on stage in a frickin’ tutu in the first place.
Two beavers have died after being captured by trappers working for the government wildlife agency Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) because they were living outside permitted areas.
The social animals, believed to be a male and female, are thought to have been living as a family on a river in the Beauly area of Inverness-shire. A baby beaver, known as a kit, was captured but survived.
The orphaned kit is now being cared for by animal welfare staff at the Scottish SPCA, and a campaign to trap more Beauly beavers, which SNH says were introduced to the area illegally, has been immediately suspended.
In a statement, SNH said the deaths occurred after screening by vets. The agency said: “Vets have established that the first animal was suffering from an eye deformity and a suspected infection. Work is under way to establish the cause of death of both animals.”
The young beaver will be re-released later at the site of Scotland’s official reintroduction project in the Knapdale Forest, Argyll.
Well yeah, we killed two beavers but one of them had a mangled eye already so it’s to be expected right? The other one probably had something wrong too, and that orphan kit is probably better off without his deformed parents. Amirite? We actually helped him!
Last night SNH said that the trapping and screening techniques it employed had “been used safely in many previous cases, and were undertaken by highly qualified professionals”.
Once upon a time they decided to trap all the free beavers on the river Tay and put them in zoos. They brought in these fancy box traps from Europe and they caught one beaver with their efforts. Poor little Eric, was sent to the Edinburgh zoo and renamed Erica when it was determined that he was a “she”. Is this ringing a bell for anyone? Guess what happened to poor Erica? She died. And the idiots who had ordered the policy started to realize it wasn’t going to work because there were 150 free beavers and not 150 zoos.
You would think that people would learn from their mistakes, or at least learn to dread the shame of more mistakes. Do you think they ever read the novel Oliver Twist? Making NEW ORPHANS is generally bad policy. The story is in the Sunday Times and the BBC and it’s only tuesday so everyone will know soon.
The Scottish government ordered the trapping and removal of the beavers from the river near Beauly because they had been released illegally.
Cabinet Secretary Roseanna Cunningham was clear in July that “swift action” was required in Beauly but little explanation has been given on why attempts by SNH to capture and relocate these beavers have now been curtailed
I know why. Because they got caught. That’s why. In a horrible nasty parent-killing way. If they were using those big cumbersome box traps the only possible way those beavers died was because no one could be bothered to check the traps and they starved or suffocated in there. I guess that orphaned kit was probably in the box beside their dead parent for hours. which is a horrible thought. But they’re just animals right? It’s not like that will be upsetting.
I HATE THESE PEOPLE. And their weaselly lying murderous efforts to keep the farmers and anglers happy. I hope those dead beavers become the albatross around the neck of every slimy politician who wanted them gone in the first place.
Have you signed up for your webinar yet? I personally will be revealing never before shared secrets on what it took to convince city hall to keep beavers – including never-before seen slides in the process. I can’t swear that you won’t be bored, but at this point it’s seeming more and more unlikely.
In the mean time beaver friend from Maine Wildwatch’s Karen Corker had a smart convincing letter published in response to a ‘good ol’ boy’ who told her trapping was a way of life. I’ll share it now.
In his column here last week, George Smith accused me and WildWatch Maine, the statewide wildlife advocacy group I direct, of “viciously,” “unfairly,” and disrespectfully attacking Maine’s “hunting, trapping, and fishing heritage.” (“Hunting, trapping, fishing are part of our Maine heritage,” Oct. 11).
It was a sweeping and disturbing charge. The apparent trigger for such vehemence was our criticism of Maine’s aggressive beaver-trapping policy.
During its recent season-setting process on beavers, WildWatch and individuals from across Maine encouraged the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to more fully embrace non-lethal techniques, such as high-quality flow devices, to protect road culverts from being dammed by beavers and prevent flooding damage.
It’s too bad Smith resorted to demonizing beavers in his column, because aggressive beaver trapping prevents them from fulfilling their unique role as a keystone species. The rich wetlands beavers create support thousands of other wildlife species. If culverts are not protected, all nearby beavers are trapped and when that happens, wetlands are drained and benefits are lost.
Such an approach would also be more humane. Beavers in Maine are trapped with underwater snares, drowning sets, steel leghold traps, and traps that crush beavers’ necks or spinal columns.
Smith objected to my use of the adjective “brutal” to describe these methods, but then entirely shifted the topic from trapping to a sentimental reflection of his last turkey hunt with his father. He said, “If the WildWatch people would read my story about Dad’s last hunt, they would gain an appreciation of what hunting is all about.”
Considering that WildWatch and I distinguish trapping from hunting, as I believe the majority of Maine citizens do, and that we have only ever criticized particular hunting practices that we believe to be unethical, I might have been perplexed by this off-topic transition.
I’m aware, however, that the underlying aims of Smith’s piece reflect the well-established messaging strategies of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, the National Rifle Association, and other powerful special interest groups. These groups rally and unite their constituents with the message that anyone who raises objections of any kind to any aspect of trapping or hunting is an “anti” out to smear a noble “outdoor heritage.”
Contrary to Smith’s claims, WildWatch Maine is not an anti-hunting group. We are for giving ethical and ecological considerations a much larger role in wildlife policy and decision-making.
It’s time for wildlife managers to adopt more thoughtful policies that reflect public interest in healthy, biodiverse ecosystems and the well-being of wildlife. Wildlife advocates are tired of being denigrated and dismissed. We are all stakeholders in the future of Maine’s wildlife, and we and our views deserve respect and consideration.
Good work Karen! An excellent way to respond to a pretty troll-ish column pretending to be shocked at the affront to his heritage. Yes some people like hunting. And yes it’s something fathers and sons do together. But guess what? If you stopped trapping out all the beavers they would support more game species for you to hunt in the first place!
Grr.
On the brighter side, beavers were on CBS last night because why NOT? Thanks Janet Thew for letting me know! Watch this lovely video and pay especial attention to the fall colors and the intricate ‘radio signals’ that beaver sends in concentric rings just by chewing. Sorry for the adds, I haven’t figured out to shut off the autoplay.
There were two news stories yesterday that touched on the history of this blog. One of them was positive so we’ll do that last. The other is less positive but I’m at least happy that the reporter wrote me back this morning and apologized for not asking US first. Ahem.
WALNUT CREEK — An injured beaver discovered recently in a Pittsburg parking lot near Kirker Creek may have lost its sight, according to the Lindsay Wildlife Experience.
When the Contra Costa County Animal Services Department brought the 35-pound male beaver to the Lindsay on Oct. 18, the animal was lethargic and staff believed he may have suffered head trauma and an injured jaw.
The medical team had been monitoring the beaver’s condition, administering pain medication and treating him with antibiotics for minor injuries.
Two days after the beaver arrived at the Walnut Creek hospital, however, Lindsay staff discovered that the animal could not see, which may be a temporary side effect of the head injury, said Elisabeth Nardi, associate director of marketing.
If the beaver is permanently blind, he would not be able to survive in the wild, she added.
Poor guy.
Typically, the Lindsay receives only one or two of the large rodents per year, but this is the fifth the nonprofit has cared for in 2017. Wildlife experts are not sure why so many beavers are venturing from their lodges into areas with people.
The medical team at Lindsay Wildlife Experience in Walnut Creek is treating an injured 35-pound male beaver who was found in a Pittsburg parking lot on Oct. 18, 2017. (Courtesy of Lindsay Wildlife Experience)
One theory is that the beaver population has grown.
The heavy rains that soaked the Bay Area last winter produced lush vegetation for the toothy animals to eat, so more kits may be surviving.
A second hypothesis is that people are encroaching on the animals’ habitat.
“We have had the better part of 10 years of drought and the human population in the Bay Area has increased and spread out more during that time,” said Amber Engle, Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Manager.
First of all, stop spouting theories about the population growing and ask the REAL BEAVER EXPERTS at Worth A Dam. Sheesh.
I actually heard about this poor little guy thursday morning from Cheryl, who was alerted by their vet. But this particular unconsulted beaver EXPERT doesn’t think it has anything to do with the population growing. (!) This wet winter and spring was terribly hard on beaver families. Flooding dislocated them all over, not just in the Bay Area. A beaver that is suddenly without family or home is disoriented and confused. He or she can easily wander into a public area, get hit by a car, and wind up in rehab.
This beaver’s dislocation is NOT storm related. And he sounds sick. The blindness makes me think of our very first sick kit. Remember that? He was picked up swimming in circles and they discovered at Lindsay he was blind.
After he died a necropsy showed that he had brain damage caused by round worm parasite that was responsible for his blindness.
And for goodness sake don’t euthanize a beaver just because he’s blind. Put him some farmer’s pond or backyard and let him find his way. Beavers have routines,their eyesight isn’t good anyway, and it he had a reliable food source he’d be fine and figure things out on his own. Two thirds of beaver life is probably spent sightless anyway – underground or underwater.
Better news comes from Southern California at the site of the big bruhaha nearly two decades ago. For newer readers Lake Skinner was a reservoir that made a decision to trap out beavers and caused resident outcry. When they were challenged on this decision they said that the beavers were threatening the homes of endangered birds in the area, the least Bell’s vireo and Willow Flycatcher and had to be killed to protect them.
The outraged citizens hired an attorney who brought the whole thing to court, filing suit against the metrolitan water district, the power company and CDFG. When they lost they brought the matter to appeals court with expert testimony by the likes of Sherri Tippie and Donald Hey.
This time they won because the smart attorney (Mitch Wagoner) argued that that removing the beavers was a violation of CEQA and the court agreed that the decision was “discretionary” and not “ministerial” (meaning they did it because they wanted to not because they had to.) So they lost big time and had to all those pay court costs.
In addition but seperartely, researchers in the area were attracted to the story and published an article about the whole stupid decision wonderfully called “Management by Assertion” which remains one of my favorites.
Well yesterday this was posted including some of their findings.
The reservoir and nearby Southwestern Riverside County Multi-Species Reserve host endangered species such as Least Bell’s vireo (Vireo bellii pusillis) and Southwestern Willow flycatcher (Empidonax traillii extimus), dependent on riparian willow habitat that is created and maintained by North American beaver (Castor canadensis).
Now originally I thought this was on the reservoir website which would have been awesome, but today I can see it was just a blog that I think might be computer generated. Never mind. It is still very good news though because the it means that the information from the good guys in this lawsuit and study is so widespread that it’s easier to pick up than all the lies they wanted people to believe and had a staff of thousands to spread.
Two beavers have died after being captured by trappers working for the government wildlife agency Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) because they were living outside permitted areas.
