Our friends at Trout Unlimited have some great things to say about beavers. Sometimes. If they’re in Washington anyway. TU in Wisconsin is still ripping out dams to help trout, but hey, baby steps right?
Beaver Restoration in the Wenatchee River Basin
On February 13th, Cody Gillin and Robes Parrish will present about the exciting beginnings of the Beaver Restoration Project in the Wenatchee River basin. Cody will explain the history and benefits of beavers in our watershed, the relocation efforts of nuisance beavers, and how to volunteer for this new project.
The meeting will explain how beavers are ecosystem engineers whose activities trigger a cascade of ecological enhancements. Water storage, sediment retention, trout and salmon rearing habitat, flood mitigation, and increased biodiversity are just a few of the many beaver benefits.
Following the success of other relocation efforts, Trout Unlimited-Washington Water Project is initiating a beaver program in the Wenatchee Basin. Nuisance beaver will be relocated to suitable locations away from areas where they may come into conflict with human land uses. Outreach with landowners will offer tools and techniques for preventing beaver-related problems.
Tuesday, February 13th, 2018 – 6:30pm to Tuesday, February 13th, 2018 – 8:00pm
Robes Parrish is a fish biologist with FWS, and Cody Gillin is is a project manager at TU. Because Washington has expert beaver defenders to spare apparently. I’m ho-hum about the idea of relocating “nuisance” beavers, but that sentence in blue is REALLY exciting.
Do you think a branch of the federal government really teaching actual techniques for prevent beaver problems? Be still my heart! What a wonderful way to spend valentine’s eve! Although will Robes will still be there if there’s no federal government?
Everyone has been shaken up by that threat of a lawsuit on APHIS for trapping beavers in Oregon. Now folks want to make sure you know that beavers are still bad and cause plenty of problems, just in case you’ve been disoriented by the news. This letter from a goodol’ boy has lots to say about why beavers need killin’.
The beaver is the state animal, but it causes a host of problems
So the folks at the Center for Biological Diversity think that placing a culvert in a beaver dam will solve the problem? Aside from the great expense of putting in a culvert, old Bucky and his buddies would have it totally plugged in one night. And I am certain our good valley farmers would be thrilled to spend the money needed to put tens of thousands of guards around trees when taking out a problem beaver or two is all that is needed.
Being a beaver trapper for over 30 years, I know the average individual doesn’t have a clue as to the number of beavers in the Willamette Valley. To make it easy to understand: A whole bunch.
Beavers helpful for fish? Perhaps in some locations, but ut certainly not in Oregon’s Trout Creek Mountains.The Trout Creeks are home to North America’s rarest trout. This cutthroat trout is only found in two creeks. Beavers cause these trout grave problems by chewing down vegetation. That causes water temperatures to rise during hot summer months, and reduces insects that the trout feed on. I think I am correct in saying that a few years back, a large-scale trapping effort for beaver was carried out to aid the trout.
Worth Mathewson, Perrydale
Do you believe in Dopplegangers? I don’t know if I do but isn’t it kinda’ odd we BOTH have the same first name and he lives in a place called “Perrydale”. Never mind all that fancy scientific research or the involvement of the experts at Trout Unlimited. He knows what he knows and beavers are BAD for trout! They need killing and he needs paying for it, b
ecause obviously what else is he going to do. Teach gym?
The funny thing is, I think Mr Mathewson is an avid duck hunter whose several published books on the topic. I can only assume he’s a member of Ducks Unlimited too, which as you know has written a considerable amount about the value of beaver. If I could find his address I’d send him the Trout Unlimited article.
But clearly despite the similarities in name, Mr. Mathewson is not, in fact, worth a dam.
