Month: February 2018

THE BEAVER ATE MY HOMEWORK

heidi08 Beavers and turtles February 8, 2018

“There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.

This simple line from the Mock Turtle’s song in Alice in Wonderland always struck me as profound. Like an argument, a pond has two (or more) sides. A deep pond has shallow spaces in it. Those shallow spaces are teaming with aquatic insects, and lined with boggy aquatic plants.

Which is why this article surprised me.

Pet Talk: A summer spent saving turtles

Last summer, two rising second-year veterinary students traded blue lab coats and lecture halls in Urbana for chest-high waders and wetlands in Lake County in northeast Illinois.

Human development and ecological imbalance, such as an abundance of beavers, has destroyed or altered areas where Blanding’s turtles live. For example, in Illinois, dwindling numbers of large predators has led to an increase in the beaver population. Beavers make dams, creating deeper ponds with little water flow and pushing out the Blanding’s turtles, which prefer shallower areas.

The Blanding turtle is a relative of the red-eared slider, which we in Martinez know very well thrives in beaver ponds. So I rushed to the library to find out if this was true. It sounded doubtful, because one of the nost valuable things beavers bring is stream complexity, with braids, channels, and different sections that appeal to different creatures at different periods in their lives. I thought surely if beavers were such a substantial threat to Blanding turtles I’d find all kind of research on the subject.

Guess how much I found? I’ll give you a hint. It’s a ROUND number.

So why care about saving an endangered species? Biodiversity! It is important that we conserve and save native plants and animals to prevent extinction of natural ecosystems. Losing a single species can result in a detrimental domino effect on the rest of the ecosystem in which that species resides.

Gosh darn those pesky beavers and their stubborn and wanton daily destruction of b-i-o-d-i-v-e-r-s-i-t-y. If there’s one thing that troubles me about these animals it’s the barren ponds they create, like watery deserts where they live the solitary lives of bitter beaver misers….

What’s that? Beaver ponds are TEAMING WITH BIODIVERSITY?

Including Blanding turtles?

Here’s expert naturalist Bob Arnebeck from New York writing about them on his web page:

I’ve found Blanding’s Turtles in shallow fresh water bogs that only fill with water in the spring that are no bigger than a driveway. Indeed, I’ve seen two turtles, both almost nine inches long, living in such a small bog. I’ve also found them in large beaver ponds,

Here’s New Hamshire Wildlife bulletin writing about them in their technical manual.Here;s what the Species at risk public registry in Nova Scotia has to say (who hates beavers more than anyone) observed:

Extensive beaver activity is also apparent at most known Blanding’s turtle sites in Nova Scotia.

Meaning where one lives, the other thrives.

How about this Master’s thesis by Tamessa Hartwig from New York on specific habitat observations of the Blanding turtle which has several observations about beaver habitat including this one:
HABITAT SELECTION OF BLANDING’S TURTLE (EMYDOIDEA BLANDINGII): ARANGE-WIDE REVIEW AND MICROHABITAT STUDY

In addition, turtles in W isconsin hibernated in a beaver flowage at the mouth of a creek and in borrow pits (Wilder, 2003)

The sad truth is of course is that the poor Blanding Turtle’s habitat overlaps most precisely with the voracious “human people habitat”. Which means as our subdivisions and culverts concrete up the earth there is less and less space for them, and that’s just too dam bad because we don’t care.

So we blame beavers.

NOT SO MOODY ANYMORE

I’m suddenly feeling like an old retired ballerina watching my protege take the stage. I have to be honest, it does feel a little wistful – that used to be my life kinda thing – but man-o-man it mostly feels WONDERFUL!

Beavers an education for residents, city

A new beaver management plan could yet turn Port Moody into a paradise for the resourceful rodents.

But it will have to respect the science about the animals’ habits and lifestyle while finding a balance within urban environments where they’re settling.

Judy Taylor-Atkinson and Jim Atkinson look out over the beaver pond on Pigeon Creek that was created by a family of industrious beavers that moved into the area in 2016.

That’s the best-case scenario, according to a pair of local advocates for fur-bearing animals, Judy Taylor-Atkinson and husband Jim Atkinson.

They were observers when a beaver pair made Pigeon Creek, in their Klahanie neighbourhood, home in 2016 and then became a family of four last summer. And they shared the community’s anguish when one of the young kits drowned in December as city crews attempted to trap and evict it from a den the beavers had constructed in a storm pipe that drains rainwater and prevents flooding.

Ahh how glorious! I’m beside myself with glee. And should our mayor be too to think that Judy and Jim are driving from B.C. to Martinez to attend our beaver festival! I’m told they already made their reservations;

Taylor-Atkinson has been studying the science of beavers and their management for years while her husband helps install flow regulators into dams to diminish the chances of damaging floods. Both are on the board of the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals (The Fur-Bearers).

Beavers are notoriously nocturnal, Taylor-Atkinson said, but once they settled into their new home in the stream that runs amidst low-rise condo buildings, they grew accustomed to the human hustle and bustle around them. A curiosity quickly became a real life neighbourhood nature show.

While nearby trees that had been planted by the developer were wrapped to protect them from the beavers’ toothy toil, the natural habitat along the creek’s banks was left alone and the beavers’ activities respected. One neighbour even attached a log book in a plastic sleeve on the bridge railing so visitors could note their observations.

Taylor-Atkinson said the transformation of the creek to a beaver ecosystem was remarkable. The still water attracted bugs like dragonflies to alight, which attracted birds and bats and salamanders to eat them. The cool, sheltered eddies created by fallen limbs and branches in the water were perfect resting places for salmon fingerlings, which attracted ducks and even a juvenile heron to make the occasional visit for a snack. The dam filtered sediment, clearing the water and pushing it into the creek’s banks, encouraging new growth like bullrushes to take root.

“They were repairing the habitat,” Taylor-Atkinson said, adding beavers are considered a “keystone species” around which an entire ecosystem revolves — a marked contrast to old-school thinking that beavers and their industrious ways are a nuisance, especially in urban environments.

Those two paragraphs! SNIFF! I’m sooooooo proud. To think of how many people will be inspired by this story and think maybe they can maybe do something just a little bit different in their own city when the time comes! Ahhhh, Go read the whole thing and send it to your cousins. I’m going to bask in the thought that Martinez own hard fought story made this just a little easier to happen. And their story will make it that much easier for the next one.

“When this creek was built, nobody knew they were creating an ideal beaver habitat.”

Keeping it that way will be a matter of education and good science, she said — and a legacy for the young beaver that perished.

“We didn’t lose that kit for nothing.”

No you did not. That unfortunate kit played a crucial role in his entire families story. And his cousins. And extended family. And in ours. Thank you so much, Judy and Jim.

Just one question. Do you think they make everyone wear jackets that match the sign all the time? Or just for photo shoots?

16 MILES TO THE PROMISED LAND

heidi08 What's killing beavers now? February 6, 2018

On Saturday when author Frances Backhouse did a wonderful podcast for beavers on “Roughly Speaking” she said that the arguments for beavers were becoming more prevalent and that the change was happening “At the same pace” as the arguments against them. Remember? I later told her I loved the program but didn’t agree that the two sides were neck and neck. Since I reported about the issue every day I thought I had some perspective – we weren’t there yet, but that I would be very happy when we got there.

She said that she had seen a change since she wrote her book and thought things were looking better for beavers almost everywhere. I said I wished that were true but that I didn’t think I should retire just yet.

Here are just a few reasons why.

Don’t leave it to beaver: County, state provide help when critters’ dams cause problems

While the clever animals can produce significant environmental benefits, they can also create safety hazards and cause damage to roads, bridges and people’s properties.

But there’s a program that’s offered at a minimal cost to help landowners in alleviating beaver damage and preventing further damage to their properties. Wilson County has been a part of the state’s Beaver Management Assistance Program, which is operated by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, for two decades.

Wilson County pays $4,000 per year to be a member of the state program and the Wilson Soil and Water Conservation District is the point of contact for the program. After landowners apply for the program, a wildlife specialist will contact them.

The first visit is free and wildlife specialists will discuss with the landowner the positive and negative effects of the beaver. They will also work with owners to formulate a a strategic plan, which can include trapping the beaver. The cost for the landowner is only $25 per visit after the first initial assessment.

Oh is that all? For the cost of dinner at the local olive garden you can get a federal agent out to kill all the beavers on yer property. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance?

Alaska teen gets winter’s adventure in pursuit of the trapping experience

LAKE MINCHUMINA, Alaska — I have to confess to feeling a bit skeptical about beaver trapping in mid-winter.

“It’s a lot of work,” I warned my almost-13-year-old niece. Usually, my sister Julie and I get too busy checking fish nets and running a days-long marten trapline to invest time in pursuing the big rodents.

Karen wanted to go anyway.

She wanted to sample the succulent flavor of beaver meat, roast the tail and maybe keep the skin (or not, since, I declared, if she wanted the pelt she’d have to do the skinning).

Well isn’t that touching. A niece learning the trapping trade from her uncle at such a tender age. Who wouldn’t love the chance to go kill a beaver with their favorite uncle? I’m reminded of a young Anne of Green Gables.

Wis. 19-year-old is quickly gaining experience and having success in his trapping

Rankila, a 19-year-old from Lake Nebagamon, really hoped to find a beaver in an under-the-ice trap he placed in this pond. But his first priority was to not plunge through any weak ice into the frigid water below.

“The appeal is knowing you have active sets out there 24-7,” Rankila said. “It’s just a matter of whether that animal comes by. You hope you can trick him.”

That’s what Rankila likes about trapping.

I won’t post the video of the young sociopath bragging about his craft. But if you doubt me follow the link to the article and hear him spew. The article interviews his father and the older trappers he has learned from, brightly proclaiming his future. I’m sure they’re right and he’ll be VERY good at trapping.

I doubt he’ll ever be as good about selling a lie about trapping as this fellow though. He’s really something special.

Increased protection of wolves/coyotes increases danger to pets, livestock, wildlife

“Algonquin wolves must receive the full protection of the law if this threatened species is to have a chance of recovery,” says the report of the environmental commissioner of Ontario who is recommending a prohibition on hunting and trapping of wolves and coyotes in all areas where the wolf could be roaming.

“The government banned hunting in forty-one townships around Algonquin Park in 2016,” said Ray Gall, vice president of the central region of the Ontario Fur Managers. “Now they want to expand that to cover most of the province.”

“The endangered species act, in my opinion, has become weaponized by protectionist groups,” said Gall, who says the proposal will ban hunting or trapping of the wolves in a 40,000 square kilometre area.

He says one of the concerns for trappers is the wolves’ predilection for beaver meat.

You hear that? The aptly named Mr. Gall is worried that those wildlife-nazis will save so many wolves that the greedy bastards will eat up all the beavers.

Beaver trapping quotas have already dropped by 30 per cent, a result of the decline in the number of the animals being caught.

“Everyone thinks that wolves predominantly eat deer and moose, which they can catch easier in the winter snows, but during the summertime, they mostly eat smaller animals and they eat a lot of beaver,” Gall said.

“Without the beaver we end up with dry hay marshes, not fit to feed any wildlife, and the other things that are going to suffer as a result of a decline in beaver ponds and wetlands are the already endangered species like salamanders and turtles, as well as the moose and deer. That’s one of my big issues.”

Oh PUL-EEZE. Spare me your concern for the decline of beaver ponds. I’ve never heard you comment on their importance when its time to trap beaver. We all know that when the market demands you trap beaver you trap beaver. And when the government lets you trap wolves you’ll trap wolves. The very idea that Mr. Gall objects to letting wolves live because they EAT all those important beavers before they can offer their valuable ecosystem services is beyond ridiculous.

Is Ray Gall’s middle name “UNMITIGATED” by any chance?

When I think about it though, I guess the idea that a trapper is using information about beavers as a keystone species as an excuse to kill more wolves kind of backs Frances point. It’s in the public lexicon. The ecological benefits are so well known that the vice president of the trappers association will use it to LIE about killing something else.

I guess that’s a kind of progress.

PRO-BEAVER FORCES AT WORK!

heidi08 Beavers and water, Environmental February 5, 2018

Cheryl sent out our announcement for the beaver festival to exhibitors last night. We immediately had two confirmations! One from JoEllen Arnold of Nor-Cal bats, and the other from Alana Dill of face painting by Alana. Off to a good start, that always makes me happier.

(Plus a good start with actual beavers! Did you see the footage yesterday? Scroll down to view our new mascots.)

With all the commotion, I’ve been waiting for a space to talk about Rick Marsi’s latest column which ran as part of USA Today, intriguingly titled:

Great Outdoors: State of the swamp

So much for the State of the Union address. It is time for the State of the Swamp.

Loyal readers may remember I gave a State of the Swamp address some 15 years ago. The big news back then was beavers. They were everywhere, building dams, cutting trees, flooding roads, reproducing like crazy.

Much debate as to their worth ensued. Bipartisan rancor ran rampant. Pro-beaver forces saw good overshadowing evil. Our region’s influx of beavers had created countless new wetlands, they said. These wetlands, in turn, had created nesting habitat for mallards, wood ducks and other waterfowl.

Flooded trees had succumbed. Downy, hairy and pileated woodpeckers were chiseling nest holes from their decaying wood. Herons had benefited from all the new water created by beaver dams. Frog and dragonfly numbers had spiked, supporters insisted.

“Wetland, schmetland!” the other side shouted. All those beavers were cutting down trees in their yards, killing timber stands, clogging road culvert pipes with their clutter.

It was quite a debate. I stand here to report that it still rages in some quarters. While it does, beavers are holding their ground. Because of their presence, the state of the swamp remains good.

Pro-beaver forces! I like the way that sounds! A noisy debate over whether beavers are of value or a nuisance. That sounds like every day since this website first breathed it’s life 10+ years ago. I’m always interested in how the argument ends.

Waterfowl numbers have reached the highest levels in recent memory. Great blue herons appear everywhere. The trilling of toads provides deafening noise every spring. More wetlands also have created additional rainwater impoundments.

During thunderstorms, runoff can do one of two things. It can rush unimpeded to rivers and streams, depositing in them potentially damaging sediment. Or, it can flow into a wetland, deposit much of its sediment there and run on toward the river much cleaner.

The latter is clearly the scenario of choice. I am pleased to report local wetlands continue to help keep our waterways clean.

After praising beaver wetlands he goes on to mention the less wonderful “crafted wetlands” installed by developers who need to restore some nature after their big creation. He says they’re nice enough, but nature (BEAVERS) do it best. He ends the column with:

Go forth strong of purpose and always remember: A swamp is a wetland, and we all know a wetland is good.

Sounds right to me.

JUST WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT

heidi08 Beaver Art February 4, 2018

“Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground; and from Your face I will be hidden, and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will trap me

Genesis 4:14

Guess what we saw yesterday?

This little dam is looking so substantial it can be seen from the bridge. I called Moses and implored him to take a look. He just stopped by after seeing a big and little beaver this morning. He saw a big beaver and a little beaver. Footage will follow soon. Hurray we have beavers! Hurray Martinez is complete again!

Here’s the almost yearling who was born this October.

And a parent. Moses saw but wasn’t able to film a second, larger beaver. So that’s the whole fam-damily!

Since sundays are for joyful news only, I thought I would share some wonderful images from the newly translated book fittingly called “Welcome Home, Beaver” by Marcus Weightman of Rotterdam. He is an architect turned author that has created the most delightful story book.

The story follows and adventurous beaver who leaves his home (ahem) and can’t find his way back. His buddy brings a hot air balloon to help him search and he eventually finds many homes that aren’t his.

After traveling to the artic, the prairie, and africa to see the many amazing homes of wildlife living underground he finds his way home to North America and is happy to reunite with his family.

Trust me, You need this book. This delightful look at the intricate homes of wildlife gives a new name to the very idea of over/under images. You can pick up your copy here.