Month: January 2019

THE ALL AMERICAN BEAVER

heidi08 Beaver Book January 6, 2019

Well, I guess Ben Goldfarb has really arrived because his book is on the Daily Kos now.! From Washington to National Geographic to liberal enclave and everywhere in between apparently. Now if only there were a book review in Oklahoma.

The Daily Bucket – Beaver Deceivers and the Rodent Love Motel

These facts and many more are assembled in Ben Goldfarb’s important and entertaining book, Eager the Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. (The title is under-punctuated.) Beavers matter because they are a keystone species, one that can “support an entire biological community.” Goldfarb paints a portrait of North America before European settlement, in which the very land forms are unfamiliar to us because beavers once engineered wetlands from sea to shining sea. The simple streams we are accustomed to have replaced complex and ever-changing webs and chains of dams, ponds, and meadows, that held back water, recharged aquifers, and provided habitat for boundless life.

Here are some uses by wildlife: ducks nest in grasses at pond fringes and songbirds in coppiced willows, swans nest atop lodges, other birds nest in snags created by drowned trees. Turtles and lizards are more abundant near beaver ponds, fish communities are more diverse near beaver dams, minks and raccoons hunt crawdads and snakes in beaver complexes, northern leopard frogs breed in beaver ponds, aquatic insects shelter in the nooks and crannies of dams and lodges, and moose eat the wetland plants that colonize beaver ponds. Plant species are increased by one third in beaver zones. Whew! Compare that to depauperate streams in arid country that dry out every year or surging rivers that erode their beds down to rock, both because there are no beaver dams upstream to regulate flow.

The review is written by “Pandala” in fairly glowing terms and centers on the idea that beavers bring a lot of good things with them that we happen to need right now. The author ends with ” I hope that this book will circulate widely, provoke a lively discussion, and result in more tolerance and sympathy for the most industrious rodent.”

US TOO!

Now I have to make time for a cheerful and hardy GOOD LUCK to my partner of 34 years who has was inspired to finally take the steps to turn in his passport and become an American. Yesterday we found out that his citizenship test is in San Francisco on February 1st. So this is patriotism month, baby and don’t come by the house unless you’re prepared to answer some questions!

IDYLLIC MEETS EAGER

heidi08 Beaver Book, Beavers January 5, 2019

Image result for beavers of popples pond — Patti Smith

If there were a single newspaper I trusted to cover beavers kindly it would be Vermont’s Brattleboro Reformer. They have dedicated beaver fans writing for them like Patti Smith, and even when they write about difficult beaver problems they are sure to include a positive voice.

And today is no exception.

Patti Smith: Heifer Hill: A New Year for beavers

On Tuesday evening I set off on skis to bring New Year’s tidings to my friends, Dew and Charley, at a remote pond. Those of you at lower elevations may be surprised to learn that there is still enough snow for skiing in Marlboro. The storm that delivered this bounty dropped the densest snowfall I can remember, ripping down branches, trees and powerlines. As I clambered through downed treetops in the topsy-turvy forest, I found myself visited by gloomy visions of future weird storms and the warm wet winters climate change will bring.

Fallen trees were not the only obstacles. Halfway there a new stream blocked my usual route to the pond. When the beavers relocated during the summer, their new dam shifted the stream into this new, more easterly drainage basin. This obstruction provoked no gloomy thoughts. I had just finished reading Ben Goldfarb’s book, “Eager: the Surprising Secret Life of Beavers and Why they Matter,” so I applauded the beavers’ contribution to the complexity of the stream system. In “Eager,” Ben writes vividly of the influence of beavers on the precolonial North American landscape. He describes a land of spongy, messy, complex waterways teeming with fish and wildlife. Because beavers were trapped out before European settlers began domesticating the wilderness, most landscape histories fail to imagine the richness of a beavered continent. I imagined such a primal place as I picked my way along the new flow to the pond.

Oh my goodness. All my favorite things in one place. How is this possible? I better drink some coffee slowly and savor this moment. I advise you to do the same. Patti Smith is writing about Eager!

I brought Ben out to meet Dew and Charley when he was in Vermont interviewing Skip Lisle for the book. Skip is a beaver habitat evangelist and has dedicated his career to developing solutions to beaver/human conflicts. Skip suggested Ben might like to meet my beavers while he was in the area, so the three of us met up one evening and hiked out to the pond. When we arrived, Dew, the matriarch, swam over to enjoy the apples we brought for her. The yearling, Charley, arrived a bit later, making his endearing squeak-whine greetings. We humans admired these two fine rodents and talked of the good works of beavers and the trials they face. We only got a little lost on the way home. I hope Ben’s wife forgave him for getting home so late.

Ahh again with the idyllic. So lovely to read. Such a charming way to understand beavers. I first read about Patti way back in 2011. Patti took the reporter on an a lovely expedition which she described thusly

As we walk, Patti and Luanne look for carnivorous sundew plants. Patti, who spends about two weeks camping near the beavers each summer, moves easily, sees the small treasures of the wetlands quickly, yet she lets her visitors make their discoveries in their own time. It is clear that, just as she visits the beaver’s house, we are in her house, and she is a gracious host.

Hearing her idyllic experience led me to contrast my own. I had to offer a rendition with some of the writing I remember most fondly on this website in over a decade, Here is my Martinez parody;

As we walk, Heidi and Cheryl look for carnivorous homeless while Jon stuffs the most noxious trash furtively into a plastic bag. No hypodermic needles tonight, and there is a feeling of cheer among the crowd to notice that there are three whole trees the city hasn’t yet vindictively trimmed into oblivion. A fight breaks out in the brew pub and the argument is briefly reflected on the water in a patch of rainbow oil. As the sun begins to set the wind stirs the smell of stale urine from beneath the bridges and raccoons emerge to pick through containers of abandoned cat food.

Ahhh I don’t mean to boast but I love that paragraph dearly. It brings back SO many memories of urban beaver watching. One time a homeless couple walked right by me and commented “She just sits here every morning, looking at the creek. Just talking to god.” I realized in that moment I had become a kind of ‘beaver shopping bag lady’. Whose quirky habits were even recognized by the homeless. HA! When I wrote the above paragraph I added at the time that it was too much fun and I had to stop myself. It was true. Even now I’m tempted to add a line.

No. Let’s just stick with Patti.

The changes we humans impose on this good planet cause irrevocable damage to its life-generating and -sustaining capacities. The changes beavers make enrich habitat for countless other species and mitigate the damage we cause. Which species has the higher claim to a disputed site? I know who I’d vote for. If you read “Eager,” I think you’ll agree.

https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/dd1e9b6ea7418ef8158d71434b950dfe4b5c5e80/c=1012-0-7988-3924/local/-/media/Burlington/2014/04/25/-bur0422beaverdewberry.jpg20140423.jpg?width=3200&height=1680&fit=crop — Patti Smith

WHERE BEAVERS DON’T FEAR TO TREAD

heidi08 Urban beavers January 4, 2019

It’s time for some more urban beaver stories and one cautionary tale. This story comes from Michigan. Of course its not news to us because one of the best illustrated beaver books in the country already tells the tale of these heroic tails.

After 180 years, beavers return ‘home’ to Milwaukee River in heart of downtown

The beavers are back. For the first time in nearly two centuries, the buck-toothed rodents have been gnawing away at trees in the very heart of downtown Milwaukee. What better way to start the new year than by cheering the return of these ancient natives to their ancestral home?

I first noticed their presence on a boat trip down the Milwaukee River last summer. On the west bank, just south of St. Paul Ave., several small trees had fallen into the water, and a larger one was leaning precariously in the same direction. I went back on foot a few days later, and it was beavers, all right. They had been munching away on the white poplar and green ash that line the riverbank, and there were piles of wood chips among the plastic bags and empty bottles that littered the scruffy little grove. I had to look around to remind myself that I was just east of the

Pritzlaff Building and directly across the river from some of the trendiest nightspots in the Third Ward.

Ahh I love a good ‘beavers in the city story’. Almost nothing makes me happier than for beavers to remind people that all this used to belong to them and they’re coming back for it.

There was a time when beaver wouldn’t have seemed wildly out of place in the center of Milwaukee. They were once among the most ubiquitous mammals in North America, damming streams and gnawing bark from Hudson Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. Prized for their meat as well as their fur, beaver were a staple of both diet and dress for countless generations of native Americans.

After emptying the beaver streams on their own continent, Europeans turned to the apparently inexhaustible lodges of North America. It was beaver that brought the first French traders to Wisconsin in the 1600s. It was beaver that put Green Bay, Prairie du Chien, and numerous other settlements on the map. And it was beaver, or more precisely European demand for it, that fundamentally altered the Native American way of life.

Millions of hides crossed the Atlantic in the holds of sailing ships, and the same vessels brought trade goods west on their return voyages: muskets, kettles, traps, beads, blankets … and alcohol. French rum, English brandy, and then American whiskey were all solvents that effectively dissolved ancient native traditions.

Interestingly, the center was in the process of establishing an arboretum on the same bank, using funds from the Milwaukee Rotary Club and a federal restoration initiative. Nearly 14,000 trees have gone into the ground so far, representing more than 70 species native to Wisconsin. Having beaver in an arboretum seems a lot like putting pyromaniacs in a fireworks factory. Some stout trees have been dropped and others are on the way down, but the Urban Ecology Center, true to its mission, is determined to let nature take its course. Caitlin Reinartz, the center’s forester, put it succinctly: “We can’t be mad about a species coming back when the whole goal was to create a place animals would want to come back to. The beaver are here, and we’re going to find a way to coexist.”

It’s likely, but by no means certain, that the beaver whose work is on display downtown are “dispersers” from the arboretum colony, adolescents trying to establish their own territories. Unless they can be trapped and fitted with GPS devices, their whereabouts, including where they sleep or even if they’re still present, will remain one of downtown’s more intriguing mysteries.

You have to love the irony. Conservationists save the detroit river and install an arboretum of native trees and then some beavers move in and – um – appreciate them. I guess they were planted there just in time. At least the folks were great sports about the process and understand that beavers eating your native trees is like serving christmas dinner and ending up with only clean plates.

It’s a compliment!

I promised an urban beaver story and a cautionary tale. So here’s the second part. I want to be sensitive to the loss for his family’s sake but I dare say the date had more to do with this tragedy than the rodent in question.

Missouri Man Drowns In Inches Of Water While Clearing Beaver Dam

A Missouri man drowned in a shallow pond on New Year’s Day after he slipped and fell while trying to clear a beaver dam. Police found 29-year-old Caleb James Bruno face down in eight-inches of water and attempted to resuscitate him but were unsuccessful.

Investigators said there were no signs of trauma and believe that Bruno may have suffered from a medical incident before falling into the shallow pond.

I’m saying nothing. I’m pretty sure this story speaks entirely for itself.

PERMIT ME TO NOT GET A PERMIT?

heidi08 Beavers and salmon, Flow Device Installed January 3, 2019

One of the most pesky problems in this beaver biz is that AFTER you convince a city not to kill the critters and install a flow device instead, AFTER you’ve found someone qualified to do it and figured out how to pay for it to happen. After all that bruhaha then you find out that you might need a frickin PERMIT from fish and game just to install it in the first place!

Because you’re ‘changing the creek you see.

And before you ask no you don’t need a creek-altering permit if you want to KILL the beavers. Because that would make sense. Why do you ask?

Well that might change soon in New Hampshire,

Hopkinton Seeks Legislative Intervention In Year-Long Beaver Dam Saga

An ongoing struggle with a beaver dam in Hopkinton will land in the state legislature this session. Hopkinton select board chair Jim O’Brien says the town has been trying for more than a year to stop a beaver dam from flooding a local back road

After reducing the dam’s size, O’Brien says they installed a pipe to allow water to flow freely underneath. It’s similar to a device called a beaver deceiver, which lets a beaver safely maintain its dam without blocking water flow. Deceivers have been effective elsewhere in the state.

But it wasn’t clear if Hopkinton needed state permission to install one. A local resident worried they did, and alerted state officials, who weren’t sure how to proceed.

Now, Hopkinton state Rep. Mel Myler will bring a bill before the legislature to clarify the state’s beaver protection code.

Wow. Just wow. I don’t think even washington state has legislation to protect beaver deceivers. Maybe Vermont does? I know the issue can be a bear to resolve in California. Good luck, Mr, Myler. This deserves to pass.

Fingers crossed.

More good news from Washington State. This time combined with a gentle review of Ben’s book.

Beavers return to Elwha nearshore good for fish

A recent increase in beaver activity along the Elwha nearshore is good news for the juvenile salmon population. In a video posted by the CWI in December, a beaver can be seen in the area nearshore, digging and chopping down a tree.

The nearshore, where the Elwha River meets the Strait of Juan de Fuca, is critical to salmon spawning. Many young salmon spend time in the estuary acclimating to saltwater before they head out to the ocean. Beavers improve the habitat for the juvenile salmon populations in that area.

“Beavers are ecological engineers,” said Anne Shaffer, lead scientist with the CWI. “They allow water to flow, to channelize. They increase the ecological productivity of the area.”

Honestly, isn’t Washington adorable? Where else would you EVER read that a beaver chopped down a tree and its GOOD NEWS for the salmon? Sniff. I think I’m tearing up.

But in May, a dead beaver was found along the west levee of the Elwha river nearshore. Shaffer said the cause of death was unknown, but that the body found indicated a larger animal, such as a dog, could have been the cause.

“When the beaver was killed, the area went quiet until a couple of months ago,” Shaffer said, noting that after one beaver died, (researchers) did not see any other beavers in the area for several months. Beavers reside in a small colony, which consists of two adult parents, a couple “yearlings” (adolescents) who learn building techniques from the parents, and the “kits” or baby beavers. Shaffer said when one beaver dies, it can cause the colony to leave the area.

Are you with me so far? Beavers are good for the salmon poplation. And if something happens to one then ALL might leave. Which would be bad.

But the nearshore beavers are also vulnerable. With a new set of beavers in the area, Shaffer said it is critical that people keep their dogs on leashes.

“In our own Place Road habitat near the western Elwha delta, the frequency of domestic dogs to the nearshore ecosystem has also dramatically increased,” wrote former CWI scientist Breyanna Waldsmith in a blog post. “If beavers do not return to the area, the ecosystem will alter over time; connectivity will be reduced, dredging of the side channel will not be maintained, and sediment may infill the most critical west side channel of the Elwha delta.”

Oh you little Washington state. You are so darned adorable. Warning people not to drive away their beavers. That’s about the sweetest thing that I’ve ever heard.

It’s really not fair that Washington gets Michael Pollock, Kent Woodruff AND Ben Goldfarb. That’s just putting too many brilliant beaver resources in one state. Can’t you spread them around a bit?

California would like one…

BEAVERS ON THEIR WAY BACK TO SORRENTO

heidi08 In the News January 2, 2019

England shouldn’t get all the fun with their ‘returning beaver stories.’ Other countries want their beavers too. Apparently they’re all the rage. Don’t believe me? Just ask the Telegraph.

Beavers are back in Italy after an absence of nearly 500 years as big mammals rebound in Europe

The species, which was once widespread across Europe, has been spotted in Italy’s northerly region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The animals are believed to have wandered over the border from neighbouring Austria or possibly Slovenia.

An adult beaver was filmed by a camera trap in a forest near Tarvisio, a town that lies in the triangle where Italy, Austria and Slovenia converge.

If Italy is a thigh-hi boot then Fruili-Venezia Giulia is as close to the crotch as you can get and still be in the country. It’s jutting up against the neighbors of Slovenia and Lichtenstein which I assume boast a healthy beaver population. Venice is in Giulia which makes sense that beavers would naturally want to visit a region so prone to flooding.

The reason beavers disappeared from Italy is simple – for hundreds of years they were trapped for their fur and also prized for their meat,” Paolo Molinari, a wildlife biologist working in the region, told The Telegraph.

Now wait a minute. Former Martinez city council member, beaver supporter and great grandson of the first sheriff in the city, the late Bill Wainwright once told me that he had some land in Italy where he lived half the year. Shortly after our own bruhaha with beavers some showed up on the vineyard and he was very surprised, That must have been way back in 2008. So this can’t really be all that new.

“We hope that in the spring they might form a breeding population. It’s very good news,” said Mr Molinari.

By felling trees with their sharp teeth and damming streams, beavers create ponds which benefit many other species, from amphibians and birds to fish and aquatic insects.

Their impact on the environment is being felt in Scotland, where beavers have been reintroduced after the species was driven to extinction in Britain in the 16^th century.

The article goes on to say that Jackals (like a coyote but more related to the wolf) have also been spotted in the region. They conclude it’s been kind of a heyday for mammals.

Experts say the reappearance of beavers and golden jackals shows that the mountains and forests of the border region between Austria, Slovenia and Italy act are an important corridor for wildlife.

“We’re seeing lots of animals returning, including brown bears, wolves, lynx and otters,” said Mr Molinari, a member of the Italian Lynx Project, which aims to restore the lynx to its former range and to mitigate conflicts with farmers.

I like to think of Italian beavers eating grape vines for many years to come. I’m sure there will be some who aren’t happy to see them, but imagine how the birds and fish feel.

Finally! We’ll get something improved in our creeks around here!