Month: February 2019

PAY ATTENTION IF YOU ARE FLAMMABLE

heidi08 Beavers and Fire Prevention February 18, 2019

So yesterday the hardy PhD candidate in ecohydrology, Emily Fairfax, launched an amazing stop-motion video that basically retells her entire dissertation. Emily is at the final stages of her degree, trying to secure the post-graduate job, and already earned a double major in physics and chemistry. This woman is no slouch. And she loves beaver dams. We first talked about the 360 beaver dam project she was working on a few years back. I know that lives are busy and you don’t always have time to watch a video but this is all of 43 seconds long and it will blow your mind. So WATCH this one.

Emily introduced it by saying, “As a scientist I’ve had an “elevator speech” prepared for a few years now. This year I made an “elevator video” & let me tell you: people enjoy seeing my research way more than just hearing about it!”

So what do #beavers have to do with #wildfire? Watch (with sound) & find out!

Isn’t that incredible? Yesterday when Ben sent it to me it had 11 views, so I’ve done what I could to change that. Now I’m just working on getting it seen by our new governor. Something tells me he’d take more than a passing interest. Hmm maybe cities and ranchers with active beaver dams get a fire-buffer-zone tax credit? Sure makes sense to me.

Meanwhile I was contacted last week by a reporter in Philadelphia about the rebounding beaver population and i made sure to explain that it wasn’t nearly as big as it once was. I’m glad to see that the story that follows lacks the customary alarm bells.

Is there a beaver resurgence in Philadelphia?

Witmer said there was almost no beaver activity 20 years ago in the city. But parks employees have seen more signs of beaver activity in the last decade — though it’s unclear just when it started. According to Witmer, the department has put a lot of effort to restore wildlife in this stretch of Haddington Woods. The beaver activity is proof that their efforts are working.

Sharon T. Brown has studied beavers for about 30 years, and she’s one of the founders of Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife, an educational nonprofit. She said taking a census of beavers is hard, but the highest estimates from experts put their U.S. population at 20 million, a fraction of their population before the fur trade and farming exploded.

“By no way are they surging somehow out of control, if the habitat no longer can support them, you know so many of our cities and towns are built around waterways,” said Brown.

Where does that population estimate even come from? i can’t think that anyone’s counting. That’s like 40,000 a state. Roughly 8000 beaver families. Knowing the numbers of beavers that are killed each year in our state that seems very ambitious. That would mean that a beavers chance of being depredated in California was under one percent? That just can’t be true.

i’m sure it’s got to be more dangerous to be a beaver.

ON THE BEAVER BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE

heidi08 Beaver Rehabilitation February 17, 2019

I think it’s high time to reinstate only good news sunday. Don’t you? We’re happy to report that the Martinez beaver patient is hanging in there at Lindsey, and even though they haven’t been positive about her chances, they are still caring for her two weeks after her rescue. Jon brought in willow on friday, I had a long chat with the head tech and Jean made a donation so we’re hoping she turns the corner soon. She’s now on their webpage.

Meet Our Beaver Patient

In the early morning of January 31, this young beaver was found in the middle of the road in Martinez. A caring rescuer picked up the nearly 30-pound beaver with a thick blanket and immediately brought her to Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital. The rescuer thought that because of where the beaver was found, she had been hit by a car.After a thorough examination, our vet staff found a laceration on the tail but no major broken bones. However, she does have neurological issues. The cause is unknown, whether it’s from illness, bacteria or trauma, we are doing everything we can to help this creature.

Our beaver patient is being kept at Lindsay Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital and we are monitoring her. While we are guarded on this case, we will continue to provide her with the very best care.

Okay I admit, a guarded prognosis isn’t good news BUT staying alive for 2 weeks in the hospital is nothing any other beaver we brought to Lindsey has managed. Obviously they haven’t given up or thought she was untreatable which i find promising. And she’s strong enough to hang in there and enjoying her willow. So we’re going to count this as good news under anyway.

There is less ambiguous good news on the silent auction front, because we received an amazingly generous (and totally unexpected) donation from the Winters company Menagerie last week. They make wildlife character wine pourers which are all the rage for tastings and fancy partiesz. i hadn’t even heard of them until my niece pointed me in their direction, and when i sent them my request they responded right away by sending a package of twelve! 6 beavers, 3 salmon and 3 sea otters. I thought you’d like to see them.

They are nice heavy stainless steel, with beautiful detail. A slender spout fits into the open bottle with a tight fitting rubber cork. And just to give you an idea how they pour you can see the image below…i was so delighted with their generosity I told them about the famous beaver living in their neck of the woods and they were thrilled to find about about the piebald! Thank you Menagerie!

NO, NOT IN NEVERS!

heidi08 Beavers, Who's Killing Beavers Now? February 16, 2019

it’s been a long time since I was reminded of the flurry of community objection to killing beavers and the grumble of public works staff when they explain at a city meeting why they need to go. I wonders, is it like riding a bicycle? Does it all come back to you once you out your feet on the pedals?

Beavers decimating trees in Nevers Park to be trapped, killed this spring

SOUTH WINDSOR — Licensed trappers will utilize deadly traps this spring to remove the two or three beavers living in a Nevers Park pond that have damaged and felled nearly 200 trees over the last six months.

Unless the beavers abandon the area before spring arrives, trapping will be used as an uncommon last resort to protect public safety and prevent further damage, town officials said.

A January Facebook post by a resident on a South Windsor community message board asked town workers to stop destroying the dams that beavers built in the northern section of the 157-acre park. The post received over 80 comments from residents who overwhelmingly agreed that the town should leave the beavers alone if they’re not harming anyone.

“We do not hate beavers,” he said, emphasizing that officials are in favor of peaceful and safe coexistence whenever possible. There’s beaver activity at about 40 park locations in South Windsor, he said, and town workers don’t typically disturb them.

Well, well, stop me if you know this one. A flurry of folks object to killing beavers! And the parks department says ‘we don’t hate beavers’ – that sounds so familiar! i think this is an ACTUAL QUOTE from our director of public works. Let me pull it up.

What do you know, I guess this really is like riding a bicycle!

Favreau explained that the beavers eating tree bark and building dams have destroyed over 187 healthy trees and caused trees to fall onto the Nevers Park trails. Flooding in the area from beaver activity also creates stagnant pools of water that serve as seasonal breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

Ahhh the old song and dance! Mosquitoes and falling trees! i’ve heard that song before! Tell me, if you have beavers at 40 locations how is it that you haven’t learned to wrap any trees yet? How could you be saying that you actually installed a flow device and never learned to wrap trees? That’s like trying to do a lung transplant before you dissect your first frog in biology class.

While beavers can provide benefits to an ecosystem by raising the water levels of bodies of water and creating habitats for other wildlife, officials said their activity in Nevers Park has become hazardous, and trapping and killing them is the best option.

“In this case it’s in a high public use area,” Favreau said, “and we feel it’s the safest thing to do.”

Yes there are a few nice things beavers do but this is SERIOUS! A tree could fall on a child!

Town staff also tried several times to remove the dams the beavers built to encourage them to leave, but they persisted and rebuilt each time, Favreau said.

As a last resort, Favreau recommended trapping and killing the beavers, which is listed as the best option for their population management on the state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s website. Relocating the beavers is a costly way of moving the problem from one site to another, DEEP research shows.

Beavers overpopulate Connecticut, Favreau said, reproducing in great volume and remaining unaffected by predators or diseases that could control their population naturally. Beaver damage complaints led to a regulated trapping season in the 1960s, according to DEEP.

I’d be very curious about the definition of the word ‘overpopulate’. I mean does it mean more than there used to be? more than is convenient? or more than can be sustained? I’m sure it’s not the last because if there weren’t enough food for them they’d die off on their own. I believe it’s just another case of using a word about beavers to mean whatever you want it to mean.

Been there. Done that.

SALMON SEZ “WE NEED BEAVERS”

heidi08 Beavers and salmon February 18, 2019

“Now it’s time for all Whos who have blood that is red
to come to the aid of their country!” he said.
We’ve GOT to make noises in greater amounts!
So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!”

Of course this rallying cry is from the great Dr Seuss in ‘Horton hear’s a who’ but it could just as easily apply to beavers. I read on the beaver forum yesterday that Ben has earned a fellowship for working on a new book about the ecology of roads – which in theory is great, congratulations. but in practice means we’re alone again. Now we wont have him to break paths for us anymore. It’s up to we few – we unhappy few – to make from scratch and hard work any inroads into our nation’s understanding of beavers.

This is a good place to start, i think.

CDFW To Host Salmon Info Meeting In Santa Rosa

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) invites the public to attend its upcoming annual Salmon Information Meeting. The meeting will feature the outlook for this year’s sport and commercial ocean salmon fisheries, in addition to a review of last year’s salmon fisheries and spawning escapement.

The meeting will be held Wednesday, Feb. 27 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Sonoma County Water Agency, 404 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa.

Anglers are encouraged to provide input on potential fishing seasons to a panel of California salmon scientists, managers and representatives who will be directly involved in the upcoming Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meetings in March and April.

Well, gosh. I know what folks should talk about at that meeting. Do you?

The 2019 Salmon Information Meeting marks the beginning of a two-month long public process used to develop annual sport and commercial ocean salmon fishing recommendations. The process involves collaborative negotiations with West Coast states, federal and tribal agencies, and stakeholders interested in salmon fishery management and conservation. Public input will help California representatives develop a range of recommended season alternatives during the March 5-12 PFMC meeting in Vancouver, Wash. The PFMC will finalize the recommended season dates at its April 9-16 meeting in Rohnert Park, Calif.

Now standing up to speak in a room full of resentful fisherman might seem daunting but think about it. They will be on your side because you’re offering an easy fix to the salmon problem besides recommending always unpopular catching less of them. You could have the whole room cheering you on! And it February 27 doesn’t work in your schedule here are some other options.

A list of additional meetings and other opportunities for public comment is available on CDFW’s ocean salmon web page: www.wildlife.ca.gov/oceansalmon/preseason.

Or do this:

To make comments directly to the Pacific Fishery Management Council regarding the upcoming salmon season, please visit the Council’s website at www.pcouncil.org/contact, or contact the PFMC staff officer for salmon: Robin Ehlke (Robin.Ehlke@noaa.gov).

To make comments directly to the Fish and Game Commission, please visit the Commission’s website at www.fgc.ca.gov/contact.

i’m thinking those are your marching orders, so let CDFW hear from you. We have a very reasonable governor at the moment whom we personally know is a fan of the Martinez beavers, and he said no to the stupid delta deal so it’s TIME to speak up!

Your beavers are counting on you.

COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS

heidi08 Beavers and salmon February 14, 2019

Every beaver everywhere wishes you a happy valentine’s day! Me too, even though it means we are ripping through the calendar at a great pace. (I keep telling jon this will be my very first valentine’s day with an American man, so you can imagine how exciting that will be.) i see that Mt Diablo Audubon has my presentation on the calendar which is a little terrifying, but best to warn folks what they’re getting into i suppose.

GLT signs has finished updating the dates on our banners and Tuesday night i go before the parks department and ask permission for the festival. Along with that last night I received Amelia’s initial sketch for the beaver festival. Remember, this year we’ll be using a pirate theme to encourage kids to “seek the lost key to the waters“.

I love “Wetlandia” and “Biodivers City” those were her ideas and very clever. I also love seeing the hidden wildlife among the names and the trail path which will lead to X marks the spot. Say a prayer that this gets finished lovingly by thursday when bay nature needs the artwork for the ad. Amelia assures me it will happen and even though I believe her I’ll be holding my breath.

i have been talking with Michael Pollock and Dan Logan of Marine Fisheries Santa Rosa about the idea of using Amy’s central chalk painting as a way to feature the key relationship between beavers and salmon at the festival. Maybe with a beaver dam and salmon jumping over it, a beaver pond with smolt going to sea, and fry hidden at the bottom. An otter eating a salmon and a great blue heron craning his neck down to catch a fry. With beaver of course, swimming or working on the dam. I asked whether they had any educational artwork in NOAA like that and they both said it was an excellent idea, but shook their heads.

So we’ll be the first. Okay then.