Month: July 2019

THE SUNFLOWER STATE SMILES ON BEAVERS?

heidi08 Beaver ecological impact, kits July 17, 2019

Brandi McCoy is a Private Lands Conservationist in Northeast Kansas

You know where we haven’t read a good beaver benefits article from ever? Kansas. I mean now that Iowa has stepped up to the plate and even Tennessee has earned an honorable mention, what has the sunflower state ever done for us lately?

Nature’s Engineers

One of our best engineers can work through the night, requires no machinery, and doesn’t even expect a paycheck. He’s also many a farmer’s nightmare, but many a rancher’s blessing. He’s the beaver. For some people, the beaver is bad news for their ponds, crop ground, culverts, and trees, but he is also one of the most underappreciated and important creatures we have for improving water quality and riparian habitat.

Beavers are a keystone species, meaning, a small number of beavers have a huge, long-lasting impact on large numbers of wildlife. Believe it or not, beavers benefit people in several ways; their dams reduce soil erosion by decreasing the velocity of stream flow. Beaver dams raise the water table and can turn an intermittent stream into perennial flow which is crucial if you’re facing a drought. Their dams reduce peak flows to help reduce the effects of flooding. Their dams improve the quality of our water by trapping sediment and breaking down toxins which is not only healthier for us, but less costly for water treatments. Beaver dams increase ground water recharge which is critical in replenishing alluvial aquifers. Beaver dams increase the complexity of a riparian habitat to increase the diversity of aquatic species. Best of all, these benefits don’t cost a dime so long as the beaver isn’t in the wrong place. So how do we reap the benefits in the places we want them?

Did I just read that right? Am I still in Kansas Toto? Is this just another fever dream I will wake up from in a few lines? Oh Ben’s wonderful book is there NO END to the wonders you will reap?

Fortunately, there are things that can be done to help prevent beaver activity where it is not wanted. Particularly around culverts where beavers like to stuff twigs into, a device called a beaver deceiver can be used. Beaver deceivers are combination panels that keep the beaver from crawling or swimming through and force the beaver to place his dam further away from the culvert.

And on that sunny day when the beaver GOOD NEWS finally reached Kansas of all places, we stood in wonderous awe and watched.

I don’t know about you but I think a victory in a flyover state deserves a proper celebration. Something furry and familiar. Something that for decades we have been seeing every July but have sorely missed this past year.

Something wonderful that Rusty Cohn discovered in Napa.

Seems that the Napa beaver parents have been feeling a bit more protective of their new charge with all the hubub and building going on. They both appeared and made sure the coast was clear before they allowed newbie to swim about on his own. Beavers are such good parents!

These parents swam about and checked the pond before they even let Junior swim on his own.

Can you say over protective much? You can tell the little one had HAD ENOUGH ALREADY because he made sure to let his parents know how he felt about their caution. He’s having NONE of it, thank you.

What wonderful photos! I know it’s very early, and the creek sides are crowded with crabby homeless, but wow we sure love living vicariously through you. Thank you so much!

Oh and by the way, never ever sleep in again all summer!

سگ آب “WATER-DOG”

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers, History July 16, 2019

I’m sure you’ve all heard that it was “a sin to kill a mocking bird”?

Well, according to the 9th century middle persian text, the Dadestan Menogit’s a sin to kill a beaver too. A really, really bad one.

The Dadestan is a book of questions that has no known author. The oldest copy is in the British Library from around 1500 but it was retold in oral tradition much, much earlier than that. It’s one of those secondary religious texts that tell you how to live your life according to the Spirit of Wisdom who is repeatedly questioned by a high priest of Zoroastrianism.

Zoroastrianism (also known as Zarathustra) is one of the world’s oldest continuously practiced religions, and probably THE FIRST monotheistic one. It is pre-muslim, pre-Christian, pre-you name it and scholars have argued that constructs like heaven and hell are based on it. In general it is based on the juxtaposition of good and evil in all things.

According to Zoroastrian tradition, Zoroaster had a divine vision of a supreme being while partaking in a pagan purification rite at age 30. Zoroaster began teaching followers to worship a single god called Ahura Mazda.

And before you say you never heard of it, you have too. This iconic introduction is set to the music of Ricard Strasse “Thus Spake Zarathustra“.

Well, of course when the high priest has the spirit of wisdom alone he asks him the obvious question. “You gave me a big list of sins, but of that list, which one is the worst?” A cynic like myself would think this translates as, I’m never ever going to be able to follow ALL of these rules, so give me the top one or two, will you?

And the spirit of wisdom generously produces a “Top list” of thirty three, Some of which you might expect and some extolling the ridicuius don’t be gay philosophy. But I thought you’d enjoy learning about number seven.

Okay it’s true that killing a beaver is only number seven on the list, but it’s SEVEN of THIRTY THREE so that means it’s still a very big deal. In fact it’s the ONLY one on the list that says “Don’t kill”. You are welcome to kill your parents or your wife or that man who bugs you but NO ONE can kill a beaver.

I don’t know if you can read the footnotes there but it basically says that the beaver is mysteriously called “The ANGEL of the waters” perhaps to draw the contrast between it and “The Demon of the waters”- which I was very amused yesterday to read some scholars have argued is the river otter.

According to the Dadestan killing a beaver is such a mighty sin that if it’s committed the only way you can get back in God’s good graces is to kill a bunch of serpents, which is bad news for the snake people. But come ON, we’re it’s pretty rare news for team beaver.

Maybe the part I like best about this, is the term “water-dog”. Because beaver heads as they swim in the water are very similar to dog hears, just working a LOT LESS HARD.

MISSING THE FOREST FOR THE CHEWED TREES

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers July 15, 2019

It’s hard to learn new things.

Sometimes even when information is presented in the best possible way, and even when you’re paying full attention and come to class early with several freshly sharpened number 2 pencils, you miss the point and the entire thing you are struggling to grasp slips right through your open fingers.

Take this article. for example, from Dariyn Brewer Hoffstot of Pennsylvania’s Pittsburg Quarterly.

Beavers Don’t Get Headaches

In my small and random survey, people know, at the very least, that beavers chew wood, build dams, have big teeth and large tails. That’s about all I knew, until beavers moved into our farm pond. Turns out North America’s largest rodent, Castor canadensis, is a fascinating creature, and there’s a lot more to learn.

My husband first noticed our beaver activity when mowing the field around the pond. The weeping willows he’d so tenderly planted had been felled, as well as cherry and ash trees, the recognizable “V” shape in the wood typical of beaver activity.

Beavers are touted for being nature’s engineers, creating habitats for animals such as moose, deer, fish, waterfowl, otters, mink, songbirds and frogs, among others. “If humans are the world’s most influential mammals, beavers have a fair claim at second place,” wrote Ben Goldfarb in “Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter.” In his book, Goldfarb asks his readers to appreciate the many benefits beavers bring to the environment. “Beavers are environmental Swiss Army knives, capable of tackling just about any ecological dilemma,” he writes. “Trying to slow down floods or filter out pollution? There’s a beaver for that. Hoping to capture more water for agriculture in the face of climate change? Add a beaver. Concerned about erosion, salmon runs, or wildfire? Take two beaver families and check back in a year.”

Okay so far. The author has suddenly found beavers at her pond. This could be a problem if she’s not equipped. They took a prized tree. And Pennsylvania ain’t the most tolerant place in the land. But she’s a writer, Ben’s a writer. Maybe she’ll appreciate this book and get the message about why she should try to live with beavers. I’m staying hopeful.

But what’s a homeowner to do when beavers build a dam on your spillway, which could cause a pond to breach its bank? Day after day we tore the dam apart; day after day, the beavers built it up again. We put wire around the small trees that remained and then beavers began gnawing on our big, beautiful weeping willow, about three feet in diameter, a tree we especially didn’t want to lose. So I called Samara Trusso, wildlife manager with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, SW region. She said the Game Commission is “hands off when it comes to beavers unless we have complaints.” And of course they do get complaints — 666 in PA in 2016 from farmers, business owners, and PennDot — for issues such as plugged culverts, flooded roads and downed nursery trees. “They can be a challenging species,” she said.

Humans? I agree 100%. You’re right. Humans can be SO challenging.

Tell me this, because I may have missed it in the 9 hundred times I’ve read Ben’s book so far, where exactly does it say to TRY RIPPING THE DAM OUT EVERY MORNING OVER AND OVER AGAIN. That’s such a good technique I’m sure he would have mentioned it working, right? Did Skip Lisle invent that? And where exactly does he say to only wrap the smaller trees and NOT THE ONES YOU REALLY VALUE? I may have missed that in all the excitement.

Neither trapping nor relocating were activities I relished; I prefer to live in harmony with beavers. So I suggested to John Wenzel of Powdermill that we record their activity, hoping some footage of local beavers might be an interesting feature at the Nimick Nature Center down the road. We met at our pond, along with James and Max, who brought cameras and a GoPro, and set up for time-lapse and nighttime photography. But after weeks of checking the cameras, we got no footage. What did we do wrong? Holmes said we “came into their environment and created a disturbance. They didn’t like it.” We should have left the cameras for an extended amount of time without checking them, he said, “wasted some film, burned up some batteries” so the beavers got used to seeing the gear.

I know. Beavers are SO impossible to photograph. If there’s one thing we learned in Martinez after all those years of dashed hopes, is that beavers avoid cameras at all costs. It can be so frustrating.

(more…)

BEAVER CAUCAS IN IOWA

heidi08 Beavers July 14, 2019

As we head into primary season, it’s always good to remember the importance of Iowa and how essential it is to have a good ‘ground game’ there.

Um, also a good “water game” apparently.

N’West Iowa flooding bringing beavers

REGIONAL—Recent flooding in N’West Iowa has paved the way for the castor canadensis — also known as the North American beaver — to become more visible.

Beavers have been spotted creating habitation in the ditch west of Agropur in Hull and have caused landowner Lyle Peelen of rural Sibley to express concerns to the Osceola County Board of Supervisors.

Osceola County supervisor chair Jayson Vande Hoef said the county will not take action on a matter taking place on private land.

Did you ever notice how when the beavers are on municipal land there suddenly terribly dangerous and require all kinds of taxpayer dollars to prevent emergencies, but if their on some Jim or Mary’s land there’s nothing they can do.

“It does not seem appropriate to take on additional expenses,” Vande Hoef said.

He said the primary concern was that the beaver will have an impact on tile drainage.

Vande Hoef said if there is a possibility for counties to request extended beaver trapping seasons, then that would be something to consider — if the problem becomes bigger. The next beaver trapping season in the state is Nov. 2-April 5 and there is no limit, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Meanwhile near Hull, city administrator Jim Collins said no landowners have complained about the beavers that have taken up residency.

Ahh beavers are so nice to have on the landscape. Of course we’d pay to kill them if more landowners/voters cared about the issue. But since it’s just you you’re something out of luck.

Isn’t nature great?

“It is nice to see wildlife coexisting and proliferating with us,” Collins said. “I can remember a time when it was rare to see bald eagles, turkeys and beavers anywhere in Iowa. It is great to see their resurgence.”

You followed that right? When beavers cause problems we kill them quickly, but there’s no way this county is picking up the tab for anything unless our necks are on the line. And since there not, we’re suddenly going to appreciate the hell out of nature.

Call it the “David Attenborough Defense”.

Sarah Davelaar is the Sioux County Conservation officer. A fan of beavers, Davelaar said the animal is an incredible species.

“There are so many interesting facts on beavers it is hard to pinpoint exactly what the one thing is that makes beavers so cool,” she said.

Now of course we all agree with Sarah about this, but I have to laugh at the transparent bullshit of it all. We can count on zero fingers the number of times Counties have stopped complaining about beavers Long enough to pause and consider how valuable they are to see on the landscape.

Hands are being washed in Iowa.

Rusty Cohn of Napa has been keeping track of the Tulocay beavers who have at the moment started work downstream of the hotels and are hanging out across from the parking lot at the black bear diner. It’s lovely to see the summer green growth surrounding beavers again. They are such lucky residents.

BEAVERS WHERE YOU NEVER EXPECTED

heidi08 Beavers July 13, 2019

So after reading there were once beavers in Iran I couldn’t wait to go look up some info about them. I found this stunning but incomplete page. Obviously there history is a lot more complicated than this because the wealthy wore furs but Wow what an intro!

Beavers in Iran

Beavers were one of the most sacred animals of ancient Iran. According to the Avesta, beavers are formed from the ghosts of dogs. So beavers were known as “water-dogs.” A single beaver was thought to have as much holiness as thousand dogs. Ancient Iranians believed that killing a beaver would produce drought. Corn and grass would cease to grow until the killer received punishment.

In ancient Iran those who harmed beavers had to pay a heavy fine of 60,000 dirhems and kill ten-thousand snakes and tortoises to compensate for their sin.