Oooh if Martinez had beavers they surely would have felt that! 4,7 Earthquake last night centered practically under my mother’s apartment in pleasant hill. Things rolled and fell off the shelves and just in time for something we’ve ALL been waiting for.
Can’t We All Just Get A-Log? More In Mass. Seek Coexistence With Beavers
Mike Callahan is thigh-deep in scummy pond water, yanking loads of mud-covered sticks, mossy rocks and leaves from a blocked pipe in Millis.
“Welcome to the glamorous world of beaver control,” he says, holding up a branch that’s been gnawed to a sharp point. After pulling out a few more armloads of muck, he picks up a rake and begins dragging away bigger loads of debris.
We knew this was coming since the instagram photo a while back, but I didn’t expect it to be THIS good or this long! Ben even gets a short statement! It’s funny because I’ve just been working on my urban beaver benefits quote page so I’m wishing he had mentioned microclimates and impermeable surface but this is plenty to enjoy.
Beaver control is big business. Since starting Beaver Solutions in 2000, Callahan says he’s installed close to 1,600 of these devices — almost all in Massachusetts — and still, the calls from prospective clients keep coming in. That’s because beavers are a constant headache for many Massachusetts homeowners, chewing down trees and building dams that flood basements and roadways. But beavers also do a lot of good things for the environment, like creating habitats and purifying water. So instead of the traditional method of dealing with beavers — trapping and killing them — a growing number of people are trying for peaceful coexistence.
“There are a lot of people out there who don’t necessarily view beavers as being beneficial. They think of them as pests and nuisances and destructive animals,” says Ben Goldfarb, author of “Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter.”
But as more people recognize the benefits of having beavers around, he says, “The idea of nonlethal control is catching on across the country.”
Whooo hoo! Big business! It’s a beaver pallooza!
Beavers are what biologists call a “keystone species.” The term comes from architecture, where the keystone is the apex piece of an arch. It’s what gives the structure strength and holds it together. Remove it, and the arch crumbles.
In nature, keystone species are essential to ecosystem health. And when it comes to beavers, their contribution begins with what they’re most famous for: chewing wood. After they gnaw logs and branches with their self-sharpening front teeth, they use the material to build their homes — called lodges — and dams, to create wetlands.
On land, beavers are slow, clumsy and vulnerable to predators. But they’re fast swimmers, so in the water, they’re much safer from coyotes, bears or anything else trying to eat them. (Fun facts: Beavers can hold their breath underwater for up to 15 minutes. They also have a second pair of lips that they can close behind their teeth, allowing them to chew or carry wood underwater without drowning.)
Beavers engineer wetlands for their own protection, but these watery landscapes have big benefits for everything else living nearby, even humans.
Go look at the site an enjoy this great work for your very own. It even mentions the upcoming beaverCon 2020! Great job Mike Callahan and host Miriam Wasser! Beavers are happy to hear it!
