Month: November 2020

MARTINEZ KNOWS A THING OR TWO ABOUT BEAVERS

Well I’m exhausted. Aren’t you? I feel like I’ve been emotionally pushing a huge boulder up a freeway during rush hour traffic in LA. The good news is that we have very fun, easy films to premiere today, so you barely need to listen to me at all.

The first is from our fine friends at Wyoming Untrapped. You might recognize the beaver still as being by Suzi Eszterhas and starring our OWN frickin yearling. I admit I thought we were the only children she loved but apparently she takes care of other non-profits too. Sniff.

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Isn’t that excellent? Let’s hope it makes lots of people think twice in Wyoming about trapping beaver. Or to be honest, think ONCE. People need to pause and say, sure that beaver is flooding a tiny part of my ranch but gosh my cows could really use the water. Should I shoot them or wait and see what happens?

That tiny delay would already be a huge victory So let’s hope for that.

The second film is from our friends at The Beaver Trust and stars legendary Jim Parkyn of Wallace and Grommit fame (Aardman Animations) constructing a beaver model with some friends. Rumor has it that AA will be putting together some beaver shorts eventually, so stay tuned for that glory to come.

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Of Ian Boone, Sherri Tippie and of course every child in Martinez could meet his contest admirably, and has many times. But not bad considering you went 400 years without them..

BEAVER COALITION GETS GRANT FROM USDA

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers November 4, 2020

You might think I’d be in a pissy mood this morning watching the fate of the world hang in the balance, and you’d pretty much be right. But hey there’s good beaver news for our friends with the best logo. So that’s something.

NRCS Oregon awards 5 Conservation Innovation Grants to develop new technologies for agriculture

PORTLAND, Ore. – (November 3, 2020) – USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is awarding more than $14.6 million in grants in states across the country to support the development of innovative systems, tools, and technologies for production and conservation on agricultural lands. Funds are provided through the Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) program, which awards grants to organizations, universities, and others that are developing innovations to support farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners.

The Beaver Coalition – Empowering voluntary non-lethal solutions to beaver conflicts

This project will look pragmatically at the potential for long-term solutions where beavers and their dams can remain in place — but the human/beaver conflicts can be resolved. The project will demonstrate the importance of a careful site assessment to determine the likely benefits and challenges for each unique situation. From a common understanding of the problem and potential room for a solution, The Beaver Coalition will design an adaptive management strategy with the landowner or producer, with consideration of potential intended and unintended consequences of the use of nonlethal devices. The implementation approaches in this project have been proven to be successful in a variety of contexts and can be cost-effective ways to empower landowners to resolve their beaver woes for the long term. The Beaver Coalition intends to show how pond levelers, culvert protection systems, tree-wrapping, and even an act as simple as coating a tree’s trunk with a paint-sand mixture, are proven methods to resolve conflicts while maintaining beavers’ beneficial active role on the landscape, enhancing water security, salmon recovery, and resiliency to wildfire.

First of all let me just say that WHO KNEW USDA even gave awards for conservation? Not me, that’s for sure. Well done beaver friends! And second of all WHO KNEW that they would EVER give an award for saving beavers non lethally???? WOWOWOWOW. That’s like getting a pet grooming award from the dog catchers association, Or a best vegetarian prize from the Cattlemen’s association.

YOU ROCK!

Worth A Dam wants to spend hours hearing all about how much, and what the project looks like and the details of what it was like to apply. But mostly we just want to say GOOD JOB!

AMERICA THE BEAVER-FUL

heidi08 Beavers and groundwater, Beavers and Nitrogen removal, Beavers and soil, Beavers and water November 3, 2020

What, me worry?

When beavers are on NPR? Not bloody likely. In addition to being most excellent reporting and great news for beavers, this also happens to provide me with the perfect audio to make into a powtoon later today which is an ideal low-stress way to spend nerve-racking election day. Thank you Dr. Brazier!

Beavers bring rich biodiversity back to Devon, England

Come to think of it. America is pretty darn lucky England killed all their beavers 500 years ago. Hear me out. I mean in addition to the shortage driving people to look for them elsewhere and paying for the pilgrims to come to America and basically starting our whole country, the fact that they want them back NOW and are doing such excellent research to justify their existence works well for us in America.

So, thanks England.

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Yesterday’s NM Summit was beyond awesome. Any day when you get to listen to Joe Wheaton AND Jeff Ogburn in the same place you should literally jump at the chance. Jeff is the North Eastern Habitat Biologist for NM Game an Fish so of course he’s very interested beaver. He also has that enviable, pragmatic, energetic style that says ‘lets solve problems and work together and I’m not trying to sell you beavers’ which is SO SO SO helpful and needed on the landscape. (Something I will never be able to do because I am literally always trying to sell beavers, obviously.)

The entire presentation will be available online later an you can bet I’ll be sharing it. Much of Joe’s work is available already in his guidebook online, but wow here’s just a little. Remember he is from the Bay Area, went to high school in Napa where his mother still lives AND his sister came to the beaver festival twice.

By which I mean to say obviously he’s brilliant.Beavers are SO LUCKY to have Joe an all these amazing defenders on their side. Mary Obrien will bring it all home tomorrow, and hopefully by then we will know much more than we do now.

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Now here’s one last gift to get you through today. It has already made the humans in this household cry hopeful tears several times today which is not something I ever believer Taylor Swift could do.

You’re welcome.

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MOVING AND REMOVING BEAVERS

heidi08 Beaver relocation November 2, 2020

It’s grim and stressful in the world. Time for some random acts of beaver kindness so we remember why we’re here.

Trapped Beaver Returns to Lake After Southlake Officers’ Creative Rescue

Authorities helped a beaver trapped in an enclosed pool of water make its way back to a lake Sunday morning in Southlake.

Officers were called to rescue the beaver, which was hanging out on a blue float, at a pond off Westmont Drive behind the Central Market on Southlake Boulevard, according to Southlake DPS

I am so bummed. Last night this article had adorable video showing the beaver climb up the ramp and the amused officers patting each other on the back for staging the rescue operation. Today the video is gone. But there is this cute still, so you can imagine the rest.

After officers tried to catch the beaver in a net and entice it to leave its float using other methods, they finally opted to balance a wood plank on the pool float, leading the beaver out of the enclosed area.

The beaver climbed the plank and returned to the neighboring lake.

This reminds us that their are a plenty of horrific jobs in the word where trying to rescue a foolish beaver from a ditch on a fluke creates a bright spot in an otherwise grueling day. Like city workers rescuing baby ducks from a sewer or Cal-trans saving a raccoon from an overpass.

It’s not their actual job, but it is so much more fun than what we pay them to do, it’s well worth trying. And letting the tax=payers do something humane is a good investment in everyone’s future.

They certainly deserve more credit in Texas than Pennsylvania.

Pa. Game Commission Catches Beaver, Relocates It To Establish Wetlands

HARRISBURG (KDKA) — A beaver that was causing trouble for a runoff water management company has now been relocated to help the environment.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission said in a recent Facebook post that they were called to retrieve a beaver from a mine mitigation retention pond because the beaver was creating a dam that led to overflow in a nearby stream.

Um. That beaver was relocated to “help the environment” in exactly the same way as accidentally running over your neighbors cat was intended to help the wild birds in the area. It’s an explanation you come up with after the offending action has already been taken.

The State Game Warden and another cadet captured the beaver, the Pennsylvania Game Commission relocated the beaver to a property looking for beavers to create wetlands.

Yes. A lone beaver taken away from his family and dumped into strange habitat at the beginning of November is a perfect way to start a wetland. I can see the dragonflies and frogs just lining up. I’m sure there are entire weeks before the first freeze for that beaver to build a lodge and establish a food cache. Right?

Robin found this inexplicable political cartoon which make only seems to make sense if you’re me. I’m asking our friends across the pond to explain it, but for now just enjoy.

Now, stay calm. Have fun at the beaver summit. And just remember not to jinx anything.

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TIME TO SEE BEAVERS IN A NEW LIGHT

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers, Beavers and Scotland, Who's saving beavers now? November 1, 2020

Happy November.

Last night was a blue moon and coming up next is the Beaver Moon. So of course its a great time for organized walks and trips to the pond. In Massachusetts the trip will cost you a whopping 25 dollars!

A Twilight Walk Exploring the Wonderful World of Beavers at Stony Brook

It is so exciting to be at Stony Brook around sunset and during twilight. The fading light signals the start of the ‘day’ for many animals. Creatures such as beavers, foxes, raccoons and many others will become active, foraging and moving about. During this walk, you will learn more about beaver family life, lodge and dam maintenance, home range, and how they contribute to the biodiversity of open space. Bring your flashlight and we’ll cover the lens in red to preserve our night vision before we head out on the trails. A $25.00 registration fee is required for non members.

Beavers are not a cheap date. And getting a host out of their warm house isn’t easy on a wintry Massachusetts evening. Understood. Well it’s something to look forward to. And lord knows we need a collection of those in these troubled times.

Here;s another one for you. Hint: turn your volume UP.

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Doesn’t that look amazing? I recognized the faces of Derek Gow, Gerhard Schwab and Chris Jones in the clips, I’m assuming the other man is the researcher, but we’ll see. Here’s the media they released with their trailer.

We are SO excited to share this brand new teaser with you giving you a bit more of a glimpse into the incredible people, species and habitats Sophie Pavelle encountered this summer. From beavers within enclosures here in England to wild beavers in Scotland and Bavaria, join Sophie on a journey of discovery as she learns about what a future might look like with beavers living wild in our rivers and landscapes across Britain.

Oooh I can’t wait. The Beaver Trust in England has a VERY deep bench, and lots of talent just waiting in the wings to help them along. Expect great things. I do.

Finally a fine runner up from the people’s choice award for best photography from the Museum of Natural History.

Oliver Richter

Oliver has observed the European beavers near his home in Grimma, Saxony, Germany, for many years, watching as they redesign the landscape to create valuable habitats for many species of wildlife including kingfishers and dragonflies.

This family portrait is at the beavers’ favourite feeding place and, for Oliver, the image reflects the care and love the adult beavers show towards their young.

Beautiful Oliver, and welcome to our favorite photos beaver cannon. You’re among friends.