CDFW program would reintroduce beavers to struggling waterways

Considered a nuisance for years, state officials are looking at beavers as a tool to fight wildfires and repair waterways. Kelsi Thorud reports. (8/30/23)

BEAVER WETLANDS INCREASE IN VALUE

heidi08 Beavers August 30, 2023

Well official now. Wetlands are fair game. Yesterday the Biden administration enacted the supreme courts ruling that removed their protections from filling and pollution.

Now it’s up to the states and their beavers. From the New York Times:

In May, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government can no longer control discharges into wetlands near bodies of water unless they have “a continuous surface connection” to those waters.

That effectively made thousands of wetlands and waterways off limits to any government pollution controls because they do not connect directly to larger bodies of water.

Experts in environmental law said the decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency would leave many wetlands subject to pollution without penalty, and White House officials said it would jeopardize sources of clean drinking water.

Still, on Tuesday, the administration said it was abiding by that ruling by issuing a new regulation that essentially exempts millions of streams, marshes and wetlands from federal protection. Michael Regan, the E.P.A. administrator, said that neither he nor the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had any choice.

IDAHO AND THE BEAVER-DAM JAM

One of the very first beaver stories I remember reporting on from another state with real admiration was the story of Mike Settell leading beaver count for Audubon in the city of Pocatello Idaho. I was so impressed that he had even managed to get a grant from Audubon to count beavers because they meant so much to birds. I was trilled to meet Mike at the State of the Beaver C0nference and pass on anything we had learned in Martinez.

And now look.

10th annual Beaver Dam Jam Idaho set for Sept. 9 at FMC Park to benefit Watershed Guardians

POCATELLO — The 10th annual Watershed Guardians Beaver Dam Jam Idaho, to support beaver conservation, will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Sept. 9 at the FMC Park west of Chubbuck.

“We’ll have organizations with booths, activities for youth, live music, food trucks, raffles and fly-casting seminars,” said Mike Settell, Watershed Guardian founder. “It’s in a beautiful setting and we are offering special pricing for car-pooling. Hope to see you there.”

There will be games and activities for kids. Up to three local bands will be performing. No dogs are allowed except permitted service dogs.

GO MIKE and the Watershed Guardians! You continue to be an inspiration!

Tickets are $40 a carload and are available online from Brown Paper Tickets at BeaverDamJam tickets, https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6113273.

Watershed Guardians helps the Portneuf Watershed, by helping beaver. Proceeds from the events will support BeaverCount, a free winter event to census beaver colonies in the Portneuf Watershed.

Funds raised help us pay for snowshoe and ski rental for our annual BeaverCount,” Settell said. We don’t have a city, agency or corporate entity covering operating expenses. We are 100% volunteer. Your support goes a long way.”

Funds also support beaver mitigation projects in rural areas such as BeaverDeceivers, pond levelers and tree coatings.

For more information, visit the website WatershedGuardians.org

More information on the event is also available by contacting Mike Settell at 208-220-3336 or mike@watershedguardians.org.

Idaho officials have been gradually stepping up to the idea that beavers are worth having ar0und and it is no exaggeration to say that Mike is the Endless Pressure Endlessly applied that got them there. He has been a voice for beavers and a burr under the saddle of every oblivious trapping advocate for more than a decade.

Congratulations Mike for all that you’ve accomplished.

OVER/UNDER THE BEAVER POND

heidi08 Beavers August 28, 2023

I’ve been hunting around for the best over/under illustrations I can find to inspire our artists Amy and Amelia to think along those lines for the beaver festival. I came across this by an artist by the last name of Ender from Boston that I just adore. You can see it’s missing a beaver at the moment, but I’m sure that’s just an oversight…

IF YOU WANT SOMETHING DONE ASK A BEAVER

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers, Beaver ecological impact, Beavers and water August 27, 2023

Supposedly Maggie Thatcher famously said “if you want something said ask a man, if you want something done ask a woman”. Which is very true and mostly more likeable than anything else I ever heard about her. Well maybe that’s true for beavers too.

Dr. Katie Holzer is a Watershed Scientist with the City of Gresham, Oregon. She completed her doctoral degree in Conservation Ecology at the University of California, Davis, where she studied amphibian habitats in urban and agricultural areas in the Pacific Northwest. Her research focuses on the human-animal-ecosystem connections affecting urban stormwater runoff and its impacts on freshwater habitats and water quality.

Earlier this week she presented her findings at the beaver institute and this part really blew me away. One treatment storage pond had a series of manmade steps to clear out particles and some beavers moved in and built dams RIGHT on top of them Here’s how they worked with and without beavers.