Category: Attitudes towards beavers

MUSICAL BEAVERS IN WYOMING

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers September 25, 2023

In 15 years of beaver watching I’ve become more disillusioned about relocation. Too often it involves risk: whether in the housing unit, without protection once released. or in the spaces their expected to settle. Does it work? Sometimes. Is it worth it? Sometimes. Is it kinder than killing the beavers outright? Sometimes.

When I think about relocation I remember what the elves told Frodo about advice. “Advice is a dangerous gift even from the wise to the wise.”

Besides the risk there’s the futility. The landowner who wants these beavers gone will just get new ones soon. Better to fix a problem than to move it.

Wyoming Halfway House Rehabilitates Instead Of Kills Delinquent Beavers

A halfway house for delinquent beavers is under construction at the Wyoming Game and Fish facility in Cody.

The beavers that will be temporarily housed there aren’t hardened criminals, they’re just doing the job nature intended them to do. But that work often includes knocking down shade trees around homes, building dams and sometimes plugging culverts and flooding roads.

What makes beavers a nuisance is when their work conflicts with civilization. This new relocation facility will temporarily house them until they can be moved to more suitable neighborhoods.

Jenny DeSarro, executive director of Wyoming Untrapped, a Jackson non-profit, said beavers provide a “huge” ecological value to Wyoming.

“We feel like it’s a win-win for everybody when we can keep beavers on the landscape,” she said. “Beaver relocation is a better alternative to lethal removal.”

DeSarro said beavers help replenish aquifers and create habitat for many other animals including moose, waterfowl and fish.

Wyoming Untrapped contributed about $10,000 to the construction of the new facility. It is expected to be open for business by next spring, she said.

Yes they do all that. but they will have to do it somewhere else because Mr. Smith doesn’t want his aquifer recharged or to see more birds on his property. Beavers are only permitted to replenish CERTAIN aquifers…Understand?

Cody Pitz is a wildlife biologist and beaver expert for the Jackson non-profit, Wyoming Wetlands. Pitz is the warden for the non-profit’s own beaver jailhouse located near Jackson. The facility opened last spring and has since provided temporary housing for about 30 beavers, he said.

The relocation facility can hold four family groups, which can include as many as ten animals each. It’s important for the relocation process to keep the families whole as much as possible, he said. That way they tend to stay together after a suitable place for relocation is found.

The Wyoming Wetlands facility has four 330-gallon pools of water for the beavers to use and keep cool during hot weather. Pitz said beavers don’t perspire so keeping them shaded and providing water prevents overheating.

The facility also has steel dens for the beavers to live in and to help recapture them for relocation.

“How it works is we take nuisance animals that would otherwise be killed and we offer to live trap them and relocate them,” he said. “We work with Wyoming Game and Fish and the Bridger-Teton National Forest to relocate them farther away from people.”

Pitz said they are careful in selecting proper areas for relocation to avoid future conflicts.

“We are not just deciding on our own where to relocate nuisance beavers,” he said. “We work with government agencies in deciding where they (beavers) are needed.”

Wyoming Wetlands also works with local landscapers to obtain aspen trees to feed the captive beavers. Aspen is their favorite food, but Pitz said they also eat apples, squash, corn and potatoes.

The non-profit contracts with local trappers who catch problem beavers in live traps.

I’m always a little comforted by an effort to locate family groups but still…it’s hard work for the beavers. And a lot of work for the humans.

The new beaver husbandry facility in Cody is designed with three primary considerations. First is efficiency of handling with minimal stress to the animals. Second is the well-being of the animals while they are in captivity and third is ease of maintenance and cleaning.

According to Wyoming Untrapped, the facility will include four fenced units, each consisting of a fenced concrete raceway, a feeding area and a den. A concrete den with underwater access will be constructed at the end of each raceway. The dens are lined with a removeable steel crate in order to remove beavers for transport.

Cody is an ideal location for the facility because it’s located in an area where conflicts between beavers and people consistently occurr. It has the potential to provide a source of beavers for adjacent regions as well, according to Wyoming Untrapped.

“The project would serve as a pilot to demonstrate the efficacy of this approach with the long-term goal of establishing other facilities in strategic locations in the state,” according to Wyoming Untrapped.

Other partners in the $80,000 project include Wyoming Tourism for Tomorrow and Mary Rumsey.

Every person I know who has really researched this issue is kind of iffy on its benefit. Vanessa Petro says the relocation is more likely to be successful when the beaver is moved within the same watershed, but how often does does that occur?

To paraphrase Tolkein: Beaver relocation is a dangerous gift even when done by the careful for the caring.

BEAVERS IN THE DAILY KOS

I’m so old today that I can remember when the daily Kos was the shiny new thing and Markos himself was on meet the press Those days are long gone but apparently left a highwater mark because look what I found yesterday…

Hi! I’m a long-time lurker! In April 2021, I was minding my own business, watching TV with my husband, when I scrolled through Facebook and discovered that there was a family of beavers in my Chicagoland suburb that was about to be trapped and killed by an HOA because they were damaging trees. Humans confuse me. They plant amazing natural settings and then get mad when nature moves in. Anyway, a group of us sprang into action. We created a Facebook group, wrote a press release, talked to the media, held a rally, and got the HOA to agree not to trap and kill the beavers.

Hey that sounds familiar doesn’t it.

But then I started thinking. “My” beavers were going to have babies (kits) who eventually were going to disperse, and then those juvenile beavers would be at risk of being trapped and killed. I read Ben Goldfarb’s book, Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter, and I knew what I needed to do. Obviously, I needed to form a nonprofit, the Illinois Beaver Alliance, and I needed to go to graduate school and get a certificate in Environmental Law & Policy so I would have some qualifications to become a beaver advocate. So I did!

Wow. I know that story too. Hey this is Rachel Schick Siegel. What a great place to tell the story.

Beavers are amazing ecosystem engineers who provide valuable ecosystem services for humans. Beaver ponds purify water; recharge aquifers; raise water tables; create habitat for fish, birds, amphibians, and mammals; and create floodwater storage capacity. Beaver ponds don’t burn, so more beavers would help combat wildfires in arid regions. In fact, more beavers would help us develop climate resilience in the face of climate change. And they are skilled engineers who work for free. Beaver restoration, a type of low-tech, process-based river restoration, is being used out west to restore salmon habitat; and in the Plains states to raise water tables for livestock.

I like this story! I may start reading the daily Kos again!

So I started to think about Illinois environmental problems, and I realized that while we are trapping and killing hundreds of “nuisance” beavers every year (not to mention the thousands being trapped for their pelts, with no bag limits), we are also spending $25 million+ per year on our “Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy.” The Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy, aimed at reducing point source pollution (wastewater and stormwater treatment facility discharge) and nonpoint source pollution (agricultural runoff) from entering out watersheds, which then feed into the Mississippi River, which then feeds into the Gulf of Mexico and causes a big dead zone, is at some level a failure—every year we fall further behind in our goals. But what if we had wider riparian buffers, with more beaver wetlands to filter out the nitrogen and phosphorus? We have water quality issues, we have loss of habitat which leads to loss of biodiversity, and we also will have a lot more flooding in upcoming years due to anthropogenic climate change leading to changing precipitation patterns.

So what if, instead of trapping and killing all of those beavers, we coexisted with them instead, using proven tools such as culvert fencing and pond levelers to prevent flooding that would damage human infrastructure? You can find out more about “flow devices” at the Beaver Institute website!

Yeah what if we did it right instead of stupid? Go Rachel.

Anyway, the Illinois Beaver Alliance, along with the Superior Bio-Conservancy in Wisconsin, has been planning a virtual, two-day Midwest Beaver Summit. We held our first day last week. Here is an article about it that appeared in the Chicago Tribune. It’s behind a paywall, though, so you can access it elsewhere; here is one reprint in the Seattle Times.

The second day is tomorrow, and you are invited to register! Midwest Beaver Summit Registering will also gain you access to the videos recordings of all the presentations.

Last week, Dr. Emily Fairfax and author Leila Philip both gave presentations. They were also featured on CBS This Morning last Sunday. Here is the link to that segment.

Anyway, I hope to see you tomorrow at Day 2 of the Midwest Beaver Summit, and that I can convince some of you to become Beaver Believers!!! Currently there are 795 registrants for the event. We have hundreds of people signed up who work for state and federal natural resource management agencies, land trusts, environmental nonprofits, watershed groups, and other stakeholders, from the Midwest states in general and across the entire nation!

Go Rachel! And Go Midwest Beaver Summit! What a great birthday present for me and beavers everywhere.

MICROTHERIOMYS ARTICULAQUATICUS

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers, Beaver Behavior, History September 18, 2023

So the birthday beaver bash continues with beavers on CBS news over the weekend and a fine appearance with Leila and Emily to boot. I will share that soon but this news has waited 30,000,000 years already so it gets to go first.

30-million-year-old amphibious beaver fossil is oldest ever found

A new analysis of a beaver anklebone fossil found in Montana suggests the evolution of semi-aquatic beavers may have occurred at least 7 million years earlier than previously thought, and happened in North America rather than Eurasia.

In the study, Ohio State University evolutionary biologist Jonathan Calede describes the find as the oldest known amphibious beaver in the world and the oldest amphibious rodent in North America. He named the newly discovered species Microtheriomys articulaquaticus.

Calede’s findings resulted from comparing measurements of the new species’ anklebone to about 340 other rodent specimens to categorize how it moved around in its environment – which indicated this animal was a swimmer. The Montana-based bone was determined to be 30 million years old – the oldest previously identified semi-aquatic beaver lived in France 23 million years ago.

Watery beaver! Just so you understand this isn’t a new FIND but a new understanding of the previously found fossil because god knows people get the wrong ideas about beavers all the time. This little beaver adapted to life in the water SEVEN MILLION YEARS earlier than we used to think. And it happened in north America, not Europe.

The scientists, including Calede, who found the bones and teeth of the new beaver species in western Montana knew they came from beavers right away because of their recognizable teeth. But the discovery of an anklebone, about 10 millimeters long, opened up the possibility of learning much more about the animal’s life. The astragalus bone in beavers is the equivalent to the talus in humans, located where the shin meets the top of the foot.

Calede took 15 measurements of the anklebone fossil and compared it to measurements – over 5,100 in all – of similar bones from 343 specimens of rodent species living today that burrow, glide, jump and swim as well as ancient beaver relatives.

Running computational analyses of the data in multiple ways, he arrived at a new hypothesis for the evolution of amphibious beavers, proposing that they started to swim as a result of exaptation – the co-opting of an existing anatomy – leading, in this case, to a new lifestyle.

“In this case, the adaptations to burrowing were co-opted to transition to a semi-aquatic locomotion,” he said. “The ancestor of all beavers that have ever existed was most likely a burrower, and the semi-aquatic behavior of modern beavers evolved from a burrowing ecology. Beavers went from digging burrows to swimming in water.

As I have painfully learned this year, anklebones are very important and understanding the right way to use them so they do not break is even more important.

Microtheriomys articulaquaticus did not have the flat tail that helps beavers swim today. It likely ate plants instead of wood and was comparably small – weighing less than 2 pounds. The modern adult beaver, weighing 50 pounds or so, is the second-largest living rodent after the capybara from South America.

It looks like when you follow Cope’s Rule, (Keep getting larger as you evolve) it’s not good for you – it sets you on a bad path in terms of species diversity,” Calede said. “We used to have dozens of species of beavers in the fossil record. Today we have one North American beaver and one Eurasian beaver. We’ve gone from a group that is super diverse and doing so well to one that is obviously not so diverse anymore.”

Less than 2 pounds! That’s the size of a baby muskrat! I wonder what they looked like. And would still like to know when they started building dams…

Now because we all were good and did our science lesson for the day we get to go to the movies. Enjoy…

IDAHO: AND THEN THERE WERE TWO

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers, BDA's, Beavers and water September 13, 2023

We all know the wonderful story of Jay Wilde and his work with Joe Wheaton to bring back beavers in his farm. But did you know there are others? This story has a fantastic video introduction to Jason Fellows and his appreciate of beavers but I can’t embed it here. Click on the headline and watch it for yourself. I promise it’s worth it.

Idaho farmer forges a sustainable future for his land with Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs)

When beavers and their dams disappeared in the 90s, the land around Jason Fellows’ Idaho farm started losing water because the stream was moving too fast down the hill. Jason remembered where those dams were and has built Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs) to bring sustainability to the soil, and the water, and to attract beavers back into the area.

Did you go watch the video? It’s worth it just to hear a man say “Crick” and “Riparian” in the same sentence. I’m telling you.

Four years ago, the Fellows noticed a decline in stream flow on their property. It was a concerning trend that led them to reminisce about days past when beavers inhabited the creek, and their presence had a positive impact on water retention.

The brothers decided to install BDAs in their creek to address the issue, aiming to replicate the beaver’s natural water management.

“Our goal in doing the Beaver Dam Analog projects was to make our place more sustainable,” Jason said.

This innovative approach to water management proved to be prophetic during a year with a high snowpack and intense runoff. The BDAs, filled with sediment, showcased their effectiveness in preventing soil erosion and maintaining creek stability. In contrast, other creeks in the area without BDAs experienced significant erosion and deepened channels.

BDAs conserve water as well as foster biodiversity. Riparian areas along riverbanks where water dissipates are critical for wildlife. Beaver presence in these areas—or the implementation of BDAs—significantly reduces the risk of wildfires, as they remain moist and act as natural firebreaks.

I always get a little nervous in these kind of articles because I’m not sure how they feel about ACTUAL BEAVERS but Jason is our kind of man and he reassured me:

However, while implementing this man-made fix was vital, Fellows also recognized the larger goal of the project as a way to attract beavers back to the area.

“The big thing about a BDA is you want to attract a beaver back in,” he said. “But if you don’t have a pool of water where a beaver feels safe, the beaver won’t come.”

For Fellows and his fellow farmers and ranchers, sustainability is not an abstract concept. It is a daily practice rooted in the land and its future.

“As farmers and ranchers, we focus on providing for future generations and taking care of the land,” Fellows said.

Jason you are a wise man and we salute you.

PALO ALTO BEAVER SHOWS UP IN LA TIMES

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers September 11, 2023

Wow! That popular little Stanford beaver has made it all the way to the LA Times. Congratulations Bill!

Baby beaver sighting inspires hopes of a California comeback

Bill Leikam was reviewing footage from a wildlife camera he placed along a Palo Alto creekbed recently when something unfamiliar scampered across the screen.

“I have enough experience with the wildlife out there to be able to identify every one of them just by their movement — this one had me baffled,” said Leikam, president and co-founder of the Urban Wildlife Research Project. “I’d never seen a critter out there moving like this little guy did.”

Leikam, who is better known as The Fox Guy, watched the clip over and over. Eventually, he recognized the mysterious creature as a critically important species that has long been missing from his beloved Baylands — a mammal that California wildlife officials have hailed as a “climate hero.”

“I just stopped and said to myself, ‘Is that a baby beaver?’” Leikam said.

It’s always good news when folks are excited about beavers. Never mind that Bill actually sent this video to beaver expert Heidi Perryman for verification and SHE confirmed it was a beaver. We don’t have any time to talk to people who actually observe beavers. There’s only time to talk to people that STUDY beavers.

The kit sighting in Matadero Creek has been confirmed by local wildlife experts and even a historical ecologist. It marks the first time in decades — if not more than a century — that a beaver colony has taken up residence in this region south of the San Francisco Bay.

For state wildlife officials and “beaver believers,” the camera trap images are cause for celebration. After being hunted and harassed for hundreds of years, the North American beaver is poised to make a comeback in the Golden State, and its resurgence could help fight certain effects of climate change.

While there have been other recent reports of beaver activity across the Bay Area, Leikam said this is the first concrete evidence. More importantly, it suggests a successful re-population of the area.

Last fall, Leikam spotted a pair of beavers along Matadero Creek and hoped they would settle in and create a beaver pup.

“It’s unique that they’re establishing,” said Emily Fairfax, a longtime California beaver researcher who now works as an associate professor at the University of Minnesota. “This is a stamp of approval to have a beaver move in.”

Since the mid- to late 1800s, when California beavers were pushed nearly to extinction by the fur trade, the semi-aquatic rodents have made small inroads into the Bay Area and other regions — a process complicated by the lining of tributaries with concrete, making them inhospitable for the flat-tailed animal.

Hi Rick! Nice to see them discuss your work. So we have discussions with the cancer researcher and the man who studies foxes, who else can we get?

“It’s one thing if you find a dispersing beaver somewhere, it’s a totally different ballgame when you find that you have an established, reproducing population,” said Valerie Cook, manager of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s newly established Beaver Restoration Program. “It really reflects that shift in perception and people starting to recognize that these are not a nuisance species.”

For decades, developers, municipalities and farmers focused on beavers as a problem that required mitigation or removal. Now, the species known as Castor canadensis is seen as offering myriad benefits: It can help to mitigate drought and wildfires through natural water management; it is considered a keystone species for its ability to foster biodiversity; and it can restore habitat through its ecosystem engineering.

“They can create wetlands in basically any ecosystem,” said Fairfax, who described beavers as a free workforce that California has yet to take full advantage of. “The fires are catastrophic and the droughts are widespread and unrelenting — it feels like we have to exhaust all options.”

While experts have known the advantages of beavers for decades — a 1950 Outdoor California magazine highlighted a short-lived effort to move beavers via parachute to improve water supplies — it’s only in the last year that state officials have formed a new beaver restoration program.

Oh excellent! Tdhey got Valerie to weigh in! Did I mention that her other job is head of the nutria eradication program?

“California is paving a pathway forward for beavers to have a much better future in this state and to actually be part of dealing with things like droughts and floods and wildfires,” Fairfax said.

There are no population estimates for California beavers, but Fairfax said the numbers statewide are “relatively tiny.”

“Everywhere could use more,” she said. Other western states, such as Colorado and Utah, have supported beavers more aggressively in the last few years, and Fairfax said she is hopeful California can begin to catch up.

For Leikam, who has been monitoring this area of Palo Alto Baylands for more than a decade, the new beaver offspring is the latest sign of an improving ecosystem.

“I’m optimistic about wildlife,” said Leikam, who has spent years tracking gray foxes.

While he has yet to see evidence that this new beaver family is building a dam — he suspects they are living in deep burrows within the creek’s bank — he’s hopeful he might see one in the future, which would support a host of new animals.

“This new beaver family is really imdportant if they survive and reproduce,” said Lanman,d who hopes they expand their range in the Bay Area. “It’s just remarkable.”

Good, You’ve spoken to the hydrologist too. That’s a complete set of folks that haven’t spent a significant portion of their life observing beavers. You know what I would have said if they asked me? In the last decade 34 of the 58 counties in California have sought depredation permits for permission to kill beaver so I’m going to say if there are enough beavers to kill we can probably assume they are reproducing in the area.

Just like they were in Martinez.

Welcome to the neighborhood little Matadero creek beaver.