It never rains, but it pours!

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver News, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Dispersal, Earth Day, Festival March 27, 2013

Do you remember being a kid and running home so excited to tell a story that you could barely find the breath to carry your announcement? Maybe you wanted to get home before your brother so that you could tell it FIRST! This is how I feel this morning, but I will exercise a modicum of self control and tell you the most exciting news LAST because that’s the kind of girl I am.

Yesterday I received my April-June copy of Bay Nature and guess what I found on page 11? Very nice colors and eye-catching location. The undeniably first of its kind advertisement for a beaver festival they have ever had. Indeed, probably the first ad for a wildlife festival of any kind. Nice.

I know what you’re thinking. How can you possibly top that? Well, how about a positive beaver article from Texas? Yes, Texas.

Walls: Beavers have value in conservation

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, beavers were hunted extensively for the value of their pelts. By 1910, their populations became dramatically low in many parts of the United States. So low that strict regulation of their harvest was implemented. Their value as soil and water conservationists is well known by many educated land owners and sportsmen.

Mind you, its no High Country News or Canadian National Geographic, but its definitely note worthy from a state that is generally known for beaver badness. All good things have to start somewhere, and I hope we see more and more beaver ecology coming from the Lone Star State.

Which leads me to our third good news of the day, and the most exciting piece yet. First some context. Back in 2010 I was invited to speak about our beavers at the Santa Clara Creeks Coalition Conference, which was a delightful day that introduced me to some fantastic advocates. One of the folks who attended my talk and got excited about beavers was the executive director of the Guadalupe River Conservancy in San Jose. She introduced me to some folks who introduced me to some folks who got me invited to the California State Parks conference that year. She donated handsomely to us in 2011 and also really, really wanted to build a network of support for beavers in the Guadalupe, just in case she could get permission to introduce some down the road.

Um.

Guess what was just spotted beside the river near a certain aquatic-predator named team’s silicon valley stadium?

Oh and it looks like the world might be changing today.

Beaver Lies and the Lying Liars who tell them…

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver Rehabilitation, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Dispersal, Educational, Environmental March 22, 2013

Do you remember Teage O’connor? He was a faculty member of the University of Vermont who was interested in some local beavers and involving his students in studying their impact on the trees and pond. He installed some night cameras, corresponded with Worth A Dam, looked at information about flow devices. The Campus is located about 2 hours from Skip Lisle so I thought for sure things were going in the right direction. Then in December we read about kill traps being installed in the pond. And now this.

Melvin’s murder: the story

The UVM physical plant decided to take matters into their own hands by setting lethal traps that resulted in the death of one beaver. The problem?

Physical plant employees did not realize that one of these furry little creatures had a name, Melvin, and was being studied by an environmental class on campus.

Of course they did it during winter break when the risk of student outcry would be at a minimum. Of course they chose to use kill traps rather than actually solve the problem. What boggles my mind is that Teage and his students did everything right.

After the death of Melvin, Green Mountain Animal Defenders (GMAD) stepped in to give the University proper mitigation strategies and the traps were quickly removed by the hired trapper. A meeting took place between UVM, GMAD and John Aberth, a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. They discussed future plans of the retention pond. Lori Keppler of GMAD proposed a water flow control device, better known as a “beaver deceiver.”

Traps have an 84 percent failure rate, while these beaver deceivers have a 97 percent success rate, Keppler said. The beavers will work until the water stops running, they do not like the noise of running water. The resolution determined by the group was to let the beavers stay in the pond and see what they do come spring.

Well maybe this is a case of the wheels of justice turning more slowly than the wheels of bad decision. Teage just wrote and assures me that the University has arranged for a flow device to be installed in the spring. That the remaining beavers are fine and that no more will be killed. Okay then, I would advise you to believe it when you see it, but I can see you have some finely suspicious minds already working for your team. Go beavers!

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Third diesel-drenched beaver found at spill site

Looks like a third beaver was found in the diesel soaked pond in Utah. You know there are more. I’m not hopeful for their chances at this point but they should definitely keep looking.

The beaver was found Wednesday evening. It was transported to the rehab center Thursday, where it is being treated for prolonged exposure to the leaked fuel, which coated its body. The beaver’s skin was irritated, Erickson-Marthaler said, but responded well to a bath.

Keep looking for beavers, because grooming every night when you’re covered in Diesel is a death sentence, and I don’t mind saying it if nobody else will:

Beavers wrapped in towels are adorable.

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Finally some lies from Alaska that I just HAD to include because the constant forehead slapping this story provoked is giving me a headache. Can it possibly be true that the Alaska department of fish and game really isn’t familiar with Michael Pollocks findings on beavers and salmon? Really? He did his internship and began his research in Alaska!

Mat-Su blames drift fishery for poor runs

Pat Shields, area management biologist for ADF&G, disputes Knowles’ claim that while also targeting the commercial fisheries, listed high-seas bycatch and environmental issues, growing population in the Mat-Su and associated habitat issues, major flooding and invasive species like northern pike, although it did not mention problems with beaver dams restricting out-migration of smolt, which has been a persistent problem in the Susitna drainage, according to Shields.

“I’m not saying it’s all pike, we’re (ADF&G) not willing to only blame pike,” Shields said. “There are some habitat concerns, there are beaver dams. They’ve always been around, and of course we need to be concerned about harvest levels,” he noted.

Restricting out-migration? Really? I’ve heard the old yarn about salmon not being able to jump UP the dams, but do you honestly not know that rains and snow melt top dams and make it easy as pie for smolt to wash over the top? Let me get this straight: the ADF&Gs position is that it can’t be massive, money- raking, inexpensive drift nets exploiting all the salmon, it has to be those pesky beaver dams that make it hard for smolt to swim downstream.

The mind reels. The jaw drops. The fingers type.

Beaver Escort Service

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Dispersal, Environmental March 9, 2013

About this time every year we get stories about crazy yearling beavers scurrying across the highway or through a grocery store or over farm equipment. It’s dispersal time, and that means its time for two year olds to head off into the world and seek their fortune. Sometimes the stories end horribly, because dispersal is the most dangerous time of a beaver’s life. Sometimes they end with a sigh of relief because someone slowed down their car or helped the beaver through traffic and showed a little compassion.

And then sometimes there’s this.

Bumbling beaver escorted to safety by Oregon City Police (with video)

Oregon City Police escorted a beaver to Abernethy Creek on Thursday night after it was spotted wandering across McLoughlin Boulevard. Oregon City Police spokesman Lt. Jim Band said the beaver appeared to be lost and was walking toward the headlights of passing cars near 14th Street around 11:30 p.m.

Knowing beavers typically aren’t the friendliest or most cooperative creatures, Band said an officer tried to use a pole with a noose to catch the animal. However, the officer quickly realized the easiest way to get the beaver out of danger was to herd it back to Abernethy Creek.

For a long time I have revered Washington State and devoted my highest praise for its treatment of water and fish and beaver. I admired their culverts and their fish passage and their careful stewardship of watershed resources. I have practically strewn their name with rose petals in describing it as the most eco-savvy state in the union when it came to certain aquatic rodents. I thought my love would hold strong and that I would be faithful forever to Washington.

But, I’ve met someone new.

“It was a long walk that took several officers about 40 minutes, but there really was no better option,” Band said in a press release. “The beaver turned out to be pretty mellow, as you can see in the video.”

Once near the creek, the beaver scuttled down the bank, into the water and swam off, Band said. As expected, this scene drew a lot of attention from onlookers.

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Now a shout for helpers from our friends at Bird Rescue where our own Cheryl Reynolds is eager to add you to the team.

International Bird Rescue Volunteer Orientation:

Do you love helping wildlife? Then come be a part of our dedicated team and learn how you can help. International Bird Rescue is a non-profit wildlife hospital for injured and orphaned aquatic birds. Volunteers are needed to help in our wildlife hospital, transportation of wildlife and facilities support.

International Bird Rescue has been saving seabirds and other aquatic birds around the world since 1971. Bird Rescue cares for over 5,000 birds every year at its two bird rescue centers.

Our next orientation will be:

Saturday March 16, 2013, 10 am- 12 pm

at our SF Bay Center in Fairfield.

For more information please visit us. Or contact Cheryl.