Archaeologist finds ancient beaver teeth in eastern Oregon — earliest record of the animal in North America
Nice Article from Ken Cole at The Wilderness News about the 7.2 million old beaver teeth found in eastern Oregon. Here’s my favorite part but you should go read it all:
Beavers play an important role in North America and its ecology. Beaver dams provide enormous benefits for all kinds of wildlife. In the West, they are very beneficial to trout by providing slower water refuges where the fish can grow to larger sizes, thus producing more eggs and offspring. The riparian vegetation that grows in association with beaver dams also creates habitat for songbirds and other wildlife.
He goes on to mention that some regions have been so damaged by cattle grazing that beaver could never be reintroduced because there isn’t enough soil to support willow. I suggested he take look at this and maybe rethink that position:
Lookee what I got yesterday when I helped Sherri start up a facebook page! (Go friend her so she gets practice.) She wants a beautiful website like ours and is looking for some hardy souls to help her. I told her I would put out the APB, but in the meantime she could make things work with FB.This article was just published about her involvement with Estes Valley and apparently another big one is on the way.
Stan Gengler, executive director of the Estes Valley Recreation and Parks District (EVRPD), told the gathered citizens at the town board room on Friday that he wanted to hear everyone’s thoughts and concerns and that the meeting provided a great opportunity to talk about the assets of the trails and the beaver ponds. He assured worried citizens that the EVRPD doesn’t want to get rid of the beaver dam and doesn’t want the beavers to move. They are an environmental asset, he said, to applause.
“I hope we (can) come together and find the best alternative for constructing a trail, as well as for preserving the beaver habitat,” he said. “We’re not bulldozing the beaver ponds.”
Now this sounds like a community that appreciates beavers! Everyone’s suggestions were heard at the meeting, including the one to make the trail into a catwalk and the one to make the whole path cantalever!Sherri of course offered real alternatives, and I’m sure they’ll get it all figured out soon.
Tippie said that the problem with removing the dam is that engineers would have to go deep — it’s not just a matter of “taking out the sticks at the top.” That would lead to draining the pond, which is not as easy for the beavers to build back. Beavers, themselves, act as flood-control engineers, she added. They shouldn’t be relocated and have had enough harassment already, she said.
“If people don’t like beavers, they don’t know anything about them,” she said. “They are a keystone species, providing habitat for wildlife and stimulating growth of trees. This is an incredible opportunity. It can be a win/win, with a plan to make as minimal impact on the dam as possible….People are coming here to enjoy the wildlife. We have to plan around them….You have to have a soft touch, anytime you do anything with the earth. Bulldozers scare the snot out of me.”
Just a final note, when I was chatting with the filmaker yesterday about who she had talked to and who should be next, I asked about Sherri. She laughed, “Are you kidding? She was amazing, girlfriend!”.(Sherri often expresses her affection for friends by calling them “girlfriend”). I guess this impersonation was proof that they had chatted!
(I wonder how she’ll imitate me?)
You can read the whole delightful article article here.
Update from Skip: Now we’re heard from all out beaver friends post-Irene
We’re fine. Thanks. On high ground. The state got devastated though.
All of our b-dams held, absorbing enormous amounts of water, and taking the edge off below. All flow devices are fine, and many acted as debris catches, protecting culverts from clogging, and hence the roads.
Wild Heart Ranch is a labor of love in Oklahoma that works closely with our friend the Skunk Whisperer. They rehabilitate injured everythings and do their best to give them a second (or first) chance on life. Cheryl pointed out to me that they recently acquired a baby beaver, who was joined last night by another baby beaver that had been trapped in fishing line for two days. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty certain that is the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. Here’s what she wrote about the second kit last night
New beaver kit. Pretty bad shape. He’s been floating caught in fishing line. Stomach is a mess. Little guy was hypothermic and dehydrated. Going to be a long night.
And this morning…
We are watching little Buddy Beaver around the clock tonight. He has been through a lot, but when I scratched his back, he kicked his little leg. Thats a good sign. Reflexes are starting to work and his body temp… is FINALLY stable. It took HOURS to get his core temp up. I am hopeful, and little Justin is in there with him, snuggled up. Breaks my heart what this baby went through and survived. I want so badly to pull him through this. Brave little thing. It must have been an absolute horror to have been snagged in fishing line, his mother lost, at least 2 nights alone bobbing in the water, and the rescuers said their were copperheads everywhere. When he came in, his mouth was bloody from trying to chew himself free. He is younger and smaller than justin. Breaks my heart!
later
Wild Heart Ranch Good news! Little beaver kit not only pulled through, but is up and active and playing with Justin Beaver this morning! I want to have a T shirt made that says “I ♥ B-12 & Pancake syrup!!” Thats always seemed to be the ticket. Heat them back up SLOWLY, a little sugar, a little B-12 shot, VIOLA! If they havent been too cold for too long, we have a lot of luck with this method, and by golly prayers help too! 🙂
Well, I can think of one t-shirt you’ll be getting right away. Their website offers account of the compassionate origins of Wild Heart Ranch…
Annette King Tucker began this venture in 1996 after purchasing a small farm outside of Claremore Oklahoma to “get away” from it all. Assisting wayward animals having always been a passion, it was natural for Annette to begin populating her farm with various animals in need. It wasn’t long before a friend brought her a pair of orphaned raccoon kits, and the rest is history! She discovered her life’s purpose in the welfare of two little masked bandits having nowhere else to go, and Wild Heart Ranch was born!
Hmm. Labor of love indeed. Up in the Sierras where my parents live, there used to be a wildlife rehabber who attended their church. She’d sit through mass bottle feeding tiny foxes or raccoons because they couldn’t go without being fed for the time it would take her to get to town on her own. She worked 365 days a year, from dawn to dawn and lived on a shoestring of donations from kind-hearted folk who knew that this work was worth doing. She happened to be an ex-cop who said she had retired because ‘that work was too demanding’.
Well, good luck taking care of these little beavers, and let us know if you need anything. We are grateful everyday for the work of folks like you.
I woke up this morning thinking of a nonsense rhyme I learned when I was a child and wondering why it had never occurred to me to adapt it before now.
If you watched the generally remarkable Oregon Field Guide you probably remember the clip of the uncomfortable-looking biologist holding the squirming beaver kit by its tail as he releases it all-to-willingly into the water. Expert beaver relocator Sherri Tippie had an unsurprising reaction to that image, and wrote:
Heidi, You’ve probably seen this – but I was freaked out, you should NEVER carry a beaver by the tail like this guy did! You can break their tail!!! Otherwise the video is wonderful!! I yelled when I saw that! It’s really easy to break their tails, especially the young ones. He was afraid of the baby. . . I bet that’s why he grabbed him like that. I do like that idea of sticking posts in the water. I would like to try that. Love, Sherri
Hmmm. Powerful advice from a passionate expert. It forced me to try some Monday morning poetry. The amusing column on the left was written by Jack Pretlusky, the first ever children’s poet laureate and generally remarkable writer. The column on the right is my homage.What ever you might think of my attempt, in the unlikely event that the opportunity should present itself, don’t neglect the advice!
Weighing only about one pound each when admitted, the beaver kits grew up together at PAWS Wildlife Center. By the time they were released, they had spent more than a year in PAWS’ care.As the beavers matured they practiced their construction skills. All of the wood around the hide box in the background was placed there by the beavers.After they were placed in the lodge, the beavers came out to explore. Having had minimal human contact at PAWS, they were wary of the people who were there to wish them well. Everyone soon left so the beavers could explore in peace.A floating lodge that staff built is serving as a temporary home for the beavers. PAWS Wildlife Facilities Caretaker Jim Green and Wildlife Rehabilitation Manager Dondi Byrne get the lodge ready at the release site.
How cute is that floating lodge! Is it just me or do you WANT one? I bet our beavers could use one of those….it’s not a luxury. When Leonard and Lois Houston relocated some beavers in Oregon last year one of the families was eaten by a moutain lion because they hadn’t time to build a shelter yet. There’s a lot of stupid news in beaver world this morning, with North Carolina undertaking some statewide genocide, Alabama paying for tails and Province deciding to “lower” the beaver population. Before we have the spirit to tackle all that stupid, I though the PAWS story would give us something to smile about.
