Category: Beaver relocation

TODDLER RELEASED ON LOCAL HIGHWAY

It turns out, that to relocate beaver successfully, you have to care whether they live or die.

I know it’s a lot to ask, Mostly people just care that they’re GONE, I know, but you have to spare a thought for, Oh I don’t know, how is that beaver going to survive in its new home and have I really made things better by relocating him rather than putting him out of my misery? I mean you could idly glance at the internet and learn a little bit about best practices before you do it.

But maybe that’s too hard. It certainly seems too hard.

Banished beaver gets second chance in San Pedro River

Rather than kill the “nuisance animal,” Steven Martin from Critter Control of Northern Arizona worked with the Tucson-based Watershed Management Group to find the beaver a welcoming new home at an educational nature center on the San Pedro near Sierra Vista.

“We were all really excited. It made our week,” Martin said. “You don’t always get a win in this business, so it was nice to have a win.”

Private landowners in the small community of Cornville hired him to get rid of the beaver after trying and failing to keep the animal away from the cottonwood trees on their creek-front property.

The thing is, the trapper probably feel like HEROES for going the extra – well not mile – but certainly 7 inches -and live capturing and releasing the beaver rather than killing it outright. The landowner feels like a saint because they wanted him moved instead of killed and the trapper feels like a wildlife hero because he was willing to do it. Of course a beaver alone in strange territory has no guarantee of survival and its odds would be better if they had A) thought to provide it shelter and b) thought to capture a family member at the same time.

This is about as noble as ‘catching the toddler’ from your neighbors kitchen and “setting it free” on the local highway.

That’s when Shipek turned to naturalist Sandy Anderson, whose nonprofit Gray Hawk Nature Center sits on private property and includes a stretch of the San Pedro River that has hosted beavers in the past.

Anderson was more than happy to welcome the transplant from up north. “Are you kidding me?” she said. “I told them, ‘Bring that beaver to me.’”

The aquatic rodents were once plentiful on the San Pedro, but they were hunted to extinction there in the early 1900s.

If beavers were first trapped out of the San Pedro in the early 1900’s I will eat a bug. But hey, it’s your article. Write whatever you like.

Within a decade, the population grew to more than 100 animals, only to decline again for reasons experts still can’t explain.

Now Watershed Management Group and others are trying to bolster beavers on the San Pedro and other so-called international rivers in the deserts of Arizona and Mexico.

Call it a hunch, but if you wonder what happened to all those beavers I would start talking to the neighbors. Because if I’ve learned anything in this 15 years it’s that most dangerous animal as far as beavers are concerned is about six feet and walks on two legs.

And it ain’t an ostrich.

SCOTLAND GETS A 21-BEAVER SALUTE

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers, Beaver relocation, Beavers and Scotland January 11, 2021

You might remember that Scotland had an”Official beaver reintroduction” and an “unofficial one”. The unnoffcal one resulted in around 300 beavers across the Tay and recently reported the horrific 80-something murders by farmers unsettled by their presence. The official one just got a big population boost and is celebrating.

It’s all going swimmingly: Releasing 21 more beavers is ‘a success’

Scottish Beavers, a partnership between the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, released 21 more beavers into the area between 2017 and 2019 to bolster the population.

Monitoring throughout 2020 shows the endangered species are now “more widespread and breeding throughout the area”.

The final report from the Scottish Beavers Reinforcement Project reveals the genetic diversity of Knapdale’s beaver population has increased, which is important for its future survival.

The new beavers brought to Knapdale were sourced primarily in Tayside and originate from Bavaria, while the original Scottish Beaver Trial population was sourced in Norway.

Mind you that last sentence is especially encouraging, because it means that beavers were relocated from areas they weren’t wanted rather than killed outright. Of course they probably had to spend months in quarantine and pass all kinds of genetic tests first, but it’s still good news.

Gill Dowse, of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, said: “The trial was a landmark conservation project that showed how beavers can create and restore important wetland and native woodland habitats.

“A limited number of beavers were introduced during the trial so it was important to go back and release more, giving them a good chance to thrive.”

“After three years of fieldwork we can be confident this reinforcement project has been a success, and that we have done all we can to bolster the wild population in Knapdale.”

Dr Helen Taylor, RZSS conservation programme manager, said: “Monitoring the beaver population in Knapdale for the past three years and tracking the fortunes of these newly-released animals has painted a clear picture of a steadily growing population that is beginning to spread out into all the various waterways available in Knapdale Forest.

“It’s been fantastic that the project provided an initial solution for moving beavers from high-conflict areas in Tayside into Knapdale, where their positive impacts on the environment and on native biodiversity are clear to see.”

The article notes that there is no indication that the fancy Norway beavers have begun to breed with the scruffy Bavarian beavers yet, but give them time. Beavers don’t see borders.

Ms Taylor added: “After a 400-year absence from this country, beavers are back and we need to ensure they have a long-term future in Scotland, and throughout Britain.

“We need to make space for these incredible ecosystem engineers, build a better understanding of where the most suitable release sites are, and learn to live alongside them again so everyone can enjoy the benefits of beavers, while reducing human-wildlife conflict.”

Conservationists call the beaver a keystone species because its presence has such a major impact on the natural environment and its wildlife. They have been shown to increase an area’s amphibian and aquatic insect abundance, productivity and diversity and play a beneficial role in enhancing wetland processes, including strategic flood management and water quality improvements.

Can I get an amen? Gill says that Scotland needs a THRIVING and robust beaver population and I couldn’t agree more. California does too. Let’s learn from their example and start appreciating the good things that are right under our bridges.

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.

[wonderplugin_video iframe=”https://youtu.be/N1tyiWP9MSk” lightbox=0 lightboxsize=1 lightboxwidth=960 lightboxheight=540 autoopen=0 autoopendelay=0 autoclose=0 lightboxtitle=”” lightboxgroup=”” lightboxshownavigation=0 showimage=”” lightboxoptions=”” videowidth=600 videoheight=400 keepaspectratio=1 autoplay=0 loop=0 videocss=”position:relative;display:block;background-color:#000;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%;margin:0 auto;” playbutton=”https://www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wonderplugin-video-embed/engine/playvideo-64-64-0.png”]

BEAVER MORTALITY CONFOUNDS RESEARCHERS

heidi08 Beaver relocation, Dispersal October 23, 2020

Everyone has been thinking more about the desert beavers, as we get ready for the NM Summit. Apparently it grew out of advocates wish for Game and Fish to adopt a beaver management plan like Utah’s. Of course not ALL of Utah gets the idea. Some of the regions are still chugging along without a single beaverclue.

Beavers in the Desert? The Potential for Translocated Beavers to Serve as Restoration Tools in Desert Rivers

The USGS Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Utah State University (USU) is partnering with the Ecology Center (USU), the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, and U.S. Department of Agriculture-National Wildlife Research Center to evaluate the efficacy of beaver translocation for desert river restoration by comparing the fates, space use, and dam building activity of naturally occurring and translocated beavers in the Price and San Rafael Rivers in eastern Utah.

Beaver translocation is an alternative solution to lethal control that is gaining popularity. Beavers are taken from a conflict situation and translocated to a targeted area with the goal of harnessing their dams as a passive, cost-effective, and natural method of restoration. The challenge of translocation is getting beavers to stay, survive, and build dams in a specific area. Success of beaver translocation projects varies widely and lacks standardized best practices; failures are typically undocumented, and the cause of failure is often unknown.

Well it’s known by the beaver I dare say, but I guess that’s not what you mean.

So far, nine naturally occurring beavers have been captured and monitored, seven adult residents and two subadults, while 31 nuisance beavers have been translocated to the rivers, 18 adults and 13 subadults. All individuals were fitted with a tail-mounted radio-transmitter and a PIT- (passive integrated transponder) tag for post-release monitoring. Most (65%) of the translocated beavers have unknown fate, from radio-transmitter failure or individuals leaving the targeted restoration areas, while only 33% of resident beavers had unknown fate. Translocated beavers also experienced proportionally higher mortality (19% vs. 11%), primarily due to predation or exposure during drought. The only mortality of a naturally occurring beaver was a dispersing subadult, preyed upon by a mountain lion.

The researchers calculated the farthest straight-line distance an individual was detected from its release location to compare space use between resident and translocated beavers. Resident adult beavers exhibited an average maximum displacement of 0.58 km²and dispersing subadult beavers had an average of 42.76 km². Translocated adult beavers had an average maximum displacement of 79.13 km²and translocated subadult beavers had an average of 67.74 km².

Hmm I guess that means the relocaters got their release sight an average of 25 km wrong?

In this study, it appears that translocated beavers have not directly contributed to restoration efforts by building dams, likely due to their higher mortality rates and larger space use, spending more time traveling and exploring than remaining in an area and using their energy to construct a dam. This is similar to the behavior of dispersing subadults as they search for a new territory to establish. However, given the behavior of the translocated beavers and the wood-limited systems they were translocated into, the outcome likely would have been different if translocations were accompanied by the construction of structural features such as beaver dam analogues.

Yes it is very hard to build a maintain a dam when you’re dead. New research has shed light on the confounding effect of mortality. The researchers will remember not to overlook that fact next time? That’s encouraging.

This study also highlights the importance of post-release monitoring. If no monitoring of individual movements and behaviors were taking place, it may be falsely assumed that translocated beavers built the newly observed dams. Other studies have had varying success with translocation, but perhaps the initial results are an indicator that harsher, arid systems are more difficult for translocated beavers to establish. This could be due to poorer habitat quality, with the best habitat already occupied by naturally occurring beavers.

Those pesky beavers. We sprinkle them like table salt into dry areas and they either crawl to water or die outright. Sheesh who do they think they are?

THE BEAVER SHUFFLE

heidi08 Beaver ecological impact, Beaver relocation October 16, 2020

If you’re like me, you can see right away what’s wrong with this headline. Of all the neighbors I’ve had in my life, with their noisy parties, weed-smoking teenagers and squealing tires, beavers by far have been my favorite.

Beavers: Good environmental stewards, but lousy neighbors

EVERETT — In the Lake Chaplain watershed, beavers help ward off the impact of climate change and make streams more suitable for salmon.

But in the guardian of Everett’s water supply system, the creatures’ love of blocking running water is problematic.

The beavers stuff culverts with sticks, blocking water flow and fish passage. They build dams along the city’s service roads, flooding them. The wild, semi-aquatic rodents leave their mark well beyond Everett’s boundaries.

All over Snohomish County, beavers clash with the human-built environment when they set up shop on private properties or next to roads, causing flooding and damage to homes.

I’m so old that I can remember when Snohomish county was famous for resolving beaver conflicts by installing flow devices and protecting culverts. Now they just whisk the animals away and hope it will last for a few pages on the calendar. Jake Jacobsen used work for public works in Snohomish. He went on to collaborate with Skip Lisle and Michael Pollock and was my guiding light during my time on the subcommittee telling me how to deal with our beavers.

Well now the Tulalip tribe just takes them away.

Since 2014, wildlife biologists working with the Tulalip Tribes have moved beavers from areas in the Snohomish River watershed, where they’re considered nuisances, to new homes in Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest.

Last month, the national forest signed an agreement with the tribes to expand that work to the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River watershed — a critical habitat for endangered fish like Chinook, steelhead and bull trout, Tulalip chairwoman Teri Gobin said.

Just to be clear, I’m not saying the tribe does anything wrong or isn’t careful about the beavers. I’m just saying that the fact that new beavers come back year after year means that you are better off actually SOLVING the problem than simply moving it.

And beavers making a difference in the greenbelt in residential areas is GOOD news for cities. Increasing biodiversity, reducing erosion, improving water quality and a creating social cohesion for residents.

In the Snohomish watershed, the tribes have relocated close to 200 beavers.

The animals don’t always stick around permanently — but that’s not the tribes’ main focus.

Even if beavers abandon their new homes, they usually build a dam first, benefiting the surrounding habitat and hydrology. And the next beaver family might build on what’s already there.

The relocated beavers can create over 61,000 gallons of new surface water storage along a 328-foot stretch of stream, according to Benjamin Dittbrenner, who completed a dissertation based on the project for Northeastern University in 2019. The groundwater table can nearly double in size, as well.

Yes, Ben took over for Jake when the new boss decided flow devices were a mistake. That was 200 beavers ago. Let’s say 40-50 beaver families in 6 years.

In the Lake Chaplain watershed, the city of Everett has taken a different approach with persistent beaver residents.

“We have a lot of really great habitat and we normally welcome them,” senior environmental specialist Anna Thelen said. “But we do need to keep some roads clear of water for employees, trucks and what not.”

So staff do their best to mitigate the negative impacts beaver damming has without entirely removing the structures. If the beavers build a dam along a service road, staff will make a notch so water can get through.

“Sometimes (the beavers) are OK with the compromised water level, so they don’t feel the need to put the sticks back,” Thelen said.

It’s a delicate balance — and sometimes staff end up notching the same dam again and again. The work has gone on for years, and the city just received another five-year permit to continue.

Now THAT is work I admire. A commitment to coexistence. Deal with the beavers you have and prevent the issues that might arise. I feel the influence of years of Jake in this policy.

“They are determined little guys,” Thelen said.“… And we’d like to encourage them to stay.”