Category: Beaver-themed merchandise

These are unusual beaver-themed designed merchandise we like. Some of the items have been donated to Worth A Dam, and some we just hope they will be soon.

What is in a name anyway?

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, City Reports, Who's saving beavers now? June 12, 2015

Beavers take over SPVP

Dr. Heidi Perryman will be at San Pedro Valley County Park Visitor Center on Saturday, June 6, at 6 p.m., for a talk she likes to call “Ecosystem Engineers in Martinez: understanding how and why to coexist with urban beavers.”

Beavers descended on Martinez in 2007, and by October of that year they had built a dam that the City Council determined could be a flooding hazard; the little dam builders were slated for extermination. Did the people of Martinez sit on their hands on this one? Come to the Visitor Center and find out about the story of the beavers in this Bay Area town.

Wow great start! So far I’m really impressed with this article that calls me Dr. and puts the story in context, making sure to give credit to the hundreds of concerned residents who made the difference! I’m sure it continues on in this wonderful vein, right?

Perryman is the president of “Give a Dam“, the citizens group that fought for the beavers. She is a child psychologist who’s probably naturally attracted to the problems of little creatures and says that she is used to speaking to a mixed age group; so bring your older children with you–probably age 10 and above. Dr. Perryman is part of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, where she helps investigate and implement social action for ecological health. She was also on the committee that first responded for action for the beavers after meeting with the city council back in 2007, and which eventually gave rise to the Martinez beavers’ website.

ARRRRRRRRRG! What a paragraph. Easily and verifiably wrong in so may ways. Why does the world seems so quick to change our name? When I contacted them about the press release the author explained she saw on the OAEC website this sentence:

“In 2012, Perryman, Lanman and Brock Dolman from the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center’s Water Institute wrote their first paper reviewing the evidence for beavers in the Sierra Nevadas.“

To wish I can only say, sheesh. Don’t colonize me with those your dangling participles! Rick and I were not from the OAEC (and by the way there was another author listed too). And as for the name of our ACTUAL organization – we aren’t stupid in Martinez. We know our city will NEVER give a dam. I have Ann Cameron Siegal to thank for this apt musical response.

On the “Worth a Dam” internet location you can investigate more about this industrious engineer: just how it contributes to the health of any area in surprising ways, why beavers are valuable to all of us, and where their original distribution was in California before these large rodents were devastated by the fur trade and habitat loss.

It’s a nice article and should bring a good turnout, which is good because Pacifica will have beavers of its own soon enough. And I can take a few moments to correct the misunderstandings. Of course I sent copies to the mayor last night, so he can see their publicity in action. Wish me luck. I HAVE to practice today. I’ve spent too much time lately mooning of the images of the Napa kits and wondering when ours will show. And yesterday I had an useful burst of beaver begging for the silent auction, where I found THIS wine label that made me laugh as hard as I can remember doing in a long while. I sure hope they donate.

Beavers in a whole new light

heidi08 Beaver Rehabilitation, Beaver-themed merchandise, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's Killing Beavers Now? March 21, 2015

Have you been seeing these around? They are advertisements for the new XXX vanilla, promoted as vegan and gluten-free and pointing out that most imitation vanilla’s are made from beaver castoreum, the glands in their nether region. Don’t know if that’s true, but the ads are fun.

I especially liked this one. Look at the feet:

There is more to entertain us today from the LA Times review of the soon-to-be-cult-classic new movie Zombeavers! Sounds like someone let the pun carry him away.

‘Zombeavers,’ about coeds and zombie mutants, is schlocky fun

“Zombeavers” is the mutant love child of horror specialist Troma, early Peter Jackson, Japanese kaiju flicks and Canadian television sketch comedies — a film that disgusts, terrifies and tickles in equal measure with grotesque creatures and a sickening sense of humor.

Three self-centered sorority sisters check in to a remote lodge for some girl time after Jenn (Lexi Atkins) discovers a photo of Sam (Hutch Dano) cavorting with another woman. After spending the afternoon disrobing, rubbing sunscreen on one another and checking out a beaver dam, they return to find that their boyfriends are paying a surprise visit. But the dudes aren’t the only uninvited guests for the weekend.

A barrel of biohazard material from a medical research facility falls off a truck, rolls down the stream and spills the toxin within. To the surprise of no one, it turns beavers into zombies that will chomp on anything in sight.

Hmm…I think I might skip this one….and honestly, do you really expect me to believe that beavers after a spill are terrifying? These one were adorable! Remember the heroes of Willard’s Bay?

Tales of Tails

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? March 9, 2015

Into every life a little rain must fall….

I love this photo, sent by Paul Ramsey of Scotland of the beaver dam on his property washing out during a storm while we were all busy conferencing. Doesn’t look like the cover of a novel you can’t wait to read?

I’m sure that novel would mention that sometimes, after it rains you get things like this:

I spent yesterday organizing 200 x 20 buttons for the keystone species project at the beaver festival. Mark Poulin and his amazing staff finished the order and shipped it this weekend. Kids can ‘earn’ these at the many different exhibits and get a grand tail to display what they know. Honestly if you live anyhere in California or even the west you had better plan a visit on August 1st, because if your child misses out on this delightful opportunity they will never let you hear the end of it. Mark designed each button for us personally and even borrowed a larger machine to make a slightly bigger beaver! Thank you so much Mark for your creativity and hard work!

After which they can add all those buttons to a burlap beavertail that will eventually look like this:

Now I’m off to settle the account for this magical effort. Let’s hope the K.E.Y.S.T.O.N.E. project grant is funded by our friends at the fish and wildlife commission. Don’t you think it deserves to be?

Beaver on both sides of the Atlantic

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Who's saving beavers now? February 5, 2015

For Love of Nature: The beavers of Blackwater Creek

While it’s true damming creeks in urban areas can interfere with water and sewer lines and exacerbate flooding, beavers are important parts of many ecosystems.

Early residents of this continent considered beavers sacred because they create wetlands, the key to life for many species. Almost half of endangered and threatened species in North America rely upon wetlands, which also soak up floodwaters, alleviate droughts and floods, lessen erosion, raise the water table and purify water.

It’s not every day we get a reminder of beaver benefits from Virginia. Thank you Shannon Brennan of the NewsAdvance for carrying the torch. You can count the number of beaver supporters I’ve met from that state on one hand. But maybe there are are a few more closeted beaver believers out there than they let on.

The pointed stubs are telltale signs a beaver has been busily munching, both to eat the bark and potentially use the tree for a dam. Beavers topple small saplings and very large trees, leaving many people to decry the damage. It makes me wonder what beavers would say about us.

That’s easy. I know exactly what beavers would say about us, if they bothered to talk about us at all.

“Those lazy things give up so easily!”

Looks like Devon is officially ‘calling the dogs off ‘ – dogs that helped hide the beavers when DEFRA was playing beaver-catcher. Now they want the community to know that the beaver should be quickly caught, tested for the parasite and released so they can go about their business. Not sure how that’s all going to work, how long the test will take, and what will happen if the family gets separated. The cynic in me wonders if DEFRA expects them never to live through the trauma, find each other again, or make it work and that’s why they’ve agreed they can stay. But years of watching officaials lie to us about the beavers in Martinez might have ruined me. I’ll keep quiet and hope for the best.

Wildlife experts to discuss plans for wild beaver colony in Devon

Now the Trust wants to start talking seriously about the animals’ future with a public drop-in session arranged tomorrow between 3pm and 7.30pm at The Institute, Ottery St Mary, East Devon.

Representatives from Natural England will explain the temporary removal of the beavers to ensure that they are healthy. Devon Wildlife Trust staff will also be on hand to discuss how the trial will work over the coming years.

Spokesman Peter Burgess said: “It is very good news that we have been granted a license to release the beavers back on the river once they have been proven to be healthy.

“Natural England and Devon Wildlife Trust are hosting this meeting to answer any questions the local community may have about the next steps of the project.”

How timely! The one I bought for my own valentine arrived this morning and showed me that these were alarmingly cuter than I had previously thought. The red see is the cut out wood showing the red layer behind. Even the cross hatch in the tail is delicately cross cut to reveal the space behind.

I had no idea. And I’m sure you didn’t either because we only got TWO ideas for original sentiments to ask for on the bottom of the card. Remember, Betsey Reiche the talented SF artist of B-spired genererously agreed to donate 10 to the festival and engrave them with sayings you nominate. So put on your thinking caps and send me a loving beaver message right away that belongs on this card.

Hmm…Maybe I just thought of the solution by myself. The perfect engraving for this remarkable card. And unlike the majority of valentine’s cards on the market, it’s entirely true.

“Our love is Worth A Dam”

Let me end with a thank you for this cheery little fellow who has been in our garden since December. Hope you decide to stick around.

Ohio 1, Minnesota 0

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? November 22, 2022

Sharon Brown of Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife sends this excellent story, which will be further reported in the next issue of Beaversprite.

Columbus, Ohio Metro Parks Installs a Beaver Flow Device

Using BWW’s “Coexisting…” DVD Staff at Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks, Ohio in December installed a beaver pipe system in a beaver dam to manage the water level and save some wetlands. When beavers moved into Glacier Ridge Park last year their dam restored valuable wetlands, but it also affected a drainage ditch that served private properties bordering the park. The new flexpipe system, based on plans from Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife’s (BWW) “Coexisting with Beavers” DVD, allows a compromise that benefits both the beavers and the park’s neighbors. Now the water level can be managed—allowing the beaver dam and wetlands to remain.

Beaver activity is the major natural method of creating and maintaining freshwater wetlands,recently valued at $49,000/acre/year in terms of natural services.* About 90% of Ohio’s original wetlands had been drained by the 1980s, according to the U.S. EPA. In past decades, when beaver dams caused flooding of farms or roads, the animal engineers were eliminated. As beavers return to western Ohio, using flow devices to manage their ponds can help save newly restored wetlands.

Carrie Morrow, Assistant Resource Manager for Metro Parks who coordinated the pond leveler d project said, “many of the parts were available at our park maintenance shops. She added, “Our volunteer Richard Tuttle graciously shared the DVD with us and Andrew Boose, our Forest Ecologist and talented handyman, assembled and built the structure.” Boose was assisted by park technician Mike Bosworth. The dedicated men worked in cold, chest-deep water in December to complete the installation. Later, Andrew Boose’s wife ordered a BWW cap for him, “because the project was a success.”

Richard Tuttle, who gave the “Coexisting…” DVD to the park staff, is an expert on conservation of Eastern Bluebirds. In the early 1990s, he created the “Beaver Hypothesis”— that beaver activity produces the habitat required by many wetland species. Photo by Carrie Wakeman Morrow Andrew Boose and Mike Bosworth install a flexpipe with a cage to protect the pipe inlet in a beaver dam at Glacier Ridge Park. Photo by Annette Boose. Andrew Boose, Forest Ecologist at Columbus Metro Parks, photographs a young beaver.

Costanza, R. et al. 2014. Changes in the global value of ecosystem
services. Global Environmental Change 26: 152-158.

Nice to read about Ohio doing the right thing, and I just got an update this morning from Karen of Mt. Healthy that ODOT might be bringing in Mike or Skip to follow suit. That’s a major improvement in a state that has a very tarnished beaver reputation. We’re going to have to make sure everyone knows how much that’s changing.

A quick bit of HUH? from Crosslake Minnesota where apparently they are unaware that pressure treated wood survives better in water. Hmm metal survives better yet.

Crosslake will make capital purchases, beaver-damaged bridge repairs

The Crosslake City Council chose to move forward with plans to repair the Dream Island bridge, which recently sustained damage when a beaver chewed entirely through one of the pylons.

I guess in winter it’s theoretically possible that a unprepared beaver could exhaust it’s food cache and nibble on a board instead. But honestly do you really think this is beaver blame-worthy? And not the work of some drunk fisherman’s motorboat taking a chunk out of the piling with a side swipe?

Let’s leave MN to their conundrum and get ready for the unbearable gasp of cuteness. Jeannine Schafer of The Neenerbot, an enchanting artist and illustrator in San Francisco, has most graciously agreed to donate one of these for our silent auction. Honestly, that might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Especially the curling feet of the kit on the end. (I think we can officially retire that kitten poster. I would ‘hang in there’ much longer for beavers, wouldn’t you?) Thank you Jeannine for your generosity and remarkable creative vision. If admirers can’t wait until August for the bidding war go here to buy your own: