Category: Beavers and climate change

SUPPORT MOUNTING IN MONTANA

Do we think of Montana as a beaver-saving hotspot? Looking at this article I’m thinking maybe we should. Check this out:

Guest view: Recreational trapping of beavers should be banned

Wetlands are among the most critically threatened habitats that provide for high species diversity and storage of water we all depend on. Beavers create life-sustaining wetlands. Yet, Montana’s recreational trappers kill an unlimited number of beavers every year for fur and recreation.

One million animal and plant species are at imminent risk of extinction.

We need leadership now. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks could immediately suspend recreational trapping of Montana’s wildlife because the governmental agency realizes that it is urgent to start preserving wild animals. FWP administers its trapping program strictly for recreation. In Montana alone, trappers brutally kill tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of wild animals caught in leghold traps, conibears and snares, every trapping season. If these animals were allowed to survive, they would hopefully enjoy their lives, including raising a family and by doing so, fulfill important ecological functions crucial to ecosystem resilience.

Whoa! Banning recreational trapping in Montana because beavers make life-sustaining wetlands. I’m rubbing my eyes. Is this a dream? Of course that wouldn’t work here. Here in California you could ban ALL recreational trapping and fur trapping of any kind and 3000 beavers a year would still be on the hit list. We’re civilized.

California, of course, kills beavers because they’re “inconvenient” not because its fun.

In the era of climate change and accelerating extinction crisis caused by humans, the massive recreational trapping of wild animals becomes not only appallingly ludicrous but dangerous for all of us. Sir Robert Watson, IBPES chair, noted that exploitive human activity is “eroding the very foundations of our economies, livelihoods, food security, health and quality of life worldwide.”

Montana provides headwaters for the entire continent, but trapping has caused a steep decline of beavers (and other wild animals), which has dried up streams and wetlands for beavers to inhabit. However, there are still suitable places for reintroduced beavers to thrive — but only if traps are off the landscape.

Now this is a SMART letter. ‘Montana provides headwaters for the entire continent” is my very favorite sentence. Beavers protect and maintain those headwaters. Don’t stop trapping because it’s cruel, or icky (even thought it is). Stop killing the things that save your water. The things that could save US from climate change. This writer knows what she’s doing.

No environmental impact statement has ever been conducted to assess the major ecological impacts of removing tens of thousands of animals from their habitats by Montana trappers every year. Such a scientific assessment would likely show damaging shock waves to ecosystems. Indiscriminate trapping unravels a strong network of stability in ecosystems we depend on.

Wow! You are my new favorite human in Montana Anja! She’s a postdoctoral fellow at UM and the executive director of Footloose Montana. So she know a thing a two about her audience. I sent her the info about Mitch Wagner’s signature case arguing that beaver removal should require an EIR and let Mitch know about the article as well, but who knows, maybe they’re already best friends?

Now for some great photos from that beaver rescue i told you about yesterday in Ottawa parliament. Donna Debreuil sent them last night, and they’re excellent. i don’t know why they didn’t make it to the article but enjoy!

“I GOT YER CHARISMATIC ANIMAL RIGHT HERE, BUDDY”

heidi08 Beavers and climate change May 12, 2019

Yesterday was a pleasant mix of adults who had heard about our beavers on the news, or grown up with others on the east coast, or were just pleasantly curious about the story. The day was neither too hot nor too cold and for once large gusts of wind didn’t blow our belongings over or off the table. There were plenty of people who had enjoyed the presentation at Audubon and i was once again grateful it went as well as it did. The last presentation before the festival will be at Safari West in 2 weeks and then it’s serious buckling down for the big day.

In the mean time there’s lots to discuss, starting with this excellent article from the website “Resilience” which discusses the array of benefits rewilding can have in slowing the devastation of climate change,

The Wild Way to Rapid Transition – How Rewilding can Slow Climate Breakdown, Protect from its Worst Effects and Improve Biodiversity

Even as they fall under increasing pressure from human activity, the restoration of natural habitats like forests, is a key component of rapid transition. Not only is it a vital defence against climate breakdown, but it also protects the web of life and is beneficial for human well-being too. This ‘rewilding’ has caught the public imagination…

Charismatic animals like the Lynx, the wildcat and the wild boar are all candidates for reintroduction in the UK, but the humble beaver is currently the key species leading the way: its incredible engineering skills create a diverse range of habitats for birds, insects, fish, small mammals and plants; slowing down water flow; preventing flooding downstream; and storing water for use locally. Beavers are native to the UK but were hunted to extinction for their highly prized fur. In 1789, the last bounty was paid in Britain for a Eurasian beaver skull; today they are thriving again – some as part of highly controlled, fenced and monitored trials and some from unregulated releases.

Are you implying that beavers aren’t charismatic? Beavers? You know of course that they’re specifically described as such by numerous researchers. Besides, come on! They make infant bath towels and socks with beavers on them. Why on earth would that be true if beavers weren’t charismatic?

The beaver is native to the UK and made itself quickly at home; positive effects have been reported on water catchments and biodiversity in very short periods of time. Beavers are so good at water engineering, they have been proposed as a tool for implementing the EU Water Framework Directive.

Rewilding proves how good nature is at bouncing back to abundance, given the opportunity to thrive without human interference. This gives us hope for a future in which human populations could live in a more diverse environment, where the balance of nature helps mitigate our more destructive tendencies. Beavers had all but died out across Europe by the 18th century, but are returning successfully to manage waterways, ponds and whole water catchment areas. Most ponds used to be made by beavers, but are now man made. In the Devon Beaver Project site, one family of beavers made over 10 ponds in just three years, benefitting a huge array of dragonflies, birds and amphibians. The 10 clumps of frogspawn laid in 2011 increased to 370 clumps by 2018.

That sounds pretty impressive to me. At least the frog spawn thinks so.

The finances are important because rewilding is often predicted to be a costly effort, causing the loss of productive land for food and the death of livestock by large predators. However, for a fairly small amount of money and in the right place, big changes can happen that can offer enormous benefits downstream – literally. Research by the UK’s Environment Agency suggests returning England’s water bodies to a good ecological condition could generate benefits worth £21 billion over a 37-year period. Beavers could be part of this solution, restoring wetlands, boosting water reserves and slowing down flood water. Beaver dams also act as a filter capturing pollutants such as agricultural fertilisers.

The National Ecosystem Assessment highlighted that 30% of ecosystem services – the benefits and services nature provides society and the economy, such as clean water and flood alleviation – are in decline, and many others are impoverished compared to historical baselines. Soil degradation is estimated to be costing England and Wales £1.2 billion per year. The causes include: erosion, compaction, loss of organic matter, loss of soil biodiversity and contamination. Rewilding may be the fastest, most effective way of undoing some of this damage.

Yeah, beavers can help with that too. In between preventing flooding and species loss. And they do it all with SO much charisma! I can’t tell you!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Grandma’s. Mom’s and about-to-be Mom’s out there. Of course we will never forget the amazing mother who started this all.

June 29, 2010

Honestly when I went down this morning I purposely decided not to bring a camera because I thought it would just be too sad, but I wish I had filmed it so you could all see how completely calm and unpanicked mom was. she just was in no condition to react, and if we had left her alone she was in such a visible part of the creek that people would have intervened and/or called animal control. This way she was completely protected by us and not at all agitated or frightened. It was almost like she knew we wouldn’t harm her, and it certainly felt right, after everything we have been through and all the mornings I have spent with mom to have her riding peacefully in my subaru. We will be out tonight to make sure the kits are feeding and happy. It was becoming clear that the family has already transitioned and the kits have been relying on the yearlings care more and more, which is just like we’d hope.

I’m very grateful for everyone’s help this morning, and grateful that mom gave us the easiest possible decision about whether, when and how to intervene. The saddest part for me is thinking about how hard she must have worked to stick around and care for those three new lives. We can all be grateful for her remarkable parenting and the 15 live births she allowed us all to enjoy.

I thought this morning of this quote from one of my favorite books ever written. It is an amazing tale of a young girl during the holocaust, fearlessly and compassionately narrated by “Death”.

Lastly; the Hubermans

Hans.
Papa

He was tall in the bed and I could see the silver through his eyelids. His soul sat up. It met me. Those kinds of souls always do – the best ones. The ones who rise up and say, “I know who you are and I am ready. Not that I want to go, of course, but I will come.” Those souls are always light because more of them have been put out. More of them have already found their way to other places. This one was set out by the breath of an accordion, the odd taste of champagne in summer, and the art of promise-keeping. He lay in my arms and rested.

Markus Zusak: The Book Thief

Come tonight if you want to see reassuring beavers and comfort your hearts. Thank you all for your caring and concern. I will make sure to update as soon as we know anything about mom’s health.

Heidi

IT’S GOOD TO BE ENGINEER

heidi08 Beavers and climate change May 10, 2019

This morning there’s an excellent article about the power of beavers to change their environment and how it can save us from extinction. Well. no it doesn’t specifically say that but it comes pretty dam close if you know what I mean.

Giant beaver’s diet likely led to its demise, Western study finds

The giant beaver’s diet may have been the reason it died out in the last ice age, a first-of-its-kind study by Western University researchers says.

Researchers studied chemical tracers — stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon — in the beavers’ fossilized bones and teeth to learn more about their diets. The study authors found the 100-kilogram rodents dined on underwater plants and therefore required wetland environments to survive.

“We did not find any evidence that the giant beaver cut down trees or ate trees for food,” lead study author and former Western graduate student Tessa Plint said in a statement. “Giant beavers were not ‘ecosystem-engineers’ the way that the North American beaver is.”

“When you look at the fossil record from the last million years, you repeatedly see regional giant beaver populations disappear with the onset of more arid climatic conditions,” study co-author and Western earth sciences researcher Fred Longstaffe said in a statement.

Well, well, well. Not so much of a NUISANCE beaver now, am I? Adapt and change, that’s our motto.If you don’t like the way the pond looks today, get up and change it tomorrow. That’s the beaver way. And if you don’t take our advice you’ll go extinct and end up with some grad student studying the isotopes in your useless teeth.

The smaller beavers’ diet and behaviour, especially chewing through trees to build dams, might be the reason their descendants are still around today, researchers say.

“The ability to build dams and lodges may have actually given beavers a competitive advantage over giant beavers because it could alter the landscape to create suitable wetland habitat where required. Giant beavers couldn’t do this,” Longstaffe said in a statement.

So wait a minute. Wait just a doggone minute. Hold everything.

Are you telling me that the very thing that annoys and frustrates folk most about beavers, their damming streams and chewing of trees, the very reason we HATE and trap them and complain about them, is the EXACT same reason they survived the last big climate change crisis?

No reason, just asking for a friend.

DOES THIS LOOK TWITCHY TO YOU?

heidi08 Beavers and climate change April 5, 2019

Today we have guests coming associated with the Sequoia River Lands Trust because they want to ask questions about beavers. They are hoping that hearing the Martinez story will encourage them on next steps. So Jon is making lunch for us and I am trying to be coherent.

Just in case you need a Geography lesson, the headquarters of the Sequoia River Land Trust is in Visalia, which south of Fresno and North of Bakersfield. Here’s their mission statement:

Sequoia Riverlands Trust is a regional nonprofit land trust dedicated to strengthening California’s heartland and the natural and agricultural legacy of the southern Sierra Nevada and San Joaquin Valley. The wealth, productivity and beauty of this land inspire our work to conserve it for future generations.

If the name sounds familiar its because years ago one of the designers of this website, Scott Artis, took a communications job with them and I was one of his references. Scott worked in the medical field and wanted to break into environmental biology, so used Worth A Dam as his credentials for a while – which was great for us, and I assume great for SRLT. Scott himself longed for the Bay Area and eventually moved onto the Audubon Canyon and I believe is working independently now. But beaver paths that cross leave deep tracks, as well you know. I’ll let you know how it all unfolds.

Mean while Sarah’s Beaver-Climate change documentary is on the front page Sunday news in Walla Walla.

Filmmaker finds hope in charismatic tree chompers

Sarah Koenigsberg is used to telling other people’s stories.

The Walla Walla resident has been all over the map in her role as owner of and producer for Tensegrity Productions. In 2013 though, Koenigsberg was ready to devote serious time to her own project, a longer piece that would require the right topic and level of commitment to bring it to fruition.

“Then I just happened upon multiple people in various fields of restoration … all espousing how beaver restoration could be a profound way to come at climate adaptation,” she said.

Beavers? Like the furry creatures who live in the river and build dams?

Yes, beavers.

Nice intro! Of course beavers. It’s always beavers. Around here anyway. Need help saving salmon or removing nitrogen of fixing a deeply incised bank? BEAVERS can do it. Prevent fires, recharge the ground table and save us from climate change? Why the hell not?

“The Beaver Believers” is whimsical — with those big chompers and twitchy noses, beavers look ready for prime-time comedy — but carries the urgency of climate change conversations.

The story revolves around an unlikely cadre of activists who share a common vision of rebuilding the population of the North American beaver, which Koenigsberg calls the “most industrious, ingenious, bucktoothed engineer” in the watersheds of the arid West.

Unlikely? Who are you calling unlikely? I’ll have you know I was voted most likely to save beavers in my graduating class of 83. Or would have been, if there was such a thing in the Reagan years. And honestly, twitchy noses? You are thinking of rabbits. Does this really look twitchy to you?

Then the Carlton Complex Fire in the summer of 2014 sparked the opportunity to get really visual. At the time, the Okanogan County inferno was the most massive, recorded wildfire Washington state had experienced, burning more than 250,000 acres.

Her camera could capture the effect of the blaze blasting through beaver restoration areas, to record if the believers’ hypothesis would hold. That example of ecosystem resilience was “kind of gold,” she said, noting that functioning drainage systems are natural firebreaks.

“Water doesn’t burn. It doesn’t take a Ph.D to know that water doesn’t burn.”

Oh no it doesn’t. This is just the right thing to be reminding viewers of. Although preaching to the choir was a phrase probably written specifically for the idea of showing a beaver documentary in Washington state.

“I’m getting flooded with messages from people across North America. They want to try all these things, plant willows, learn about local farms. There’s a whole ripple of ways people are trying to bring it closer to home in what they do.”

I bet she is, I bet she is, because I’m having lunch with strangers from Visalia for goodness sake! And not surprisingly, the premiere is sold out. Could you possibly go to Alabama or North Carolina next?

NICE THINGS TO SAY

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers, Beaver ecological impact, Beavers and climate change March 22, 2019

Some days there are only nice things to say about beavers. Like today for instance, when the news is all glowing and charitable about their beavery pursuits. Like the very nice promo the beaver believer’s documentary this week.

Walla Walla premiere of ‘The Beaver Believers’ set Wednesday

Sometimes the best solutions to the biggest problems can be found in the most unlikely of places, according to a release.

Five scientists and a sassy, spicy hairdresser, tackle climate change one stick at a time in the film “The Beaver Believers,” which will see its Walla Walla premiere at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Power House. The whimsical story is about an unlikely cadre of activists who share a common vision: restoring the industrious, ingenious, bucktoothed North American beaver/engineer to the watersheds of the arid West.

Sarah’s film has definately been making wonderful waves around the country, and I’m sure it was an extra special treat to have it showing in her home town of Walla Walla. Congratulations on a job well done!

,The believers encourage viewers to embrace a new paradigm for managing western lands, one that partners with the natural world rather than overpowers it.

Amen.

Just reading this headline from the Chewalah Independent in Washington state made happy. I’m sure you’ll understand why.

Known for their elaborate dams, they create habitat for more than just themselves…

According to scientists, giant beavers that could have been as large as seven feet existed until 10,000 years ago. Their smaller modern day version is still a marvel to behold. Beavers can create dams that cause creeks to flood surrounding wetlands.

While this is bad if you’re a farmer, it’s a good thing for some aquatic species which rely on the dam’s created habitat.

Meadows created by beaver dams can also feed deer and other animals. Their dams can also provide protection for young salmon and trout.

Beavers make their dams out of wood, mud and rocks. They’ll chew down small trees and may even dig a canal to float trees back to their pond. Their webbed feet make them excellent at swimming. They warn each other by slapping their wide tails on the water. You may have remembered doing this with a canoe paddle at Browns Lake, only to get the same reaction from a beaver’s tail in response.

And hey you know what? It turns out those dams can recharge the water table which is great news for those farmers after all. So everyone wins! Welcome to beaver thunder-dome. An infinite number of species enter and every single one is better off for it.

I was amused to see this bright headline from Connecticut, because after watching beavers closely for many many years of mornings I never ever saw a single ‘dispute over a branch’.

Beaver video shows the cutest dispute over a stick

Matthew Male, who describes himself as ”a biologist sort of” — he has a degree in biology and works for the American Museum of Natural History, as well as for the Audubon Shop in Madison — managed to catch some beaver video Tuesday, and it’s right out of Animal Planet.

The video shows one beaver munching on what must be a particularly tasty stick. Then another, presumably more important beaver comes along, ousts the first beaver and takes ownership of the stick.

“I just happened upon them,” Male said. “The video was through a spotting scope. The beavers were maybe 20 feet away.”

The video was taken in Male’s hometown of Chester, but he’s seen them all over the area.

For example, on the way to the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam. “There’s a big lodge there,” Male said. “At least in this part of Connecticut there’s beaver dams everywhere.”

What I will say to Matthew is that beavers, while not being pacifists, are certainly pragmatists. Arguing over a stick takes a great deal of effort and most of the time beavers would just prefer to get a different one. Even in this instance where a kit makes a point of stealing mom’s apple, she makes sure the actual confrontation is never head-on.