Category: Beavers and climate change

Riverlords! I like it!

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? February 6, 2017

The Germans are tired of the UK having all the good beaver stories. They want some of their own to talk about why beavers matter. Hence this report from DW, which was also published under the headline; “Beavers on the Rampage“. Go figure.

Beavers: Lords of the rivers

When it comes to erecting remarkable structures, few animals are as talented architects as beavers. Almost hunted to extinction in Europe, the creatures are now bouncing back. Few animals create such impressive structures or alter their environment so dramatically as the beaver. Few, except for humankind.

“Beavers are like the architects of our waterways,” says of Iris Barthel of German conservation group Nabu. “They build dams, burrow, gnaw and fell trees and shrubs. In this way, beavers have shaped our riverscapes for millions of years.”

But despite – and sometimes because of – a shared propensity for reshaping the landscape, humans and beavers don’t always make good neighbors.

“The beavers aren’t aware of property ownership. They see the riverbank as a place they can dig their burrow,” says Barthel. “They see tasty food in fields or orchards. So it can happen that a tractor breaks a beaver lodge or a beaver fells a favorite apple tree.”

She adds that beavers have been accused of burrowing into dams and dikes, disrupting manmade flood defences, but says there are well-practiced defenses against this kind of damage.

“If beavers are pilloried by politicians, it’s primarily to distract from their own failures in flood prevention,” says Barthel.

Lords of the Rivers! I like it. Shorter than Lord of the Rings and less stompy than Lords of the Dance! I love that last line. It’s true, that the first thing cities do after their culverts fail is blame beavers. And power companies when their service fails. And internet companies when their cables go out. (And fisherman when whatever). Often without any reason. Take Mountain House for instance, built out of landfill and roadways eroding. They ripped out the real creek to make room for a planned one. They are sure beavers excavated large cavernous tunnels that sucked their precious pavement into sink holes. Or at least that’s what they alleged until they got challenged.

Biologist Jessica Dieckmann told DW that part of her role as newly-appointed commissioner on beavers for the German city of Hamm was to help deal with conflicts arising between homeowners and their beaver neighbors.

She explained that because injuring or killing beavers or damaging their dams and burrows is forbidden in German, “a solution has to be found tactfully.”

“A solution could be that landowners sell a 20-meter-wide (66-foot-wide) riparian strip and make it available for nature protection,” says Dieckmann.

Her other tasks as beaver commissioner include finding out whereabouts beavers are in Hamm and how many there are, to know how best to deal with the creatures in the future.

Beavers usually live in burrows in the river bank accessed by an underwater tunnel. The dam ensures the water is deep enough to hide the entrance to their “lodge” beneath the surface.

But while human construction often runs at complete odds with the needs of other living species, beaver dams bring benefits to a whole host of other species.

“They create small ponds, deadwood, marsh areas or open up areas of soil,” says Barthel. These provide habitats for dragonflies, amphibians and reptiles, for fish and birds. “Where humans have to spend a lot of money on preserving biodiversity, the beaver helps out for free.”

“At the same time, it contributes to the cleanliness of water, re-natures rivers and supports natural flood prevention.”

Capture — The editors at DW think this is a beaver. But it’s NOT. This is a nutria (Or coypu Myocastor coypus). It’s BAD for the environment and the UNbeaver

Hurray! We love Jessica and Iris. There are smart beaver thinkers in Germany, and some of them are coming to the State if the Beaver Conference at the end of the month. The language and knowledge has taken root on foreign soil. Or maybe started there and is taken root on American soil. I don’t care who gets the credit. I just care that we all get the knowledge.

Oh, and that papers stop running THIS photo and pretending to believe it’s a beaver. You can even see the TAIL in the back. And look at those nostrils and white whiskers! What’s the matter with you?

Sheesh!

The search for the freshwater panda

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? February 3, 2017

This is a surprising article about the importance of “Flagship Species” in raising awareness for particular causes. Like for example the way the Panda was used by WWF to raise awareness for disappearing bamboo forests and endangered species in general. The author notes that Wetlands are SO important to human existence but its hard to find the correct mascot because the things that live in them are rarely visible by us. They think finding the FLAGSHIP wetlands animal would make it easy to convince humans why they matter.

Seeking freshwater pandas: the ‘flagship umbrella species’ approach

Freshwaters are amongst the most heavily modified global ecosystems, and the rich biodiversity they support is at a disproportionate risk of extinction. Conservation and restoration efforts aimed at protecting and improving freshwater habitats are being carried out across the world, but aquatic plants and animals remain amongst the most threatened components of global biodiversity.

One reason for this shortfall may be the lack of visibility – both literally and metaphorically – for freshwater life. Freshwaters may be murky, fast-flowing, deep, cold, ice-covered or turbulent, and the biodiversity they support can often be camouflaged, elusive and difficult to spot. The rich webs of animal and plant life below the surface of freshwaters are not as immediately perceptible as a wildflower meadow or a woodland, say. And, as the ‘shifting baseline’ concept illustrates, public and political perception of the health and diversity of ecosystems can significantly influence the support (or lack thereof) afforded to conservation and restoration schemes.

The identification of flagship species for aquatic ecosystems – so-called ‘freshwater pandas’ – may help bring threatened freshwater biodiversity ‘to life’ and increase awareness of, and support for, conservation measures, according to a new open-access study published in Conservation Biology. Flagship species were defined in 2000 by conservationists Nigel Leader-Williams and Holly Dublin as “popular charismatic species that serve as symbols and rallying points to stimulate conservation awareness and action.”

Not to be overly simplistic about this, but hey, I got your freshwater panda right here!

Flagship and umbrella species

Flagship species are typically ‘charismatic’ species which enthuse, enchant and intrigue public and political audiences with the natural world. Environmental geographer Jamie Lorimer provides a helpful typology of such non-human charisma, which may be ecological (the environmental ‘detectability’ of an organism, e.g. through a call), aesthetic (its sensory impact: e.g. cuddly, fierce, curious) and/or corporeal (its emotive impact; or, how it makes us feel). For Lorimer, these aspects of non-human charisma are combined designating flagship species for conservation. For example the human empathy and care often sparked by a panda’s ‘teddy bear’ looks and precarious life habits (surviving on nutrient-poor bamboo) has long been mobilised by the World Wildlife Fund as a flagship logo to leverage funding and support, both for the conservation of the forests on which it survives, and for threatened ecosystems worldwide.

In other words, the charisma (and in the panda’s case, this might include the simple black and white replicability of its form as a logo in a pre-digital age) of flagship species may be mobilised to help strengthen conservation efforts for other less charismatic or visible species across wider ecosystems, whether locally or globally. In this way, the flagship concept has resonances with the ‘umbrella species’ approach to conservation which aims to protect ecosystems through conservation measures targeted at a small number of ‘keystone’ species which also have ecological benefits to the wider ecosystem. However, the flagship species approach has historically been used to mobilise public awareness of nature, rather than to specifically target ‘umbrella’ ecological interactions.

Apparently replicability is an essential part of the charisma of a flagship species. Hmm. Maybe that’s why these are always so popular.

Identifying ‘freshwater pandas’

The research team behind the new Conservation Biology study call for the established ‘flagship’ and ‘umbrella’ species concepts to be combined to define a new set of ‘flagship umbrella species’. According to the authors, such species have the potential to both raise public and political awareness of imperiled species and ecosystems, and to provide a focus-point for conservation efforts which will ‘trickle down’ and benefit wider ecological communities.

They identify over 60 potentially suitable freshwater flagship umbrella species, based on their “potential to attract public attention and funding for conservation programs as well as [their] potential to protect co-occurring biodiversity in all types of freshwater habitats.” The species – which were selected on the basis of their ‘flagship’ potential as identified in existing conservation literature – are extremely diverse and distributed across the world.

They include algae, molluscs (such as the freshwater pearl mussel), spiders endemic to peat bogs, crustaceans (such as the fairy shrimp), insects (including dragonflies and damselflies), a wide array of fish species (including sturgeon, stingray, sharks, salmonids, catfish and cod), amphibians (various frogs, toads and newts), reptiles (including turtles, crocodiles and alligators), birds (particularly cranes, pelicans and storks), and mammals (including otters, dolphins, porpoises and beavers) (see the full list here).

Some notable examples include: the baiji, a functionally extinct species of freshwater dolphin formerly found only in the Yangtze River in China; the European sturgeon, a migratory fish impacted by the fragmentation and pollution of large river basins such as the Danube; the Siberian crane a critically endangered bird with migration routes across the wetlands of Central and East Asia; and the freshwater pearl mussel, a mollusc threatened by water pollution and over-harvesting.

The authors note that species considered in the search for a Freshwater Panda include mollusks and eels and crocodiles. Sure why not? There must be cool slugs too, put them on the list. I mean why on earth would pick a species with such recognizeable characteristic structures visible by everyone that even when they’re not in residence everyone loves to see their sign? They mention that while the reintroduction of beavers in the UK is raising awareness of rewilding, it becomes problematic because they’re sooo controversial.

I’m going to argue with that. Maybe clean water itself is controversial. And maybe its mascot should reflect that. Even though everyone says they want it, industries also want to pour toxins in it or dump coal near it and protecting it is CONTROVERSIAL. Standing up for wetlands pisses people off. It just does. Even though it shouldn’t. Even though we all know what’s good for us. Seems to me that the wetland mascot should reflect that.

The study’s lead author Gregor Kalinkat outlines the potential of new approaches, “To date, a disproportionately large amount of research and scientific data material has been collected on land and for marine species. In order to protect freshwater species, we are in urgent need of more comprehensive data, which can be collected both cost-effectively and extensively using innovative methods.”

The freshwater ‘flagship umbrella species’ approach is – like most conservation initiatives – inherently interdisciplinary: drawing together insights from the social sciences and humanities such as charisma and issue-framing, with cutting-edge scientific methods such as environmental DNA. Whether through ‘flagships’ or ‘umbrellas’, what is clear is that increasingly threatened freshwater ecosystems are in need of new beacons for conservation research, action and hope.

I wouldn’t trouble yourself about choosing between a flagship, an umbrella or a keystone species. I personally would choose a freshwater mascot that is all three simultaneously. I would make sure it’s easy to trace and follow, family oriented, made endearing sounds, was resilient so it could exist almost anywhere and cute so that when you saw a baby one you said awwwwwwwwwww. But that’s just me.

Listen to your Elders

heidi08 Beaver Rehabilitation, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? February 1, 2017

I was surprised to come across this yesterday in my search for donations. I hadn’t seen this site before and knew nothing about it, which is rare for beaver news so close to home. Thinking about the Tuleyome website from yesterday, I suspect similarities. The two names aren’t actually linked anywhere I can find, but their location is, and the websites are very similar. Either they have the same technician or they are staffed by a handful of similar people.

Either way, I like them.

The Elder Creek Oak Woodland Preserve is a private preserve soon to be protected by conservation easement that encompasses 233 acres of primarily steep hills of blue oak woodland containing dozens of old-growth manzanitas. This preserve is located in the Elder Creek Watershed, which covers about 150 square miles and ranges in elevation from over 8000 feet to about 250 feet above sea level. Over 72 miles of streams and creeks make up the watershed, making it one of the longer ones on the west side of the northern Sacramento Valley

What we do to encourage beavers on Elder Creek:

• Never kill beavers and encourage others to join us in protecting them.
• Regularly comment to California Fish and Wildlife to prioritize restoration of beaver populations.
• Build small, beaver-like check dams and baffles in the creek in mid- to late spring (depending on flow).
• Leave cottonwood and willow along the creek, occasionally removing dead wood and coppicing some of the willow.

Imagine stumbling across a website like this by accident! I can assure you it made my afternoon.

According to Westbrook, 85 percent of all watercourses in the United States — and a comparable, though unquantified, percentage in Canada — are headwater streams and, therefore, small enough to be dammed by beavers. This continent-wide network of fine blue lines represents a wealth of potential beaver habitat. “We’re talking about beaver in nearly every headwater stream across North America prior to European colonization,” says Westbrook. (from Canadian Geographic)

Beaver streams resulted in:

Reduced stream sedimentation and erosion
Stream temperature moderation
Higher dissolved oxygen levels
Overall improved water quality
Increased natural water storage capabilities within watersheds, including recharge of ground water aquifers
Reduced stream velocities, which means a decreased number of extreme floods
Removal of many pollutants from surface and ground water
Drought protection through increased year-round stream flow
Improved food/habitat for fish and other animals, including 43% (according to one source) of the endangered species that the US Department of Fish and Wildlife is mandated to protect

All these benefits from one little rodent! (Or several million, actually) Beavers are proudly promoted by our new BFF’s at Elder Creek Preserve. Thank you for doing this important work sharing the beaver gospel. Let’s hope is saturates Woodland and begins to sink into Sacramento. (And I mean both the region and the governing bodies it houses.)

On monday we were contacted by a beaver supporter who wanted to donate her grand mother’s old beaver fur coat for us to use in education or rehab. Certainly it’s nothing we have ever considered for ourselves. I have always mocked a very widely used and un-admirable activity folks practice in schools of allowing one student to ‘dress up like a beaver, with a fur coat, goggles and flippers’ to teach them about their adaptions. We would never do that as it seems way more stunt-y than teach-y. And why not teach kids the amazing things about beavers while you have their attention?

But it occurred to me maybe we could teach about the fur trade and the toll it extracted on our streams and wildlife? We never really tried to do that kind of education at a festival, but why not? And maybe while we’re at it teach the martinez story and our creek response with series of display panels folks can look at their own pace. I have been working on a graphic we could use for a poster with the display. I will say, that Jon and I were both very surprised how soft the coat was. I always imagined beaver as more wiry. And you can definitely see how protective and thick it is. You can’t even see where the individual hairs separate. It also occurred to me that orphan beavers in rehab might like to snuggle up to beaver fur, so I’ve asked our beaver rehabber friend if that’s true and we will consider donating it to Sonoma where they do most of the beaver rehab work.

We like fur coats best of course ON the beaver, but it might be okay to put it to good use now.

Woodland Wilds and Wonders

heidi08 Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? January 31, 2017

I am tempted to tease the headline of this article as winning the prize for the single most consonance B’s ever in a beaver story, or mention that Capybara aren’t from Australia, but it’s a dam good article from a region where we have been short beaver support in the past. And authors don’t always get to pick the titles, and the paper is in Davis of all places. So I’ll politely refrain and just celebrate a wonderful article from our new best friend.

Tuleyome Tales: Big, burly beavers can be a boon

By Mary K. Hanson

Although some people consider them a pest species that causes temporary flooding of areas adjacent area to their home, the ever-active North American beavers (Castor canadensis) have actually been proved over and over again to be a boon to humankind in many ways.

In the past two or three years, projects and studies have been conducted throughout several Western states that conclusively prove that the beavers are actually 80 percent more effective (and less costly) at repairing and improving degraded stream systems than humans. And part of the reason for that is because the beavers instinctively know where the best places are to build their dams and lodges.

Beavers don’t kill the trees they harvest. Rather, they cut the trees down with their sharp incisor teeth to just above ground-level, leaving the root system entirely intact. In wildlife habitat restoration and management done by humans, this exact same process is call “coppicing.” The majority of coppiced trees don’t die; they instead grow new healthier shoots from the severed stump, providing for long-term regrowth and reforestation.

This is part of the reason why beavers are considered to be a “keystone species” in the environment: Their creation of new growth and water pathways and ponds actually increases the biodiversity in the areas in which they live.

What a great start! (Although I’m confused about the ‘past two or three years’ and think it’s been more like 2-3 decade.) But still. The article refers to Ms. Hanson as a ‘certified naturalist’ which I believe must mean that she completed the UCB program that our volunteers Deidre and Leslie did. Where means she studied with beaver guru Brock Dolman, which means she got an and unmitigated earful about the good work that Beavers do for us. Thank goodness. I love the idea of this article being printed in a paper from a region that depredates the second highest number of beavers in the state!

Studies have proved that where beaver dams are allowed to exist naturally, waterfowl and fish populations increase and become healthier and more diverse. In Washington state, for example, studies proved that beavers — which do not eat fish — were a benefit to local trout and salmon populations, increasing smolt production from about 15 individuals per range to 1,170 fish.

A similar effect on waterfowl diversity was seen in Wyoming, where it was shown that waterways where beavers were present resulted in a 75-percent increase in the number and diversity of ducks.

Other benefits afforded by beavers and their construction sites include:

* An increase in the variety of vegetation that enhances bird habitat;

* The removal of toxins from local waterways by filtering out sediments, phosphates and heavy nitrogen concentrations;

* A reduction in soil erosion, which can decrease flood dangers for people in surrounding areas;

* Helping to re-establish and increase riparian habitat, which also aids in the interception of runoff, increasing soil nutrients and providing habitat for a wide variety of plants and trees. Increased plant life has the added benefit of improving air quality as trees and plants naturally remove toxin form the air; and

* Because the dams slow down the flow of water near them they help to recharged spent aquifers (raising the level of water stored underground for use during drought conditions).

Be still my heart! Ms. Hanson is a friend of ours even if we never met! I’m thinking the nonprofit she works with (TULEYOME) might want to come to the beaver festival! They have a shiny new website and obviously have lots to share. I think they’d enjoy themselves at the festival, don’t you?

Beaver Fan Club still has Openings

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, featured, Who's saving beavers now? January 19, 2017

Ooh how nice to see the upcoming beaver conference get some positive press! I hope that gets many more curious people in the door.

Seven Feathers to host conference on beaver restoration

CANYONVILLE — Oregon’s official state animal, the beaver, plays an important role in the state’s wetland ecosystems. Those advocating for the beaver plan to convene next month for a series of presentations focusing on beaver ecology as a crucial part of threatened species recovery.

The fifth State of the Beaver Conference, slated for Feb. 22-24 at the Seven Feathers Convention Center in Canyonville, is meant “to provide an international venue for academia, agency and stakeholders together to disseminate information pertinent to beaver ecology,” according to Leonard Houston, conference coordinator and co-chair of the Beaver Advocacy Committee (BAC) of the South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership.

“We chose the theme of ‘agents of regeneration’ largely to highlight the role that beavers play both in natural regeneration, which is ecological succession, and designed regeneration, which is restoration ecology,” Houston said.

The nicest part about this conference, and there are many, is that the famous names you have been reading about for years here or elsewhere are walking or sitting right next to you. Or coming up to say ‘hi’ and ask

about your presentation. The truth is that it is both a blessing and unfortunate that the science of beaver ecology isn’t yet so advanced that names like Woodruff, Obrien or Pollock can send

their undergrads to do the presenting for them and report back if they find anything interesting. As renowned as they are, they have to do their reporting in person and are eager to share ideas and learn from each other. They’re even happy to hear what you have to say.

Admittedly,they are probably even happier if you invite them out for a beer to say it. (And happier still if you offer to pay for it. Government salaries being what they are.)

santa barbara dinner — Michael Pollock, Mary Obrien, Sherri Guzzi, Mike Callahan and Me!

The point is, I think this is a golden moment in time where beaver science hasn’t become dominated and controlled by lofty minds and big research institutions. You can contribute, you can interact. They need you! But already the world is starting to shift. More and more folk are interested in taking charge of the beaver meme, and it won’t be easy and collegial forever.

Beavers are getting so famous, you better come this year. Just to be on the safe side.