Category: Beavers and Forests

Good news for beavers (East Coast version)

heidi08 Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Who's saving beavers now? March 22, 2016

The East Coast is ahead of us in impressive academia and sunrise timing, but it other than inventing Mike Callahan and Skip Lisle it sadly isn’t often they win the beaver IQ contest. Looks like several new steps are getting made at once. Starting with Connecticut, which has recently needed more than its share of beaver guidance.

New Hartford Land Trust eyes resurgent beaver population

NEW HARTFORD — Connecticut has become a virtual “Field of Dreams” for a burgeoning beaver population, a fan of the species told conservationists here last week.

New Hartford Land Trust members explored the nature of the beaver and solutions to the problems their instinctual behaviors cause during the land trust’s annual meeting this week. Presenting the program was Michael Callahan, owner of Beaver Solutions of Southampton, Mass.

“Beavers are second only to people as animals that change the environment,” Callahan said. “Biologists call them a keystone species because they help hold an ecosystem together.”

Callahan said “nature likes change” and beavers are agents of that change. As they cut trees to create dams, woodlands are flooded and natural succession occurs. Beavers eventually create an open grassy habitat called a “beaver meadow,” attracting waterfowl.

As aquatic vegetation grows, invertebrates become common, which attracts insect-eating wildlife such as tree swallows, eastern kingbirds and bats. Fish populations change from cool-water to warm-water species. Mink and otter move in and the wetland becomes attractive to muskrats, mallards, Canada geese, black ducks and least bitterns. Nature is on the move.

If beavers remain in an area, they typically exhaust the food supply and the animals move on to a new territory. The old dams break down and mud flats develop that morph into grasslands supporting birds. Eventually trees grow back and the cycle is complete.

“Beavers can cause us problems, but the benefits put it in perspective,” Callahan said. “Overall, they create a vibrant ecology comparable to the biodiversity of coral reefs.”

Heyyy we recognize that man! It’s Mike Callahan the very good friend of beavers and Worth A Dam. So happy he is preaching the beaver gospel in CT. I dropped the breadcrumbs in a very neat line and hoped for the best. But you never know. I can’t help noticing a rather large shamrock in the corner of that photo, so I’m going to have to say his luck of the irish had something to do with it.
Given his name sake and appreciation of what no one yet understands I can’t help thinking of this long-lost commercial. I can’t help posting it.

Roosevelt Forest Commission to revisit beaver trapping issue

STRATFORD — The Roosevelt Forest Commission is expected on Wednesday to revisit its decision to allow lethal beaver traps to be deployed in Roosevelt Forest, a 400-acre woodland that’s home to scores of forest creatures.

A colony of beavers has set up shop near the dead end of Pumpkin Ground Road, where there’s a trailhead that leads into the forest. Beavers build dams, and the dam that’s they’ve built is backing up a tributary to Pumpkin Ground Brook is causing a stir throughout the region.

The Roosevelt Forest Commission will meet in Town Council chambers in Town Hall. The meeting will begin Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Of course revisiting doesn’t mean they’ll be any kinder on the second round, but thinking twice is certainly preferable to not thinking at all. There have been a few protests and flurries about the inhumanity of trapping, so I’m going to fantasize that some Hartford trust member is best friends with some Roosevelt forest member and says at poker night something like, you know we had this fantastic presentation by Mike Callahan. Maybe you should call him?

Okay, these stories are both about a state as big as a postage stamp. Where do I get off referring to the whole “East Coast”? I’ll tell you where, because yesterday I was sent an email by Dave Penrose of North Carolina, looking for a beaver expert to present at the upcoming 3 day conference on stream restoration. Because he thinks that a stream restoration conference needs a beaver presence. Think about that!

I promptly introduced him to some nearby beaver voices in the land, including the good folks at the Blue Heron Nature Preserve. I also sent it to John Hadidian in case HSUS could get Stephanie Boyle involved from Virginia. The conference is three days in August so I said I was absolutely preoccupied and couldn’t help because of the beaver festival. He said, “That’s intriguing. What’s a beaver festival?”.

Something your state needs, I answered.

Martinez Beaver Festival promo 2015 from Tensegrity Productions on Vimeo.

Endless beaver promotion!

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Who's saving beavers now? March 21, 2016

Trees for Life charity puts case for governmental commitment to reintroducing beavers

The award-winning conservation charity, Trees for Life, is saying today that allowing beavers to be reintroduced to Scotland would be a golden opportunity, offering wide-ranging environmental, social and economic benefits.

The Scottish Government is due to decide on whether Eurasian beavers will be allowed to live freely in Scotland after an absence of some 500 years and in the run up to this decision, Trees for Life is urging ministers to recognise the beaver fully as a resident, native species.

Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Founder. says: ‘Allowing this native species to return would offer Scotland huge benefits. Beavers are superb ecosystem engineers and could transform and greatly improve the health of our rivers and forest ecosystems, help restore our depleted wetlands and reduce flooding – while substantially boosting wildlife tourism.

Beavers play a crucial ecological role and provide a range of important benefits for other species. They coppice and fell trees – letting light into the forest, enabling other species to grow and stimulating new growth of the trees themselves. By damming watercourses they create wetland areas – providing habitats for amphibians, invertebrates and fish, which in turn attract birds and otters.

Another great advertisement for beavers. Thanks Trees for Life and Scotland! Please keep dragging this decision out so more and more environmental groups write articles about how good beavers are. Scotland has become the beaver gift that keeps giving. Even if at the end of this they decide to defend their favorite ‘f’ words (Farmers and Fishermen) they will have done soooooooo much to promote beaver benefits in the news cycle that we will never ever stop thanking them.

Sometimes stubborn decision-makers produce the very best kind of opposition. Look at Martinez. If they had made up their mind quickly and intelligently I never would have had to research reasons why they were wrong and this website wouldn’t even exist!

Thank you notes all around.

Looks like we got ourselves a horse race!

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, What's killing beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? March 15, 2016

Residents unhappy with Stratford’s flooding issues

According to residents, beavers built a damn [sic] on Peck’s Pond, which connects to Pumpkin Ground Brook. They say they’ve experienced flooding as a result of the dam, which started in October.

Department of Public Works officials say they tried to create a piping system to keep the water level to no avail. Attempts to breach the damn were also unsuccessful.

The town’s solution is to trap and kill the beavers. Officials say it’s not a solution they wanted to come to. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials say they can’t trap and relocate the beavers.

That’s right, channel 12 news couldn’t pass up an opportunity to swear about beavers and said they built a damn. (Does that mean if the flooding gets worse they’ll say they built a god damn?) Apparently public works put a weighted pipe through the dam but can’t understand why that doesn’t stop beavers? The video shows the pipe flowing, so if they didn’t just blow it out, it’s clearly not big enough to handle the amount of water needed to control flooding. At any rate the city needs to pry open its clenched wallet and actually hire Mike or Skip who actually know what they’re doing. Looks like public pressure might help that happen.

Beaver advocates to speak to Town Council

People concerned about the town’s plans to trap and kill beavers in Roosevelt Forest are planning to ask town officials if anything can be done to change the trapping plans.

A group of Fairfield County animal activists and concerned residents will ask Mayor John Harkins and the Town Council at tonight’s regular council meeting about town’s plans to remove beavers who have settled at Pumpkin Ground Brook. The activists plan to speak to the Council during tonight’s public forum, which begins at 6:45 p.m. in the Town Council chambers. They also plan to host a brief demonstration regarding the trapping at 6:15 p.m.

The animal activists will ask if the Town Council can overrule the Roosevelt Forest Commission’s decision to lay down traps. Town officials opted to trap the beavers to alleviate flooding in the forest after residents living on Barrister Road complained in October. After Public Works crews tried to break up the dam and installed a flow device to prevent the water backup, the beavers patched up the dam, leaving commissioners with little choice.

Before the meeting they’re going to have a little demonstration too. Something to bring the news cameras I warrant. All this fuss – wouldn’t it be easier to do this right from the beginning? I wrote the forest commission and the mayor yesterday about what to do and real solutions. Do you think anyone will listen? I’m not holding my breath, but we’ll see.

Yesterday Jon and I went down memory lane and kept watch at the Escobar bridge from 6:30 to 7:30. We saw no beavers but it was surprisingly familiar and peaceful. One young man strolled by and asked if we had seen any beavers. He said he had watched a muskrat yesterday at about this time. As if hearing his cue, a rather fat and happy muskrat suddenly appeared out of the area of the latest beaver home, swam across the bank and hopped up onto the shore to paddle in the bushes and get some food. After this he marched back down, hopped in the water, and dove back into the lodge.

Maybe feeding a family?

I was thinking how happy he must be to have the space all to himself! He looked like we all feel after a the very large man sitting next to us gets off the bus. Apparently Napa saw one too, so maybe its the season.

Delightful presents arrived last night. Jamie Larson of Tags and Tiles in Havasu Arizona has a soft spot for beavers and was encouraged by our story to donate six of her gloriously layered dogtag necklaces. She even created them especially for us! If you can believe it, they are even more adorable in person. But if you want a beaver I’d go buy one yourself now, because it will be cheaper than the bidding war we’re going to see on August 6.

People saving beavers

Friends saving beavers! I watched this video public comment yesterday and it gave me total PTSD flashbacks of our November meeting, lo those many years go. Caitlin does a great job starting the conversation AND rallying the troops, despite the fairly dickish admonishment to “Talk to staff, not us”. I love the sleeper cell confrontation in the last speaker who points to an article two years ago and says “If its such a terrible problem why haven’t you done anything yet?”

Now there’s a man after my own heart.

I fiddled a bit more with Elizabeth Saunders lovely illustration and was very happy indeed, until Bruce Thompson of Wyoming suggested there was an unfortunate urinary tract association. Sheesh. There’s always a critic. Still, when I got over the giggles, I was still this.

Artist Mario Alfaro came by yesterday with his latest additions and Ron Bruno came down to do a lovely panoramic so the city could see the final product. Note the fish in the mouth of the egret and the lurking frog in the corner! Click to see larger.

The only other thing we would like for him to incorporate is the top of the filter sticking out upstream. I gave him this photo yesterday and we’ll hope its possible.

Final news. Nearly month after a resident reported a beaver tailslap and sighting in the area next to the creek monkey, Linda Kozlowski sent this right before daylight savings:

hey! this is probably old news to you but…at about 5:45 (just now…still light out) was standing on north side if escobar and saw a b.a.b. (big ass beaver) come part way up on the bank just a bit north of the old lodge and forcefully pry a stick out of the mud and swim across with it to the other side….for sure went no further downstream. not as big as old dad but pretty big. cheers!

It’s the kind of news that’s almost too hope-inducing to bear, but we’ll head down tonight and check it out. The part that made me chuckle was realizing that BIG STICK he was trying to pry out of the ground was one of the cotton wood stakes we planted this November. Funny thing is, I almost couldn’t bear to go thru with the planting because the city was being so horrible and the beavers were gone. Then I thought, well if I was a returning beaver checking to see what was if there was anything worth coming back for, some fresh tasty trees might convince me.

Hahaha. Stay tuned.

The Path to Inevitability…

heidi08 Beaver News, Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Who's saving beavers now? March 4, 2016

Nice article in the Gazette might help nudge the mural forward….

Questions surround beavers as upcoming mural celebrates legacy

Although an alleged recent sighting of a lone beaver in Martinez might bring some hope for their return, it still seems no answers have been forthcoming regarding the sudden disappearance of the Alhambra Creek beaver colony late last year.

According to Heidi Perryman of Worth a Dam, a beaver was spotted near Creek Monkey Taphouse on February 18 by a Martinez resident. The sighting is the first reported since September of last year, around the time when several young beavers suddenly and inexplicably died in the Alhambra Creek. During that time several adult beavers also disappeared, leaving the creek void of beavers for months.

Perryman says the lone beaver is likely what is known as a “disperser,” a young beaver seeking territory to mark as his or her own. She explained that currently there is no evidence that the beaver decided to stay in the creek.

Months ago, the California Department of Fish and Game oversaw the necropsy performed on a young beaver at UC Davis, however tests were inconclusive. Disease, toxins, and some poisons were all ruled out as well.

While it seems no answers or progress have been made on determining the cause of the beaver deaths, Perryman and Worth a Dam are hoping to honor their legacy in Martinez.

Worth a Dam has been working with the city on a wildlife and beaver mural to adorn the cement surface of Marina Vista Bridge Wall. Back in November Perryman pitched the idea to the PRMCC of a mural located on the south facing side of the Marina Vista Bridge at Alhambra Creek.

“The beavers made a real impact on Martinez, and that’s something we want to capture with this mural,” said Perryman. She hopes the mural reminds people of the “living creek” that runs through the center of downtown Martinez.

The artist for the mural is Mario Alfaro, who has also worked on the Joe DiMaggio mural on the Main Street Plaza Bridge. The cost of the mural will be covered by Worth a Dam for a total of $6,000. The organization hopes to cover the cost with grants.

The art committee of the PRMCC approved the mural design, so the next steps come with the city council. Perryman noted that, because the city council meeting agenda is fully booked for the month of March, the project likely won’t be on the council agenda until April.

I’m always happy when accurate and positive information about the beavers and Worth A Dam is printed. Thanks, Joseph Bustos. You made the mural even more inevitable by linking it in the press to the loss of the beavers. Hopefully it will help nudge us a little farther along queue for getting on the Agenda for city council! Fingers crossed.

Imagine how surprised I was to come across this yesterday with the help of a friend. I don’t know how I missed it in the flurry of the holidays and retirement. But imagine how especially surprised I was to read the bold sentence from Dr. Michael Pollock himself;

Manmade Beaver Dams Save Fish

At Wenas Creek, they are putting in manmade beaver-dam analogues by pounding posts into the streambed and then weaving branches among them. A few workers can run a post pounder with biodegradable hydraulic fluid and achieve hydrological results similar to those of an imported-beaver colony. The result, says Tobin, is that, “fish and farms coexist in the same reach.”

The natural solution: beavers. In the past, “problem” beavers have been relocated to streams in need. Their dams back up the water, raising streambeds while still allowing passage for salmonids. The downside is that it costs money to trap beavers and house them prior to relocation, and despite the offer of seemingly ideal habitat, they sometimes leave. Besides, says Tobin, manager of the North Yakima Conservation District, “you can’t control where they’re backing up water.”

Enter Michael Pollock of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, who pioneered the idea of reinforcing blown-out beaver dams with posts. “That’s the best strategy, because they’ve already done all the work,” says Pollock. “We’re just reducing the dams’ failure rate.”

Pollock suggested dispensing with beavers altogether.

SACRILEGE! Some one hand me the smelling salts, I’m feeling faint. And tell me, how are repairs going to be made on those dams once injury occurs? Will a team of humans be living on sight just in case? Will they also dig in the mud to encourage invertebrates? And how will the trees coppice with no one to chew them?

Of course a sentence like that could NOT go unchallenged. So I sent him this last night: