Category: Beavers and Frogs

Some good news about Michigan waterways…

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, 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, City Reports, Educational, Environmental, Urban beavers February 24, 2016

Yesterday two lovely copies of Gerry Wykes beautifully illustrated tale of the Detroit River beavers arrived in the mail. I can’t tell you how excited I was from the moment I opened and saw the striking frontspiece showing in part above. The first lines reminded me instantly of the Martinez Beaver story and the surprise with which people reacted to learn that beavers were lurking in their midst. But the tale continues with such a local sensibility to the particular meaning for this very urban river, that it was even more exciting.

The folks at the Conners Creek powerplant on the Detroit river were alarmed at first by some disappearing trees, which they attributed to vandalism, accident, or possibly Big Foot. The book makes a wonderful point of explaining that no one in their right mind would think the theft was the work of a beavers, since there had been no beavers in the Detroit river for 150 years! And just in case you’re wondering what America looked like then, Andrew Johnson was president (following Lincoln’s assassination) and in 1866 ‘negroes’ were officially recognized as American citizens.

Beavers came back to a very different Detroit river than the one they had been trapped out of.

The disappearing-tree mystery was solved with the help of a team of experts including Jason Cousino, who saw the remaining stumps and knew enough to install a night camera on one of the felled trees. Sure enough, a BEAVER was filmed returning to finish his hard night’s work. The city was elated, everyone merrily took credit for cleaning up the river. and it was even reported on Regis and Cathy Lee. Surely if the polluted Detroit river could make a comeback, anything was possible.

The hardworking beaver paid no attention to his fame, and set about making a massive lodge that from almost nowhere attracted a mate. To everyone’s surprise in the spring of 2009 kits were born. The author does a commendable job making the science of beavers, their adaptations, their life history, and even the fur trade exciting and accessible. Even though it’s written for a younger reader, I’d be fairly happy if every city official knew as much about beavers as they read in this book. Even the details of complex concepts like “coppicing” of trees are delightfully explained.

I adore this illustration in particular. (The colors are so vibrant and inviting I’m wishing it was the pattern on my bed sheets or kitchen towels.) In addition to the inviting animals, Wykes does a impressive job of showing the hardened urban skeleton they moved into, right down to the smokestacks and abandoned houses. His artwork beautiful captures the fragile resilience of “nature in the city”.

The representations of beavers are wonderfully accurate. He really captured all the parts of their lives in his illustrations. I’m not sure where the author gained such a fine familiarity with the beaver shape, shading and movements – but this gives me a little idea:

Compare - Copy — *Gerry Wykes Illustration: Cheryl Reynolds photograph*

There a few little mistakes we could have set him straight on if he had asked, like writing that beaver need Cottonwood or Willow to survive. Not true. Beavers LIKE those trees, but they can survive on a host of others including (but not limited to) Alder, Aspen, Maple, Oak, Elm and Fruit.There are even places like the Delta (the spot of historically the largest beaver population in California) where they survive without TREES – existing on Tule roots and cattails. He also mentions that folks came to America looking for the other kind of gold and were surprised to wind up with beaver gold. Which I suppose might be true for Columbus, but since we know even the pilgrims were hungry for cheap beaver fur, doesn’t sit right. It certainly doesn’t adequately describe the ruthless resource war that was taking place across this land for a century as folks sought out the ever-shrinking population of remaining beaver pelts. There, of course, could have been LOTS more information about the way that beavers help fish like salmon and trout, or wildlife like otter and mink, or herons, frogs, turtles and bats while helping rid streams of pollution. But, I’m picky. I admit it. Maybe I’m like the snobby wine connoisseur of beavers?

Regardless of those minor points, this is a beautiful book and worth holding in your hot little hands. It’s perfect as a gift for a curious youth or that nosy sister-in-law that was so interested in the sudden arrival of the curious Martinez Beavers. It goes on sale in March and is available from the publisher for 18.99. OR if you’re very lucky indeed, and no one gets there first, there will be a copy in the silent auction that you can claim for your very own.

Thanks Gerry and Wayne University Press for a truly delightful read!

White House Protects Beavers

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, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? February 23, 2016

So yesterday I was strolling blithely through the internet(s), minding my own business and expecting to see the usual array of appetizers and grandchildren on FB when I suddenly caught sight of this and became immediately interested. Something tells me you will to…

White House aims to put a value on ecosystem conservation

The White House has issued a directive (PDF) to point federal agencies toward building ecosystem-services valuation into their plans, investments and regulations. The directive, released late last year, will help agencies synthesize conservation’s ecosystem benefits with its value to society.

“For too long, we’ve thought of conservation as separate from society,” said Ken Elowe, assistant regional director of science applications for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Northeast Region. “What’s actually needed is a more landscape approach, one that doesn’t segregate people.

Like say, for instance, allowing beavers to work their magic in urban areas.

Of course I immediately marched off and looked for the memo they were talking about. And verily, I say unto you, it was much, much better than I ever expected. Truly.

Read that title again: INCORPORATING ECOSYSTEM SERVICES INTO FEDERAL DECISION MAKING!!! Do you realize what a presidential memo about this means? It means EVERY federal agency that works with nature, habitat or wildlife is advised to put special value on these services. NOAA. BLM. USFS. FWS, APHIS. They are all directed to consider the ecosystem services of any species they manage.

Now mind you, it doesn’t actually SAY the word beaver in this memo, but it might as bloody well have. It goes on to describe in detail every single service they provide and their irreplaceable value. Don’t believe me? Just read for yourself.

And why wasn’t there a parade for this memo? What is wrong with me that you didn’t read about it on October 7th when it was released? The truth is NO ONE KNEW ABOUT IT. Or if they did they weren’t allowed to talk about it. I heard from Suzanne Fouty yesterday that she never heard about it at the Forest Service. And Brock Dolman said OAEC didn’t know about it either. This was a SLEEPER memo, obviously uncelebrated to risk upsetting as few people as possible, the same way you might transition your father to decaf without telling him. But I’m ringing and ringing the bell. And you can help. Here’s my news flash of the memo. With the exception of a single word it only contains actual text of the memo. You should be able to hit the plus button to make it bigger.

You can probably guess that single word.

headline-1

After that extreme gratification, you should lie back and enjoy the virtual smoke of Beth Pratt’s recent TED talk at Yosemite. She does a great job describing the importance of Urban Wildlife and the book she mentions will have the photo by a certain Martinez beaver defender you might recognize. I’m guessing this is going to make a difference for a host of beavers.

Some beaver-love for Valentine’s day

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver Chewing, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? February 14, 2016

Great news this morning in the Guardian, who happily picked up the Devon story. You will like every part of it, so I recommend reading the entire thing yourself. It starts with Dr. Brazier surveying the ‘damage’. Enjoy!

Beavers at work … Devon dwellers reveal their flair for fighting floods

The devastation is part of a scheme that backers hope will provide a template for a more balanced approach to flood prevention. The government is spending £3.2bn on flood management in the course of this parliament. As flood events such as those seen in Cumbria at the end of last year become more common, so attention has turned to flood management, with a call for resources to be allocated not to building flood defences to deal with the water when it arrives downstream but prevent it getting there at all.

The beavers resident on the three hectares of woodland near Okehampton in Devon could be part of the solution. In the five years since they moved there, they have toppled trees, gnawed bark, dug channels, constructed dams and made a rather impressive home for themselves.

“Prior to working with beavers we’d never really come across animals that would disrupt your work so much,” says Brazier, a hydrologist at the University of Exeter, as he surveys the tangle of branches and tree trunks.

But there is hope, too. New shoots are sprouting from the felled willows and a closer inspection reveals that beneath the devastation lies further evidence of new life promoted by the beavers’ work. “They are a keystone species who are obviously engineering the environment to their own benefit,” says Brazier. “But what’s interesting is all the other benefits.”

The Devon project targets three key indicators: water storage, flood attenuation and water quality. The beavers are, they believe, helping in all three. The 13 dams they have built along the 150 metres stretch of water have increased water storage capacity, evened out the flow of water and improved the quality of the water that emerges from the dams.

Oh its good when science evaluates beavers. Because even when the scientists don’t like us the results are ALWAYS our friends. I can’t imagine another incidence of a three hectare study getting reported in the Guardian, but I’m very happy England has had 500 years to get surprised by things they used to see every day. I especially loved this section.

Mark Elliott, who leads the beaver project for the Devon Wildlife Trust, pulls a large stone from the water. On the underside, a small community of grubs and larvae writhe and squirm: they are caddisflies and mayflies. “What’s happened here is transformational,” he says. “You have this incredibly complex mosaic of a transitional, dynamic habitat. There’s now a complex braided stream providing a habitat for orchids, watermint, bog pimpernel, herons, kingfishers, water beetles and damselflies. Five years ago when we started out, we didn’t know where we were going to get.”

They’re called ecosystem engineers for a reason! You could have asked me what you were going to get and I would have told you. But it’s better for the news cycle if you’re surprised and think you’re the first one who discovered this. Well done! There is only one section I enjoyed more – and I’m assuming that’s a valentine gift especially for me.

Perhaps the most common misconception about beavers is that they will eat all the fish in the newly clean rivers, a charge repeated by Labour MP Mary Creagh during a select committee hearing into the government’s response to flooding. It was pointed out that beavers are actually herbivores.

Honestly, go read the whole thing, and send it to your PTA or uncle. It’s worth sharing. And because it’s a very special day, I made us this.

Another chapter in our beaver tale

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, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Educational, Who's saving beavers now? February 11, 2016

Having trouble deciding what to read at night? I might have just found an answer. This imminently published book covers the exciting return of beavers to the Detroit River. It’s lovely writing and illustrations are aimed at children 8-12 but you can bet I’ll be reading my copy avidly and telling you all about it here, at beaver central. I’m attaching the publishers pdf which you can read or download for more details.

And yes. Let’s hear it for the beavers.

Wykes_one-sheet_KS-2

There’s a nice article about our Idaho beaver friends recent beaver count, but I’m sure you’ll agree that the choice of photo is a little inappropriate:

Oof! I wrote Debbie and the paper when this came out but I’m there haven’t been changes. Never mind, lets focus on the words which are wonderful!

“Helping the Portneuf River watershed, one beaver at a time” is the motto of the Watershed Guardians, whose annual BeaverCount on Mink and Dempsey creeks last weekend was part of that effort.

The beaver count is a volunteer effort organized by Watershed Guardians. And the results from the annual census will influence how many trapping permits are issued for beaver on Mink Creek, Dempsey Creek and other streams within the Portneuf River watershed, said Mike Settell, the group’s director.

Several Scout troops and students from Idaho State University’s Outdoor Leadership program took part in the annual count on Saturday, along with 32 volunteer surveyors known as “Flat-tailers.”

During the annual count, volunteers recorded beaver scat, tracks, and slides, which indicate that the animals still occupy ponds on Mink Creek and other areas.

Currently in its fifth year, data collected during the count will be shared at open house events for the public, federal agencies, and Idaho Fish and Game, said Settell, who’s an environmental engineer. The findings will also be presented at the “State of the Beaver” conference in Canyonville, Oregon.

Settell said the number of trapping permits issued for beaver on the Main and the South forks of Mink Creek has been reduced from 10 to five animals, and trapping on the East and West forks was suspended for an additional two years.

Beaver are the original watershed guardians, Settell said. The indigenous animals play a crucial role in flood control, recharging the ground water supply and creating habitat in a pond-wetland-stream ecosystem.

“Along the Portneuf, beaver create habitat for every species from frogs to moose,” Settell said. “This year we’re also looking at fisheries, as well. And streams that have beaver activity typically have more and larger native species of fish, such as the Yellowstone cutthroat trout.”

Meanwhile, a lack of beaver activity leads to an increase in sediment and a greater chance of peak flood-damage downstream.

Settell said Watershed Guardians operates through volunteers and by donations. The mission of the group is to raise awareness about the crucial role that beavers play in maintaining wildlife habitat and water quality within the Portneuf River watershed.

Love that mission. Great work Mike and Team Mike! I’m so happy to have your voice for beavers on the good side. In the past couple years Mike has even undertaken a beaver musical festival known as the “Beaver dam Jam”, and I couldn’t be more thrilled with their many successes. Idaho is one place where sport trapping is still more common than depredation – so its a big deal that folks are looking out for beavers.

Our mural meeting went very well yesterday, we have been approved by the art committee and assuming they have a quorum next week we are on the schedule to present at the PRMCC on Tuesday. Artist Mario Alfaro showed up with a canvas of his latest efforts, and we were all very impressed. Click twice to see a bigger version.

This artwork really focuses on our natural color scheme and boasts an egret and a turtle! Love the many beavers, and very happy to see the children in the stand of trees near the dam. So familiar! I’m thinking this will look amazing on the bridge.

Ohh and I found this by accident the other day. It’s obviously a computer generated reading of our wikipedia entry, but fun to see nevertheless.

Git yer kilt an’ save the beavers!

heidi08 Beaver Chewing, Beaver News, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? February 10, 2016

Some mornings you just want to curl up with a mug of coffee and a bagel and savor articles like this. It wasn’t easy to get you the full text but I KNEW you would want to read it, and it’s much finer writing than anything I’m likely to say, so get comfortable. It was written by Jim Crumley for the Courier, the author of Nature’s architect, and considered by some to be the finest nature writing in Scotland – when you read this you will see why.

Ahh, does that describe our Martinez beaver controversy or WHAT? Nothing gets thought about more than whether or not some bit of nature should be allowed to do natural things. How true!

And beavers don’t VOTE. Did you get that? I am SO JEALOUS of Scotland. It gets writers like this AND really good beer. And castles. What do we get? Buffalo, Starbucks and primary elections. That’s what.

Shhh…we’re coming to my favorite part….about stakeholders.

“It permeates the official language like midges on a dam day on Mull“. Is it possible to fall in love with a column? For those of you that haven’t experienced the luxury of midges, let me say that once a million years ago Jon and I went for a delightful picnic on the Scottish countryside. and were very surprised to learn that while we were happily enjoying our treat, some tiny invisible insects were busy enjoying US. Midges stealth and strategy lies in the fact they are much smaller than mosquitoes – so they never get slapped as they should. Unlike mosquitoes – not all kinds bite. But they come in clouds and are VERY annoying. Mull is an island in Scotland. And accusing the government of counting as many stakeholders as there are midges on this wet island makes me very happy indeed.

“And look no further than the BUNGLING BRUTALITY of the badger cull”. Not only is this alliteration at its finest, Crumley cheerfully slashes his enemies with a stark oxymoron. Lots of bullies are happy to be called brutal, but but having your brutality described as ‘bungling’ changes the meaning entirely. Now instead of ‘pulling the wings off flies’ you are pulling the tail feathers off a chicken and everyone is looking at you and wondering why.

“Ambassadors of biodiversity“. Ahhh I love the way that sounds. Someone needs to read me this article every earth day in a thick Scotish brogue – I’m thinking maybe Frank Helling as John Muir.

33,000 signatures! How ironic! If the farmers had just put up with the beavers they would have probably gotten their way in earning the right to depredate problem beavers. Now this has created such a national and international stir they will never hear the end of it.

Beavers are as much Scots as the people themselves. LOVE IT!

This morning we’re off to the PRMCC again for more mural review with Mario’s most recent draft, and yesterday I was invited back to the SF Waterboard to give a talk. Apparently the planning division liked it so much beavers are being invited back for the Watershed division. Nice!