Category: Beavers and salmon

NOBODY DOES IT BETTER THAN BEAVERS

heidi08 Beavers and Nitrates, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout February 17, 2020

England just isn’;t sure beavers fit onto their landscape anymore, but all indications point in their favor. I don’t know what they’re expecting. A golden sword rising from the misty lake to show they belong? Maybe.

Wild beavers reduce flood risk and boost wildlife, study finds

Beavers living wild on an English river have reduced the risk of flooding for local people and boosted wildlife, a five-year trial has found.

The aquatic mammals living on the River Otter in Devon have caused some localised problems for several landowners, but these could be addressed successfully with “active management”, the study said.

Other wildlife, including fish, water voles, amphibians and birds, have benefited from the presence of the beavers living on the river and creating new habitat.

The findings are the culmination of a five-year study of the first licensed release of beavers into the wild in England since they were hunted to extinction more than 400 years ago.

It found the wild beavers on the south Devon river provided more benefits to people and the landscape than the costs they caused.

Good lord. Who among us could make the same claim. Have YOU ever solved more problems than you caused? Have I? Well I guess England is a mean judge of character. Because they’re backing this claim up with data.

Research by the team of scientists, overseen by Professor Richard Brazier from the University of Exeter, found they are providing benefits to people, including in the flood-prone community of East Budleigh.

Beavers have constructed six dams upstream of the village, which have measurably and significantly reduced peak flood flows through the community, the report said.

Evidence from another trial in north Devon, where beavers in an enclosure have built 13 dams and ponds, shows they also play a role in filtering soil, manure, slurry and fertilisers from farmland.

Despite concerns that beaver dams might affect fish populations, the research found that in the pools created by damming the streams there were 37% more fish than in comparable stretches of the river with no dams.

Get the hell out! 37% More fish in beaver ponds? It’s almost like putting a percent sign next to an actual fact makes it sound MORE true. (4 out of 5 dentists recommend sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum sort of thing). There are more fish in beaver ponds. 37% more. We counted and did the stats. Now do you believe us?

Devon Wildlife Trust’s Mark Elliott, who leads the River Otter Beaver Trial, said “I think we’ve all been surprised by these amazing animals’ ability to thrive, once again, in our wetland ecosystems.

“It also shows their unrivaled capacity to breathe new life into our rivers and wetlands, very few of which are in good health.”

Unrivaled the right word, Mark. What they do has never been done by anyone else. Nobody does it better. No one else even comes close. Let beavers do their jobs and if you want to count up those jobs on your little clipboards go right ahead.

Excuse me. I feel a song coming on.

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SALMON SAYS “CA NEEDS BEAVERS!”

heidi08 BDA's, Beavers and salmon February 15, 2020

This world is getting spurts of beaver good news at a steady clip. In 10 days the first East Coast Beaver conference gets underway a mere few weeks later Santa Cruz will get it’s own beaver-heavy version of the 38th ever salmonid conference with some superstars of its own. Don’t believe me?

Low-Tech Process-Based Restoration with Beaver and Wood: Jump-Starting Structurally Starved Streams

Eli Asarian, Riverbend Sciences
Elijah Portugal, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Joseph Wheaton, Utah State University

The scale and severity of river impairment globally cannot be meaningfully addressed solely using traditional hard-engineering restoration approaches. This workshop will be an opportunity to share recent developments in the evolving science and practice of low-tech process-based restoration (LT-PBR) of riverscapes. LT-PBR is the practice of adding low unit-cost wood and beaver dams to riverscapes to mimic functions and initiate specific processes that improve river habitats. Dr. Joseph Wheaton (Utah State University) will lead the morning portion of the workshop, providing an introduction to the LT-PBR restoration approach and case-study examples from recent and ongoing LT-PBR projects primarily from outside of California.

How’s that for impressive! Just a few counties away and all the best minds gathered to discuss.

Introduction to the Low-Tech Process-Based Restoration of Riverscapes Design Manual
Joe Wheaton, Utah State University

Temperature, Hydrological and Fish-Passage Impacts of beaver-based stream restoration: Hypotheses, Models and Data and the Way Forward with Low Tech Process Based Restoration
Chris Jordan, NOAA/NMFS/Northwest Fisheries Science Center

Riparian Vegetation and Stream Channel Response to Meadow Restoration using Synthetic Beaver Dams in Childs Meadow, California
Kristen Wilson, The Nature Conservancy

California’s First Beaver Dam Analogues (BDAs) – What Half a Decade Has Taught Us
Charnna Gilmore, Scott River Watershed Council

Four Years of Process-based Restoration at Doty Ravine
Damion Ciotti, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Shinn Ranch: PBR the hard way
Kevin Swift, Swift Water Design

Beaver Dam Analog Design, Construction, and Performance on the Trinity River California
John Bair, McBain Associates

Beaver Restoration Planning and Implementation in California: Tools and Case Studies
Kate Lundquist, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center WATER Institute

Beaver (Castor Canadensis) of the Salinas River: A Human Dimensions-Inclusive Overview for Assessing Landscape-Scale Beaver-Assisted Restoration Opportunities
Stuart Suplik, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo – Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences Dept.

Of course you wanna be there. We all wanna be there. Mostly I want the head of CDFG to be there. And the Governor. But okay. I settle for several really smart people.

And this photo, which was reported on the Colorado news last night. Because its February. And we know what happens in February.

Police in Colorado block traffic to protect a beaver

Tell me that policeman will ever pose with anything that makes him look cuter. I dare you.

A HEYDAY FOR BEAVERS

heidi08 Beaver Book, Beavers and salmon February 8, 2020

Heyday Publishing that is.

Looks like artist and water guru Obi Kaufann just signed a 6 volume contract with California’s favorite publisher. The latest book looks very nice. But it’s the one that comes after that which got my attention.

Artist, author of ‘The California Field Atlas’ talks about Sonoma County’s ecology

Bestselling author, artist and adventurer Obi Kaufmann answers to an unusual calling: over the past few decades he’s explored vast tracts of California’s wild backcountry on foot, from the Siskiyou Mountains near the Oregon border to the Salton Sea near Mexico.

In the process, he’s acquired a unique firsthand view of the state’s diverse natural world and the complex workings of its deepest systems.

This coming Tuesday, Feb. 11, Kaufmann will be in Santa Rosa to introduce a slice of what he’s discovered and his new hand- illustrated book, “The State of Water,” along with perspective on what he sees as California’s unfolding ecological story.

Okay now that looks like it definitely belongs at the beaver festival. And Californians thirst for knowledge about their own water. But guess what he’s working on now?

“I am working on a series of what will ultimately be six books,” he said. “And two of the main characters in the next book (on forests) are Sonoma County locals — the salmon and the beaver.”

“Can you imagine, just 200 years ago, nearly every watershed on nearly every water course in Sonoma County held these two species,” he said. “We’re looking at thousands of beavers, a beaver population density of two or three per kilometer.”

“Beaver created cold, clear, clean water habitat for salmon. And at the end of their life cycle, when the fish returned to the headwaters of their birth, they laid their bodies down, depositing hundreds of thousands of metric tons of calcium, phosphorus and nitrogen, which came back down the Russian River in big floods to feed the forests the fertilizer they need.”

Kaufmann believes the two native animals offer modern Californians an ecological architecture for restoration.

I’m guessing Brock Dolman promoting beavers and salmon will be heavily featured in that book. I just hope it comes out FAST. California needs to get the beaver salmon point soon, or it will be too late. For the salmon I mean, beavers of course will stick around no matter what stupid stuff we do.

Plenty of people get on the beaver bandwagon eventually. Check out this article.

Polluted, damaged streams in Chesapeake region at center of debate over cleanup

A billion-dollar industry has emerged as local governments work to stay below EPA limits for urban runoff that allow them to qualify for stormwater permits and that help determine federal funding to states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

But environmental scientists say it is unclear whether the high-cost projects are worth the investment. The work typically uses heavy machinery to clear old trees and plant new ones around re-engineered streams that contain boulders, wood and vegetation meant to absorb harmful pollutants.

In some cases, such projects may be hurting surrounding wildlife unnecessarily, some experts say.

“You modify the system so much that you risk transforming a stream ecosystem into something else. And the question becomes: Is that good?” said Solange Filoso, an aquatic biologist at the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science who advocates for smarter stream restoration designs and a greater focus on the sources of urban runoff.

Now we all know that. And we all know what would do it better. But I didn’t know Maryland knew that too.

Thomas Jordan, a senior scientist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, said a fair amount of guesswork is involved in the effort. He cited a $1 million project on his center’s property in Anne Arundel County, Md., that initially caused the water to turn a rusty color — because of iron leaching out of rehydrated soil — and, later, appeared to be no more effective at removing pollutants than a beaver dam further downstream.

“And the beavers do that free,” he said.

Thomas Jordan at the Smithsonian Environental Research Center gets an email. Something tells me this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

A NEW BEAVER NON-PROFIT FOR 2020: THE BEAVER COALITION

heidi08 Beavers and climate change, Beavers and salmon, Who's defending beavers now? January 1, 2020

Happy New Year! Does your head hurt? I’m going to boldly assume it doesn’t and march us straight into new business. It’s time for a little Oregon news, don’t you think? Let’s talk about Jakob Shockey for a change.

The Business of Beavers: Biologist speaking about a vital animal

ASTORIA — Beaver play a critical role in riparian and wetland systems, often creating better habitat in a site than humans can construct with big money and machinery. Beaver also can cause issues when in close proximity to the built environment. Wildlife biologist Jakob Shockey will touch upon these topics in a free presentation about beaver biology and management at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 15 at the Astoria Library.

Hurray for beavers and they’re critical role! Now the picture made me briefly anxious that he has a ‘display beaver’ but the photograph says this picture was provided to the paper and probably shows a moment of successful relocation or something, since this is Oregon where its legal.

Shockey will talk about what beaver do and why they do it, their keystone role in our ecosystem and the historical context of beaver and humans in the Pacific Northwest. He will discuss tools for addressing common conflicts through natural science and design, and why predictive management of beaver at a site is worthwhile. Finally, Shockey will look at emergent trends in beaver management and strategies for partnering with beaver for habitat restoration and water resiliency.

Shockey has worked professionally in Oregon’s streams, rivers and wetlands for over seven years. He manages the restoration program for the Applegate Partnership and owns Beaver State Wildlife Solutions, a company that specializes in responding to frustrating conflicts with wildlife in a new way. He co-founded The Beaver Coalition, an organization working to address the factors that limit the return of beaver to the drying watersheds of the northern hemisphere.

The beaver coalition? Do I know about the beaver coalition? Do you? Ha, you know I just googled the phrase and the ONLY place I can see it used is on that Crazy website. You know the one, But I’m sure it’s a good thing and I’m sure he didn’t snag the name from our headline. (To be fair, I have written a headline every day 350 times a year for more than a decade so that’s 3850 titles that mathematically just must be the name of someone’s nonprofit). I sure do wish I knew more this coalition! I will write Jakob and ask him to fill us in.

The funny thing is I got an email two days ago from some folks who said they worked with the Corvalis Beaver Strike Team and wanted to get in touch with someone named Rob Walton, who I didn’t now. For the record, I didn’t know about the strike team either. Here’s their website:

The Beaver Strike Team is a local volunteer citizen action group composed of federal, state, and university biologists, experts in beaver-human conflict resolution, watershed council and wildlife center staff, and other wildlife advocates.

They work with cities to install flow devices, protect trees and educate. How did we not know about them? Cool huh? I don’t know how, but somehow they knew about us, thank goodness. When I went looking for their missing contact I found this: and then they reminded me that I actually wrote about Rob already. One day before the beaver festival so no wonder I forgot.

ROB WALTON:

Started New Job at The Beaver Coalition

December 20, 2019 — Co-Founder/Producer

Portland, Oregon

The Beaver Coalition supports the benefits that beavers can provide to combat climate change and restore salmon runs.

Rob retired from NOAA in 2018 and presenting at BeaverCon on salmon. He has been working with Jakob to get the beaver coalition up and running last month. Pretty amazing they were organized enough to be a Patagonia matching recipient already! Here’s what a friend of his wrote on FB,

Jakob Shockey has founded a brand new, baby non-profit utilizing beavers for ecological health. Beavers = Salmon and today they are having matching donations IF you are motivated by this work and what to help start the Beaver Coalition From the gr und up here is an opportunity to double your donation.

What does this all mean? We’re SURROUNDED by beaver supporters! Or at least Oregon is. And Washington. Good gracious maybe someday they’ll be a beaver strike team in California and I can finally hang up my keyboard for good.

What an exciting beaver world 2020 is going to be!

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T WANT BEAVERS, FRY FRY FRY AGAIN

heidi08 Beaver ponds, Beavers and salmon December 15, 2019

What will it take to change minds about beavers? I mean the saving water and fire prevention don’t see to be doing it. The biodiversity and red-legged frogs aren’t getting the message out. The trumpeter swans and trout unlimited studies aren’t turning the tide, The nitrogen removal isn’t winning votes. So what’s gonna be THE thing?

I’m still thinking maybe this.

Salmon lose diversity in managed rivers, reducing resilience to environmental change

The manipulation of rivers in California is jeopardizing the resilience of native Chinook salmon. It compresses their migration timing to the point that they crowd their habitats. They may miss the best window for entering the ocean and growing into adults, new research shows.

Fish that begin their migration in mid-spring are the ones that survive best and dominate adult salmon returns to rivers such as the Stanislaus. These results were cited in a study published this week in Global Change Biology. Flow alteration and habitat loss have in effect homogenized the survival opportunities of salmon in this highly managed river system, researchers wrote.

The good news is that even small steps to improve their access to habitat and restore natural flows could boost their survival.

Gosh I wonder what those small changes could entail. I mean if it was something easy to implement and cheap maybe those poor salmon would stand a fighting chance. But surely its a complex problem and there’s not some simple solution. That would be too good to be true. Right?

The trouble is, less than 3 percent of wetland habitat remains in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. This leaves the small, early migrating fry without the much needed feeding and rearing refuge they need to grow and thrive on their seaward journey.

The authors say that even minor steps to restore some of the natural fluctuations in river flow could benefit salmon by helping maintain some of their valuable diversity. Fry migrate early in such great numbers that even small improvements in their survival rates through the Delta could yield many more fish to help boost adult returns.

Gosh. Small safe ponds, Where fry can feed and get fat before they make the dangerous journey. Someplace where deep water is a sure thing. Where wetland habitat is expected and maintained. Plenty of little fish mean plenty of big fish. Who knew? Not a silver bullet, but a beaver bullet!