Category: Beavers and salmon

Everyone’s smarter than us.

heidi08 Beavers and salmon, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Environmental October 14, 2015

Yesterday we discussed Utah’s superiority in all things beaver, today I got a letter from the Bear River Watershed Coalition saying they were working to get beaver named STATE RODENT in the 2016 legislative session.

STATE RODENT.

Today I received notice that the new Recovery Plan for Coho has been released for public comment in Oregon. Chock full of good things to say about saving our threatened Coho Salmon and guess what that means for our furry friends.

Did you really read that list? NO KILLING until all other options are exhausted! That’s the best sentence I ever saw. I dream of reading that sentence. And number three “Work with landowners to teach non lethal problem solving”. Some one pinch me, I must have fallen asleep again. And number 1! Develop a BEAVER CONSERVATION PLAN. Can I be on that committee? Please?

Wow this says West Coast Region. California’s in the west, right? Why can’t we enlist? Where do we sign up? Why are we always at the back of the line in beaver knowledge?

Sigh.

Here in Martinez, arguably the smartest city in ALL of the state when it comes to beavers (after Napatopia of course) , we’re pretty damn stupid still. Today they’re ripping out the flow device. And yesterday they ripped out the Annex. I’m calling it the Alhambra Creek Bank Destabilization Project. Just see if you don’t agree this will work well to fill the water with mud in no time.

That thing holding back the mud is plastic, which will be removed so the land can slide more easily. There’s an article coming soon about the flow device removal, the reporter is apparently waiting until the city actually returns their phone calls. In the meantime, all these creeks won’t ruin themselves! Martinez has work to do.

We need cheering up so I committed a minor crime and loaded the program I wrote about a while ago on youtube. Watch it fast before it’s removed. It’s a bright, fun and lovely piece about our Scottish cousins, who, btw, apparently are ALSO smarter than California.

Forestry Beavers

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers, kits, Who's saving beavers now? October 11, 2015

Our Georgia-based beaver friend BK sends this 1906 forestry text on beavers. He is looking for reference on the amount of water stored by beaver ponds, so send anything you have my way. I love reading this lost wisdom. It has so much hope for the future and a mistaken faith in our recognition of doing the right thing. Here’s the awesome conclusion:

How touching the author wants a closed season for beaver. Ahem. Let me be the first to tell you that’s never going to happen. Actually, I don’t worry about beaver trappers. I worry about depredation. At least recreational trappers have to COUNT the number of beaver they kill. Property owners and cities don’t.

All I want is for the number of inconvenient beavers killed every year to be COUNTED. Is that so much to ask?

In honor of the flow device removal and our 3000th post, I finally got around to making a video about this year’s kits. It was hard work editing through all that weeping. But I’m glad the monument to their brief lives is done. A few folks sent comments and were willing to share them, so I thought I’d pass them along. If you want to add some email me or post them directly to the website. I guess the lesson of all this is that loving anything means you let yourself risk the pain of losing it. I’m sure there’s wisdom to be gleaned from that somewhere.

At the moment I pretty much just think it sucks.

Oohh, just beautiful, Heidi. Can’t speak, can’t type. Wishing you lots of pennies from heaven. Oooh those sweet babies…If I could wave a magic wand and bring them back, I would. I don’t know how you have made it through, Heidi, but that is the sweetest little film ever. RE of Napa

Thank you so much for making this for all of us. Many tears fell but I agree it needed to be done. LB Martinez

Yes, thank you, too ….you do such great work for both man & animals! Tears tears tears. CB Martinez

That was very beautiful, Heidi. Thank you. Please, let’s hope Alhambra Creek becomes home to more beaver families in the near future. Once this drought is over and the creek flows normally again, the willows grow, and the tullies flourish, and the homeless have homes, we will sit together again at the creek side and marvel at how magnificent the beavers are. I know this isn’t the end, even though it feels like it might be for awhile. Because of your initial interest and attention those many years ago on our wonderful Martinez beaver family; and subsequently, your stewardship and your educating the world about them, more beavers everywhere are being appreciated and saved. I’m so sad as I know you and Jon are too. But what a beautiful tribute you made to them, and for us all. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Know I love and appreciate you and Jon, and all your hard work for our Martinez beavers, and beavers everywhere. I will educate anyone, anywhere about the beaver, and their incredible engineering for the environment. Yes, they are definitely Worth A Dam, and much much more.
JO Martinez

The Beaver Borrowers

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and salmon October 9, 2015

Imagine my surprise when I saw our friend Eli Asarian post this photo on the beaver management forum to promote his workshop at the upcoming salmonid Conference! I didn’t remember him asking me to use it, or asking Cheryl?

But I’m on vacation. Maybe it slipped past me, maybe that isn’t even Cheryl’s photo? So I politely inquired. He said that they were using it as “Place-holder” for promotional materials and were going to ask eventually. I see now that they actually were using three such “place-holders”. And really since the materials have already been released, they can no longer be accurately described as “place-holders” can it?

Screen shot 2015-10-09 at 6.11.28 AM

Now don’t get me wrong. It’s good that they credited Cheryl and Worth A Dam and we’re happy to share for the right reasons, but honestly, you would think that if ALL these people were learning to live with beavers, they’d eventually have some of their OWN photos to use for these things, wouldn’t you? How hard is it to ASK anyway?

Sheesh.

Now with that rant off my chest I have to hurry up and move to Canada in time to send out the cutest Christmas Card Stamps EVER.

A moose, beaver and polar bear celebrate Christmas on new stamps from Canada

Wouldn’t that put you in the holiday spirit? Tell Canadian Santa I’ve been good. It’s not like I’m greedy, I only need the middle one.

Screen shot 2015-10-09 at 6.42.49 AM

MMM Beavers!

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, City Reports, Creative Solutions August 8, 2020

Congratulations for having the strange fortune reading our three thousandth post! Where has the time gone? Three presents today, one for each of the thousand posts about beavers that we have endured. I’ll save the most fun for last, but let’s start with an awesome new article from Cattleman’s magazine in Canada.

In praise of water, and beavers

Steve Kenyon

Do you know who is responsible for most of the biodiversity in this country? Long before we were ever here, it was our friendly, hard-working beaver, that’s who! This country was built by the beaver long before the fur trade depleted their numbers. To make a home, he backs up water, causing his environment to flourish in biodiversity because all life needs water. Plants, animals, fungi, insects and birds all rely on water and thanks to the beaver, they can all thrive within abundant riparian areas.

Each ecosystem relies on the other and it all starts with water. It aggravates me when we decide that the beaver stands in the way of industry. First off, the beaver were here first. Secondly, his job is more important than ours. He created the environment that allows agriculture to prosper. Thirdly, water is a very valuable resource. If he provides more for you, you should be thanking him.

How’s that for awesome proof that we’re slowly changing hearts and minds around the hemisphere and beyond? Thanks for this truly visionary article delivered to the best possible audience. Go read the whole thing and leave Steve a comment in praise of his writing.

Rusty Cohn from Napa sent me this AWESOME photo of a kit the other day and I new it belonged in our celebrations.

10378537_10205350702753324_2801776248016580205_n — Tulocay beaver kit: Rusty Cohn

Finally, the beavers of the world told me to thank you for reading about them by giving you a good laugh. Back when Martinez decided to paint over the mural beaver our pettiness got national press. The best was a morning radio show in Chicago. I don’t think anything could be funnier, and believe me I listened a LOT when I was making the cartoon. Enjoy, remember this cautionary tail warning against truly bad decisions at the civic level and celebrate beavers![wonderplugin_video iframe=”https://youtu.be/i1HSvWopHMU” lightbox=0 lightboxsize=1 lightboxwidth=960 lightboxheight=540 autoopen=0 autoopendelay=0 autoclose=0 lightboxtitle=”” lightboxgroup=”” lightboxshownavigation=0 showimage=”” lightboxoptions=”” videowidth=600 videoheight=400 keepaspectratio=1 autoplay=0 loop=0 videocss=”position:relative;display:block;background-color:#000;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%;margin:0 auto;” playbutton=”https://www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wonderplugin-video-embed/engine/playvideo-64-64-0.png”]

Unravelling Mysteries of the Beaver Genome

heidi08 Beaver Chewing, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? October 2, 2015

Here’s something we missed in September.

Fun video. Makes me genuinely curious about what they’d find. Hey, how much would we have to donate to have Bennie at a beaver festival? Looks like they’re having troubles raising the funds. I bet this website can help them a little. I’m not a fan of beavers in zoos but since he’s there already we might as well harmlessly learn what we can from him right? I mean since beavers are a big mishmash genetically because of US we should help fix what we can, right?

This article from New York tells us little that is new, but it’s a pleasant read anyway.

S pecies spotlight: The beaver’s tale

Looks like: The Beaver is a large, unmistakable rodent that can reach up to 26-65 pounds and features a broad, flattened tail that can reach 9-10-inches long and 6-inches wide. Beavers have yellow-brown to almost black fur, webbed feet and prominent orange teeth.

Niche: Beavers are herbivores, eating tree and water plant parts. As winter approaches, they will collect and cache food underwater near the entrance of their lodge in a “feedpile” to use during winter. Beavers can be prey for coyote, fisher, bear and bobcat when they leave the pond in search of food. Kits can also be prey for mink, otter, fox and great-horned owl.s tale

Not nearly enough about how this keystone species builds wetlands that safe fish, frogs, birds and otter. But it’s nice to see anyway. I am impatient for the day when the people who decide to print “interesting facts about the beaver” have things to say that are REALLY interesting.

I don’t know how your blood pressure is this morning, but I’m heading out on vacation tomorrow so mine’s looking pretty good. I’ll try to reach over the mai tai’s and coconuts and manage to post something, especially Wednesday because it will be the auspicious occasion of our 3000th post. Wow. I’ll make sure to tell you a really closely guarded beaver secret that day to make it worth your while.

In the mean time, your blood pressure can take a vacation by watching this, from our Norwegian friend of the Scottish beavers, Sylvia Mueller. She took this on holiday in Germany.

Beautiful footage. Enjoy.