Category: Beavers and salmon

NOAA CONCLUSIONS ARE A MIXED BAG

heidi08 Beavers and salmon June 20, 2020

What a surprise. The feds looked at the same exact data about the salmon and steelhead population being threatened by beaver killing and came up with opposite conclusions that support their careers. It’s almost like they reviewed the research with their eyes closed!

I guess Upton Sinclair was right.

Trump Administration OKs Beaver Killing in Oregon, Despite Harm to Endangered Salmon, Steelhead

Portland, OR – Despite recognizing that restoring beaver populations is key to recovery of imperiled salmon and steelhead species, a federal agency just gave the go-ahead to keep killing beavers in Oregon.

In a long-awaited analysis, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued its findings on the impact on salmon and steelhead of continued killing of Oregon beavers by Wildlife Services, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In this opinion, we concluded the proposed actions are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the following ESA-listed species, or result in the destruction or adverse modification of their proposed or designated critical habitats:

1.Lower Columbia River (LCR) Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha)
2.Upper Willamette River (UWR) Chinook salmon
3.Snake River (SR) spring/summer-run Chinook salmon
4.SR fall-run Chinook salmon
5.Columbia River (CR) chum salmon (O. keta)
6.LCR coho salmon (O. kisutch)
7.Oregon Coast (OC) coho salmon
8.Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC) coho salmon
9.LCR steelhead (O. mykiss)
10.UWR steelhead
11.Middle Columbia River (MCR) steelhead12.Snake River Basin (SRB) steelhead

We looked at the data you looked at and concluded we don’t care very much about your icky ole beavers. I sit in the big chair and I get to do what I want. No matter how many salmon die.

Still no one tells NOAA and NMNS not to pay attention to research entirely. Check out their reference section to remind yourself that they got an earful of Michael Polloclk. I read these results with a less unhappy eye than some do. Look at their conclusions.

3.3 Essential Fish Habitat Conservation Recommendations

The following three conservation measures are necessary to avoid, mitigate, or offset the impact of the proposed action on EFH. All of these conservation recommendations are a subset of the ESA terms and conditions.

1.Promote non-lethal methods. Minimize adverse effects from beaver removal by promoting non-lethal management, as stated in term and condition 1 in the accompanying opinion.

2.Monitoring and reporting. Ensure completion of monitoring and reporting to confirm the proposed action is meeting the objective of limiting adverse effects, as stated in term and condition #2 in the accompanying opinion.

3.Participate in outreach programs. Participate in efforts to improve landowner outreach and funding programs to manage beaver where they exist using non-lethal methods, as stated in conservation recommendation #1 in the accompanying opinion.

4.Participate in relocation efforts. Participate in any new beaver relocation efforts by providing live-trapped beaver, as stated in conservation recommendation #2 in the accompanying opinion.

If nonlethal measures were recommended, encouraged or even required, with the use of flow devices, and fish and game actually promoted beaver benefits, As in someone collected a saIary for saying good things about beavers, would die a very very happy woman.

I think we’re grading on a curve, and this ain’t a bad start.

2020.06.17-NOAA-Beaver-BiOp

WHOM SHALL WE BLAME? YOU KNOW WHOM

heidi08 Beavers and salmon, Beavers and saltwater May 9, 2020

When a huge crisis of our own making escalates to the point that we can ignore it no longer, there is only one thing to do that will allow us to avoid responsibility and resist changing our own destructive behavior. You know what it is. You must.

Blame the beaver.

There’s a massive beaver boom in Northwest Alaska, and scientists and locals have dam concerns

This is the craziest part. Not only do beavers hasten global warming but they natives are worrying they’ll block all the salmon. Because you know how beavers do that.

Henry Horner is the president of the Tribal Council for the village of Kobuk. He’s lived in the village since the 50s, and says that he remembers beavers popping up in the region periodically, but there are considerably more now. And they can be a nuisance.

“Where we subsist for fish and stuff like that, they’ll be blocking the creeks and stuff like that,” Horner said.

“Farther up [the Kobuk] river, I see where they’ve built dams, and the salmon have to start spawning elsewhere,” Horner said.

Horner says some locals think that eliminating the beavers is a viable solution to their concerns, though he doesn’t see it as very practical.

“Some of our elders would say, ‘kill the beaver,’ and they might get the beaver,” Horner said. “But while they think they’ve got it, another one arrives.”

Really? Your elders would say that? Gee do you think its possible that tribal knowledge might have LEAP-FROGGED a generation or two? I mean I’m willing to assume your tribe has learned something about salmon the past few centuries, but maybe, if new streams are welcoming new spaces that don’t freeze its a fairly new acquaintance. Because otherwise you’d know that baby salmon need DEEP POOLS that don’t freeze so they grow up fat and happy to swim to sea and become BIG salmon. And that means beaver ponds where there’s lots of real estate and plenty to eat.

And the more babies you have the more adults you’ll be able to catch later.

But sure. The elders probably know best. Beavers are probably causing climate change. Better kill ’em all

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Well let’s leave that annoying story behind us and talk about this amazing footage which was sent yesterday to Ben Goldfarb from some friends in Lithuania. He had this to say about it.

That beavers use saltwater to disperse between river mouths, and even build dams in tidal estuaries, is something that biologists have long recognized. Veterinarians in western Washigton have treated multiple beavers for salt toxicity due to prolonged exposure to Puget Sound. I even wrote a story about this quirk of beaver behavior:

https://www.hakaimagazine.com/…/the-gnawing-question-of-sa…/

Still, it’s one thing to know that beavers turn to the ocean, and quite another to *see it.* Here’s an amazing video I received from Žavinta from Lithuania, who recently captured this delightful footage of a beaver slipping into the Baltic Sea. (Yes, I get a lot of beaver videos from strangers.) Bon voyage, my good mariner!

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BEAVER CHAMPIONS ON THE PACIFIC COAST

heidi08 Beavers and Fire Prevention, Beavers and salmon, Flow Device Installed April 29, 2020

I’m not sure this has ever happened before. There are THREE very important beaver stories this morning meaning very good things about beavers and I cannot pick between the three. I’m going to have to profile each thing and you have to promise to come back and read the whole thing. I’m sorry to assign homework, but it’s necessary. They’re that good.

The first and most startling news is a profile piece about Emily Fairfax in the UC agriculture and natural resources blog.

From being an engineer to researching nature’s engineers

“When I came face to face with beaver dams for the first time, I had what can only be described as a transformative experience,” says Emily Fairfax, an assistant professor of environmental science and resource management at California State University, Channel Islands. While leading a canoe trip through the Boundary Waters of northern Minnesota, she encountered what she describes as “just these enormous, impressive features” – created by beavers. “You truly realize how sturdy beaver dams are while dragging your canoe over them,” she adds, laughing. “They are incredible from an engineering perspective.”

Despite being taken by the handiwork of beavers in that initial encounter, Fairfax says “I just put that experience in my back pocket for a long time.” After majoring in chemistry and physics in college, she went on to work as an engineer. “But, I kept going fishing, visiting wetlands and creeks, and realized I wanted to be out in these places in my day to day life.”

“Then, I watched the documentary Leave it to Beavers. It was about how beavers fundamentally alter landscapes. I was reminded of the beavers I’d seen in Minnesota and was like, I want to study this. On a bit of a whim, I applied to graduate school, and haven’t looked back. Now it’s all beavers, all day, and they make me so happy. It turns out rather than being an engineer, I was called to study nature’s engineers.”

I had NO idea that Emily was inspired by Jari’s documentary! WOW! The world might have been stuck with another engineer if it weren’t for that! I’m so touched and my mind is a little bit blown. I had just assumed she got involved because her thesis chair was interested or something. The article goes on to talk about her viral video and ends in her interest in California.

Working in California, Fairfax’s biggest task now is locating beavers. She notes that before beaver trapping there were likely upwards of 400 million beavers in North America, meaning they were everywhere. “Trapping took them down to 100,000, and now estimates put them back up to 10 or 20 million. They are prevalent in certain areas like the Colorado Rockies and the Sierra Nevada, but we still don’t see them often in many downstream areas that provide great habitat.”

For now, she says, “I’ve got students hiking streams just looking for signs of them, and when I give public talks, people will sometimes tell me about how they used to see them on a creek in the 70’s. That might not seem relevant, but that kind of information is so valuable. So now I’m basically saying to people, if you see a beaver dam anywhere in California, please tell me about it!”

I’ll make sure we all tell you when we see them! Ohh you are the hope of a new beaver generation Dr. Emily Fairfax. Make sure you read the Work to protect Sonoma beaver lodge begins

To prevent flooding and manage water levels in a Sonoma creek, a pond leveler will be installed where a family of beavers is living, Sonoma County Water Agency officials said.

The pond leveler will help water transfer through the beaver dam so that the pond doesn’t cause flooding. It will also assist with maintaining the habitat for the beavers, said David Cook, senior environmental specialist at Sonoma County Water Agency.

There was even an insert about my timing concerns, because the reporter was included in the email thread where I learned of it.

Heidi Perryman, of urban-beaver protection group Martinez Beavers, asked the agency to wait until kit — or, baby beaver — season is over, which is mid-to-late May. But Brock Dolman, program director of Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, which is partnering with the water agency and Swift Water Designs in the project, said they also would prefer to do the work outside of kit season and were prepared to do the install in March, but then COVID-19 got in the way.

Isn’t that just like Heidi, always poking her nose in and mucking around. Well I also heard from a neighbor that the beavers were busy that night trying to plug the outflow of the pipe so you may not have heard the last of this story. It’s good that a flow device was used. Hopefully the beavers can make it work. Fingers crossed.

The last piece of really OUTSTANDING news comes from Port Moody, B.C. See a lot of the challenges to the beavers have come from the fish hatchery folk which are saying that beaver dams stop chum. Jim and Judy have been doing their home work AND the city’s homework and heard from famous Fisheries Biologist Dr. Marvin Rosenau. that their stream supported coho salmon. The real kind not the hatchery frankensteins. And there’s all this data saying beavers are good for coho and no data at all saying they’re good for chum. Which stinks.

But they got a go pro camera and have been using it to shoot underwater and GUESS WHAT THEY FILMED and Dr. Marvin Rosenau. identified right away in the beaver pond???

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It’s hard to see but unmistakable. Around the 55 second mark you can see it best on the upper left hand corner. Look for the while glint of its eye and then the wiggle of its tail as it moves forward. That would be coho fry. As in the real deal. As in proof of a beaver pond doing what it should. As in pass the coho birthday cake and lets have a party!

THE COPPER RIVER DELTA BEAVERS

heidi08 Beaver ecological impact, Beavers and salmon March 22, 2020

The Copper River is in Alaska proper not far too far out of Anchorage. It got it’s name from the many copper deposits along it’s upper sections. The copper was used by everyone from the natives to the Russians to the settlers that came later. Now the river is most famous for its salmon, which is considered among the best in the world. The long river is the 10th largest in the nation, so salmon have to work hard to travel its length and stock up on extra fat reserves to survive the journey. That makes them a prime catch for any sportsman who travel to the Yukon region specifically for the chance.

Of course you know any great river with that many salmon must also have a very healthy beaver population.

The furry ecosystem engineers of the Copper River Delta

The Copper River Delta is dominated by a coastal marine climate, making both the summer and winter seasons mild and wet. The climate is maintained by the Alaska Current, which delivers warm ocean air and low-pressure systems to Alaska’s Gulf. The climate, mixed with the natural history of the Copper River Delta, provides an ecosystem that is dynamic and thriving. Whether it is summer, or winter, you will be sure to find a furry animal, scurrying off on a mission. One of these furry animals, has picked a luxurious career as a landscape architect. Due to their ability to cut large trees and turn streams into ponds, they have rightfully received the title of ecosystem engineers.

Okay, you got our attention. What will you have to say about these architects?

On the Copper River Delta alone, they have left a noticeable signature that can be seen when driving the Copper River Highway. Since the 1964 earthquake and geologic uplift, they have expanded their range southward, to new areas of uplifted marsh on the delta. After many years, the dams created by these furry engineers have created new habitats for other plants and animals.

Of course they have. It’s what beavers do. But its interesting you can track changes since the earthquake.

When the spring ice melts, the search for the perfect “home” is on. Beavers will examine the landscape, honing in on steady sources of water and mapping out potential areas to construct a dam. The dams they build are strong enough to hold back the force of a stream that will flood to become a pond. Once the area is flooded, they begin floating larger branches to the construction site. Once the dam is satisfactory, the beavers switch their attention to building their huts.

A hut is an essential part of a beaver’s life, like a house for us humans. Their huts provide shelter from predators and severe weather (e.g., the wintry delta). When building a hut, beavers must gather tons of branches, debris, and aquatic vegetation. Once the materials are gathered, they form them into a cone-shape. Most of the structure is then coated with mud, leaving the “peak” open for ventilation. This peak is the equivalent of a chimney. Within the hut is a chamber that has been dug out. This chamber typically has two underwater tunnels with openings

above the water level. These openings are the entrance and exit to the hut. The main chamber is divided into two levels. The first level is a platform just above water level that is used for feeding and drying off. The second is a higher, drier platform cushioned with shredded wood fibers and grasses, used for sleeping. The chamber walls are thick (2-3 feet at the bottom) keeping the beavers warm. The snow that covers the hut in the winter also acts as insulation, keeping the temperature, inside the hut, relatively stable. This makes for a rather warm and cozy living area, compared to the cold, stark, windy conditions of Mother Nature, just outside the hut.

It’s nice to read some explaining this like we were hearing it for the first time. I love the idea of beavers keeping warm inside their ‘hut’. Obviously lots of other people do too.

To make the icy water more comfortable, beavers have thick fur. Beaver fur is so thick that a stamp-sized patch of skin is carpeted with over 125,000 individual hairs — this is more than the average human has on their entire head! This thick, fuzzy coat helps insulate them from the cold. To give their coat extra waterproofing, beavers will groom themselves with natural oil. The oil is produced from glands beneath their tails. When grooming, a beaver will use a modified toenail on each hind foot, to coat themselves in the waterproof oil. Once coated, they can comfortably swim beneath the frozen surface. Grooming also creates a thin layer of air near the skin. This air pocket acts as another insulating layer while underwater. Historically, however, having this beautiful, thick fur coat was not always very advantageous. When Europeans arrived in North America, as many as 400 million beavers swam the continent’s rivers and ponds. Between the 1700s and 1800s, most beaver populations were decimated by fur trappers, primarily to support the European fashion for felt hats. Because of this, beaver populations in the eastern United States were largely removed and the continent’s population was estimated at only about 100,000. Fortunately, these declines caught public attention. Concern for the beaver eventually led to regulations that controlled harvest and methods of take, generating a continent-wide recovery of beaver populations. Although pristine beaver habitat has been heavily reduced in the lower 48 states via human land-use practices, beaver have proven to be a highly adaptable animal, able to occupy a variety of human-made habitats.

Hmm if I didn’t know better I’d say that someone has been reading Ben’s book. Stamp-sized? That metaphor just randomly sprang to mind? I wonder how.

Beavers now occupy much of their former range in North America, although habitat loss has severely restricted population growth. Since the 1830s, about 195,000-260,000

square kilometers of wetlands have been converted to agricultural or other use areas in the United States. Many of these wetlands were most likely beaver habitat. Beaver are adaptable, being marginally able to subsist above timberlines in mountainous areas and occupy very cold regions. Beaver have yet to colonize Alaskan or Canadian arctic tundra, possibly due to the lack of essential woody plants for winter food and lodge construction, or because thick ice limits surface access in the winter. However, in milder areas of Alaska, beavers thrive. The Copper River Delta supports a healthy population of beavers due to their low natural mortality and an abundance of suitable habitat. Because of their large size and limited amount of time away from the protection of water, adult beavers have relatively few natural predators! Young beavers, also known as kits or yearlings, on the other hand may be eaten by black bears, coyotes, bobcats, and even great horned owls.

Come on, sir. You’re in ALASKA There are plenty of predators that would enjoy a nice juicy beaver. Like bear or wolf or mountain lion. For goodness sake we’ve seen footage of it.

Next time you are out on the Delta, look for signs of beaver including newly cut alders or a hut on the edge of a pond or slough. Take note of the area, see if you can find aquatic plants and insects in the water, look for waterfowl and fish. Take a minute to count how many different species you find and think about the natural relationships that might be happening. You might not have to ask scientific questions or consider the ecological richness that beavers create in order to enjoy them! Maybe sitting and soaking in the serene area, while beavers motor across the pond is enough. But while enjoying the vast, lush landscape, be sure to thank the furry ecological engineer that is the North American Beaver.

Well said, we certainly will.

THE END OF SALMON IN CALIFORNIA?

heidi08 BDA's, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and salmon March 5, 2020

“Before I will see the worst of you all
To come into danger of death or a thrall,
This hand and this life I will venture so free”:
Was not this a brave bonny lass, Mary Ambree?

Well, sure I didn’t exactly storm the castle but I did okay and told the story well enough to earn some praise.It’s odd presenting remotely because I couldn’t hear the audience, although I am told there was one. Usually I hear laughter or ‘ahs’ in the right places and know how things are going, but with this I heard nothing until the questions at the end!

The fun part was being on the phone with Michael Pollock who, in addition to being friendly and brilliant, is also at GROUND ZERO for Covid-19 and dealing with a pretty unbelievable work environment at the moment. I guess if you work for the federal government right now your job is to NOT get the disease and also, ironically, not appear to be concerned about it either.

His presentation started on the evolving history of rivers and how much beavers were a part of that and how plants/trees depended on their work for nutrient regeneration etc – and had basically ‘trained them‘ with evolution to do what they do. (What an interesting thought!) Then he transitioned to talk about the work they are currently doing in the Scott’s Valley with BDA’s.

He also talked about how he hears over and over and over and over about beaver dams blocking salmon (which he knows they don’t) and they constructed a study to address this directly using a pit tags to track the moments of salmon they released specifically in a controlled dam to monitor the movements. They repeated it for steelhead and the paper found everyone could negotiate the dam. It is still in review but is going to be published soon and everyone was happy about that.

Anyway, he also said, alarmingly, that the California salmon population is “Tanking” and that the numbers are down to a few thousands. This was really shocking to hear, and made me think about all the obstacles we are giving them and all the beavers we are taking away. It also means it’s as good a time as any to talk about this which was published recently in Earth Island.

How Much Longer Will Wild Coho Hang on in the Golden State?

“Usually between here and the road there’s a half dozen redds or more,” says Todd Steiner, pointing 100 feet or so downstream to where Sir Francis Drake Boulevard passes over the confluence of Lagunitas Creek and San Geronimo Creek, near the town of Lagunitas. But only two ribbons hang from the trees. That’s been the typical story for this year’s coho salmon run throughout the Lagunitas Creek Watershed. Even for a wild salmon population that’s been listed as endangered since 1996, this year’s spawning survey came up with significantly low numbers.

“This current year is one of the lowest numbers we’ve seen,” says Steiner, who is the executive director of the conservation group Turtle Island Restoration Network.

Marin has been talking about this issue for a while and arguing among itself about whether to reintroduce beavers. Are we going to keep arguing until the entire salmon population is gone?

Historically, anywhere from 5,000 to 10,000 adult coho created more than 2,600 redds in this watershed each year. According to NOAA’s recovery plan for the federally endangered Central California Coast population of coho salmon, Lagunitas Creek and its tributaries now have the capacity to hold 1,300 redds. This takes into account that half of the salmon habitat in this river system has been blocked or submerged by reservoirs that hold the water supply for the quarter-million people who live in Marin.

On average, Steiner and his team count 250 redds annually, but that number has been steadily decreasing. This year, there were less than 50 redds.

Fewer salmon eggs mean fewer salmon period. Or no salmon. Has California even considered that? We are still planning on a salmon season this year. But our time is running out. Its long past time for drastic measures.

For the past few years, SPAWN has worked closely with the National Park Service to rewild these two communities on federal land. In what was once Tocaloma, where SPAWN has made its headquarters, Brown points out where creekside retaining walls and structures have been replaced by restored floodplain. With help from volunteers, SPAWN placed fallen logs in the creek and built overhanging banks with straw logs to encourage logjams and side channels with slower water. Native grasses and willows from an onsite plant nursery have taken root in the riparian area, their shoots poking through a biodegradable erosion control fabric.

“It’s like a beaver pond,” Brown says. “It’s backwater habitat that’s quiet, complex, and deep.”

Of course, emulating beavers on just a few sections of the watershed goes only so far and, as Steiner says, won’t be enough to restore endangered salmon to NOAA’s goal of 1,300 redds. “At the same time that we’re repairing the land-use mistakes of the past, we’re repeating them,” he says.

Hey you know what ELSE IS LIKE A BEAVER POND????? A frickin’ BEAVER POND!!!

What on earth are we doing allowing any beavers in California to be killed when we know full well what an important role they play for salmon and how dire the situation is? Our salmon population is beyond dwindled and its like we’re killing off the few heroes that can help it.

Imagine if we were preventing firemen from moving in to a community because they took up too much space and blocked development. Do we need them any less? Our bad decisions are going to make us go up in flames and the only ones who could have helped we made sure were gone.

Hmm, that’s depressing. Have a nice beaver video as comfort, Courtesy of the Norwegian Beaver Project.