Category: Beavers and trout

It was the best of beaver times, and it was the worst of beaver times

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beaver Behavior, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, In the News, Urban beavers, Who's saving beavers now? June 27, 2017

Traveling to Placer county and preaching the beaver gospel used to be like going to the lions to recommend vegetarianism. But yesterday was more like preaching to the choir. It was a positive, beaver affirmed or beaver-curious group, and our good friends Janet, Jeanette and Damion Ciotti of FWS showed up. They each had wonderful comments and questions, and I made sure Damion connected with the tribal liaison who might just need to be reintroducing some beavers soon and get the federal government to foot the bill for the flow device. I was also excited that Jeanette was interested in an Auburn test site and especially interested when I told her that PGE (where she works) in Auburn had received on of the depredation permits in 2013. Wouldn’t it be good for beavers, and correspondingly good for PGE to be all environmental and generate some press for installing a flow device instead and saving wildlife?

I felt great when we left but I came home to news that our opening band for the festival had dropped out, so I scrambled at a great rate to recover territory I had secured in March. Then before I went to sleep I had the great news that soon-to-be-beaver author Ben Goldfarb will be coming to the festival after all. Which is a relief because I would have been so sad if he missed it. He’s also coming next week to get the story and lay of the land. It should all work out well, fingers crossed.

I see that our good friend Rusty Cohn has his photos proudly displayed in the Napa register today. It’s a great photo essay that you will enjoy on every level – meaning the level where it’s just cool to see beavers and the wildlife they encourage, AND the other more important level where our lovely Napatopia is inches away from screwing with the habitat but good and needs to be reminded that save beaver streams matter.

Photos: Life at Napa’s Beaver Lodge at Tulocay Creek

The Tulocay Creek beaver pond is located next to the Hawthorne Suites Hotel, 314 Soscol Ave., Napa. At the creek, you’ll find river otters, mink, muskrats and herons as well as beavers. Here are some photos of the critters taken by local photographer Rusty Cohn.

I can’t figure out how to embed the entire album here, but you’re just going to have to go see it yourself. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it.

Now, in the middle of all this there’s a wonderful article about urban wildlife published in the SF Gate and all over this morning. The original was published on The Conversation and it is written by Christopher Swan who’s a Professor of Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland. I’m sure ever single reader of this website will have some flat-tailed suggestions for Chris.

Urban nature: What kinds of plants and wildlife flourish in cities?

Biodiversity refers to the variety of all living things on Earth, but people often have very specific ideas of what it means. If you run an online search for images of biodiversity, you are likely to find lots of photos of tropical rainforests and coral reefs.

Those ecosystems are invaluable, but biodiversity also exists in many other places. More than half of the people on Earth live in cities, and that number is growing, so it is especially important to understand how biodiversity patterns occur in our man-made environments.

As an ecologist specializing in urban systems, I spend a lot of time investigating biodiversity in parks, residential areas and abandoned zones in and around the city of Baltimore. My main interests are seeing how urban dwellers invest in biodiversity, which species persist in cities and what kinds of biodiversity can thrive in green spaces.

In spite of the substantial environmental changes that humans have caused in cities, research shows that they still contain many forms of life. And we can develop and maintain habitat to support them.

It is common to assume that few other species remain in disturbed urban environments. But in fact, there are many pockets of biodiversity in and around cities, such as frogs living in stormwater detention ponds and trees in restored streamside forests. Landscapes that people create in and around their homes support many ornamental herbaceous and woody plant species.

Our research group works to understand the relationship between people and urban biodiversity patterns. The most prominent feature of the urban environment is that it is fragmented into many small zones. Human activity creates more patches of smaller size and greater edge lengths between types of habitats than we would expect to see in undisturbed areas.

This benefits species that thrive at edges, like white-tailed deer and nuisance vines, but harms others that require larger interior habitats, such as certain birds. As human activities create a more fragmented environment, it becomes increasingly important to create linkages between natural areas, such as preserved forests, to maintain populations and their biodiversity.

Dr. Swanson! Have I got a story for you! You can bet I’ll be writing the good man just as soon as I finish finding a band to open the Urban wildlife festival that is observing its TENTH year. I love this article and love even more that folks are paying close attention to this topic, because it can only be good news for beavers and humans.

Now yesterday I got some designs from artist Deborah Hocking about our awesome bookmark she is designing very generously for the festival. Look how frickin’ cute this is going to be:

Deborah! That is sooo adorable and perfect for the occasion. I love where your design is going and can’t wait to see the finished project. I know this has been a crazy post of uneven tone. I can’t even see the line from the beginning of my day to the end, it was so full of ups and downs. On the whole I guess there are more ups.

But I still think it’s time to start calming my frazzled nerves by watching this over and over again:

Beavers can change things if we can change things for beavers

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water June 24, 2017

Yesterday I found out that the Martinez Library pastport project will conclude on the day of the beaver festival. And features a beaver Herald! Of course I immediately made friends with the organizer and arranged to have postcards of our event on display.

On Monday I’m off to Auburn to present on the beaver-salmon connection to our friends at SARSAS again. Apparently I’ve worn down Mary Tappel because she isn’t presenting there as well for the first time since calendars were invented. But there will still be plenty of controversy. On Thursday they got an email from a member opposed to beavers who dramatically said he had seen a 20 inch salmon skewered on the protruding stick of a beaver dam just down stream. Whatever research is being presented by me about beavers, it doesn’t apply to streams in Placer Country, because Gold Country!

Once again Pigpen’s cloud of controversy will follow me wherever I go. Wish me luck!

Back where I come from there are men and women who do nothing but good deeds for beavers all day, they are called… good deed doers! Just look at a sample of their work.

Taylor Creek Visitor Center to host family-friendly nature, bird festivals

The “Wild Tahoe Weekend” kicks off on Saturday, June 24, with the sixth annual Native Species Festival. Field professionals will lead nature walks, and a variety of agencies from around the basin will be hosting educational booths and activities for all ages.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will have live Lahontan cutthroat trout in an aquarium, California State Parks will have stuffed examples of native birds of prey, and Sierra Wildlife Coalition will discuss beavers and coyotes. The Friends of Grover Hot Springs will also be on hand to discuss invasive species.

[Ed’s note] “which the beaver is NOT”. Good work Sherry and Ted! Because sometimes you do good work on the front lines, and sometimes in the back room there’s this from beaver guardian Stan Petowski.

OK seven years of work with a great group of people. Salem, Oregon yesterday the Governor ceremonially signed Senate Bill 3. This law protects approximately 23,000 miles of Oregon river system salmon and lamprey habitat from suction dredge mining. The law was approved by a bipartisan vote in the Oregon House and Senate. Lots of work with savvy people. Thank you all for working with me and teaching me to work with you. Native Fish Society, Mark P. Sherwood and Jake Crawford, thank you so much for carrying so much of the weight.

Approved!

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Who's saving beavers now? June 21, 2017

Beaver Festival 10 was officially approved by the Parks, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission last night, including the waving of park fees for the event. Michael Chandler assured me they were implementing the proposal to extend wifi to the park and Daniel Radke the chair thanked me for my generous 10 years of service. There were no challenges or questions, just an easy fast approval.

Some things have indeed changed in a decade.

Then I found out from Frances that her ‘idea city’ presentation had gone very well over the weekend and was currently available to watch. It’s a delightful 17 minutes that packs a huge punch showing why beavers matter, although I wish she had squeezed in a little information on how to live with them. You should really watch it from start to finish. Even if you have been in the beaver business longer than I have, it will surprise you.

Frances Backhouse – The Mighty Beaver

Are you saturated with good beaver news yet?

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Who's saving beavers now? June 20, 2017

beaver and gbh — *Beaver and Great blue heron: Rusty Cohn*

It’s getting to be a pretty beautiful time for beavers. We have wonderful stories floating out of Cornwall, Canada and California. Need icing on your cake? Rusty of Napa just photographed one of his beavers carrying a rock to reinforce the dam. Just remember you saw it here first!

After all the excited prodding to broaden the beaver started naturally in Devon, the Wildlife Trust used some crowd sourcing and pointed messaging to get some new beavers released on farmland there. Derek Gow was excitedly posting photos of the release of one of his yearlings and it looks like a hundred photographers showed up for the event.

Beavers have been returned to Cornwall after being hunted to extinction

A partnership between the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and the Woodland Valley Farm has now reintroduced them, hoping not only to bring back the much loved creature back to its natural habitat, but also help keep create new wildlife habitat.

Farm owners, Chris and Janet Jones have spent three and a half years working towards the release, which they hope will help to combat severe flooding that the area has suffered over recent years and help enhance the wildlife.

A Crowdfunder campaign was also set up to make sure that the project could go ahead. A total of £15,000 was raised to pay for the installation of the 650m beaver-proof fence.

*The new kit: Photo and beaver thanks to Derek Gow*

Two European beavers, one male and one female, have now been reintroduced to the farm in Ladock near Truro.

Farm owner Chris said: “It was one of the best days of my life with the release of a pair of adult European beavers at our site near Ladock. The whole day progressed with excitement building up until we actually let the beavers out of their crates at 4pm, in bright warm sunshine.

“The beavers seemed to be enjoying exploring their new home, and the assembled witnesses were fascinated at having such a tremendous view of these normally shy and hard to spot animals.

“It has taken three and a half years to get this point, and followed from my thinking about natural ways to reduce flood risk following the flooding incidents in Ladock in 2012. Cornwall Wildlife Trust has been brilliant partners in getting this project off the ground, and the Crowdfunding campaign, without which we could never have got here.”

The results of the study are hoped to show whether beavers could help Cornwall combat flooding. If so, there could be a possibility of beavers once again returning to their native land to live wild in Cornwall.

Well, good luck to the second beaver brigade in Devon! Of course there would be important news about beavers from the home of my ancestors, because why the heck not?

Now on to the bigwig anthropologist in Canada who took some time to promote his upcoming TED talk to mention about Elephants and Lions to mention the animal the country should love best. And I’ll give you a hint. It ain’t the polar bear.

Going Wild with anthropologist Brian Keating

Honourary Conservation Advisor, Calgary Zoological Society and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Calgary Brian Keating was the featured speaker at a very well attended event at Heritage Acres on the evening of June 9. His presentation, titled ‘In Our Backyard, The Last of the Great North American Plains’ was hosted by Livingstone Landowners Group (LLG). LLG board member Kevin Van Tighem acted as MC for the occasion.

Keating’s talk was interspersed with several videos that he narrated live, covering a small portion of his travels to over 49 countries, and one from his own riverfront yard in Calgary following the fearless construction efforts exploits beavers there. He also gave a warm recommendation for the book ‘The Beaver Manifesto‘ by University of Alberta Professor of Environmental Science Glynnis Hood. “Every Canadian needs to read this book, because the beaver represents us,” said Keating, explaining beavers change the landscape around them and create biodiversity.

HA! You don’t say, Brian. I think saying every Canadian should read it is thinking just a little too small, don’t you?

Here are the lovely promised rock-setting photos by Rusty Cohn of Napa, along with one of my all time favorites. I decided to do them as a gallery so you can see the sequence. Double click on a photo to see it full sized. And Thank you Rusty

And here’s looking at you, kit.

seeing nose to nose — *Here’s looking at you, kit: Photo Rusty Cohn*

Father’s Day good news

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? June 18, 2017

Well what do you know, folks are finally getting around to opening the memo on beaver benefits to trout. Do you think this came as a shock? Now I dearly wish this had been reported in Wisconsin, but hey, North Carolina isn’t bad either.

Beaver ponds actually keep the water cooler, study says

Now scientists and conservationists realize that beavers and the dams they make across streams have a lot of benefits. Most recently a study showed that the big pools of water backed up by beaver dams actually help keep the water cool, and cool water is important to a lot of different types of fish like native trout, steelhead and salmon.

To figure this out, scientists built fake beaver dams and recorded the water temperatures. Although it would seem like a pool of slow-moving water would get warmer, this study found that the water actually was cooler. Why would that be? One reason was there was more and deeper water backed up by the dams. What’s more, the big pools of water seem to help feed water that’s in the ground which also circulates back to the surface, keeping the creeks cool.

Knowing that beavers can play an important role in nature, humans are now putting beavers back in wild places. The Forest Service hauled beavers on horseback into Buffalo Fork Creek, which flows into Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar River. Idaho game biologists dropped parachuted beaver in cages into a remote wilderness area in the 1950s.

Lot’s of generous gifts this week. Starting with a wonderful collection of puppets from Folkmanis which include some delightful hedgehogs, an english badger, a wild-toothed crocodile and a delightfully soft white dog. Thank you a million times over puppet wizards for supporting our beavers since the very, very beginning.

And a wonderful donation from San Francisco author Mary Ellen Hannibal with a fine copy of her recent book where people like us do remarkable things for wildlife.

“For me the most compelling reason to do citizen science is the sixth mass extinction of plants and animals currently underway. In the book I do a lot of reporting and research on this scourge, but contextualize what’s happening within a broad framework. “Extreme citizen science” often focuses on indigenous traditions for caring for the land, and I learn a great deal from the Amah Mutsun tribal band. I take great inspiration from three literary figures who contributed to citizen science—John Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts, and Joseph Campbell. While the hero’s journey as discerned by Campbell needs updating for dealing with today’s global issues, he still provides a model for aggregating individual efforts on behalf of nature to achieve collective impact. That’s the job of the citizen scientist.”

The book is signed. Mary has also been a supporter of the Martinez Beavers since the beginning, and I am grateful that she will continue to encourage citizen science by donating it for the festival.

Of course the beaver problem isn’t extinction, it’s depredation. But I’m sure she’s working on that book next. Thanks Mary!

Finishing the Last of the Mohican’s last night, I thought of my own dad with this quote by the affable, skilled and boyishly cheerful Hawkeye,

“Think of me sometimes when on a lucky trail, and depend on it, boy, whether there be one heaven or two, there is a path in the other world by which honest men may come together again.”