Category: Beavers and Flooding

IT’S THE HYDROLOGY, STUPID

Wow! Wisconsin just got a whole lot smarter about beavers. Bob Boucher’s study is making a major spash and I couldn’t be happier.

New Study Finds Beavers Could Be Key To Preventing Flooding On The Milwaukee River

Now, there are calls for beavers to return — not for their fur — but for the potential impact they could have on flood mitigation in the Milwaukee River watershed. A recent collaborative study between the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, Milwaukee Riverkeeper and UW-Milwaukee analyzed the prospect of increased beavers on the watershed.

GO LISTEN to the whole glorious thing, and remember that Wisconsin is usually soooo stupid about beavers they blow up dams to help fish AND think there are more beavers now than there used to be. Fantastic work Bob. Beaver hats off to you!

Here’s what I spent entirely too much time on yesterday. They lyrics just fit wayyy too well, It can’t be a coincidence. From “defending a COLONY” to ending with RISE UP. I know I’m very weird but if you listen to the sounds track and read my lyrics you’ll see they mostly scan. Beavers need their time on stage.

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Beaverton

UWM: WE NEED MORE BEAVER DAMS

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Flooding April 28, 2021

You might remember that on valentine’s day I did a talk with Bob Boucher for the Oakmont Symposium in Sonoma. He was very excited that the final draft of this academic paper had just been released and talked about the difference this could mean to Milwaukee. Fittingly this research was paid for by a grant from the local water agency. Which is the kind of thing that makes sense but rarely happens.

UWM researchers find that beavers could be a remedy for downstream floods

A new study by two UWM researchers shows that restoration of an animal that Wisconsin was known for 300 years ago – beavers – could be a part of the solution.

Enough of the dam-building animals living in the right spots along creeks and streams can alleviate flooding in some of Milwaukee County’s worst-struck areas, according to research by Qian Liao, an associate professor of civil engineering, and Changshan Wu, a professor of geography.

When beavers build homes, called lodges, in wetland habitats, they also construct dams to create a pond so that they can enter the lodge from under water. A significant amount of water backs up as the pond forms, and that hinders fast-moving water, which has a cumulative effect downstream.

Whoohoo! Everything about the opening is perfect, except for that line about Wisconsin knowing beavers for 3oo years. Hmm I’m thinking they’ve been around a bit longer than that. Maybe you want to check in with the Oneida or the Chippewa about that? They might have other opinions.

Bob Boucher, founder of the environmental advocacy organization Milwaukee Riverkeeper, proposed the study to officials at the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, which funded the research.

“If there are hundreds of beaver dams distributed across the entire watershed, you have many locations where you can reduce the water flow,” Liao said. “And not just the volume, but also the timing, so that the combined delay at each dam has a significant impact on the downstream peak flow.”

Collecting data with their cellphones, Boucher, Holloway and students Max Rock and Madeline Flanner spent much of 2020 visiting 163 locations on the GIS maps. They made observations either by canoe or by hiking into areas at bridge road crossings to evaluate whether locations had ample food sources and the kinds of trees the animals use for building.

A cellphone app that Rock developed helped the team rank the locations by quality, based on all the data. What they found was enough habitat to support around 4,500 beavers – or about one family for each 100 acres of wetlands

That’s right. Bob is so skilled at maneuvering these things he got Milwakee sewage to pay for it and a student to develop a cell phone app that could study it.

Liao fed the model different scenarios of beaver dam activity at 52 locations that would provide the highest potential to reduce downstream flooding, while also having ideal conditions for beaver. According to the model, dams would reduce the peak flow by between 14% to 48%, depending on the details of the storm, but also on the dam location.

“For example, if the storm was relatively uniform across the entire watershed, then you would have the highest reduction of water flow,” he said. “But if the storm dropped most of its rain on southern areas of the river watershed, then dams located upstream where there’s less rain will have a diminished effect.”

How awesome is this research? Beaver dams can make a huge difference. But we need MORE OF THEM. That’s what I take away from this article.

“There have been other studies that showed the effect on flooding of introducing beaver dams, but those studies only measured the effect a few miles downstream,” Liao said. “What we did is a little different. We looked at it on the watershed scale.”

CONSERVATIONISTS WHO MATE?

heidi08 Beaver ecological impact, Beavers, Beavers and Flooding February 12, 2021

Yesterday I did a practice run through of my Oakmont Symposium presentation Sunday. I learned that the organizers Gabriel Campbell and Judie Coleman are both powerhouses and Bob Boucher’s talk about flooding in Milwaukee is going to knock your socks off. I had to laugh initially when I saw that the website had accidentally shortened the title of the talk to “Spend valentine’s day with the conservationists who mate”. HAHA. As in we are the only ones who get to, Other conservationists can only dream about mating. Smile. I was also encouraged to share the link to the talk with friends and family so consider yourselves all invited. Click on the image to go to the talk at 10:30 Valentine’s morning. And if you’re busy sipping champagne and oysters with your beloved that morning I’m told that it will be recorded and made available for viewing later.

This morning we get treated to an excellent letter from Renee Espenel from Portland. It is lovingly tited

Letter: Beavers are essential

I am writing today to thank state Rep. Pam Marsh and Rep. Rob Nosse, and state Sen. Chris Gorsek, for representing the Beaver State and sponsoring House Bill 2844, which would remove the predatory animal designation from beavers in Oregon.

HB 2844 would allow ODFW to issue permits, regulate management and give the state an opportunity to collect valuable data on beaver populations and their impact on a healthy environment and ecosystem.

Beavers are essential in creating wetlands and habitat for salmon, and we are just now realizing their potential effect in improving fire resiliency, capturing carbon and improving the quality of our drinking water.

Can I get an Amen? Well said Renee! We are happy that lots of Oregonians are noticing that beavers matter to more than trapping interests.

Changing how we manage this species, would benefit Oregonians and ensure a sustainable and healthy ecosystem for generations to come. Please reach out to your legislatures and ask that they support HB 2844.

Just remember. We’re not Gods. We don’t need to change everyone’s mind. Just the minds of the people that drink water and don’t want their homes to burn,

That should do it.

WORKING HARD: LEARNING LITTLE

heidi08 Beavers and Flooding, Beavers elsewhere September 25, 2020

I was oddly impressed by this article from Juneau but never had time to talk about it before. Seems like their hearts were adjacent to “in the right place” but they sure put a lot of effort into no learning any actual solutions?

I guess it’s true what they say. Maintaining ignorance takes effort.

Beaver builds dam. Road floods. Visitors dismantle dam. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

In the summer of 2018, Christine, Colt and I drove an old, mostly unmaintained road on U.S. Forest Service property to a favorite jump-off place to climb into the high country. It was early morning, and for an instant the water rushing across the road seemed a mirage. The splash of the truck tires dropping into the 8-inch-deep crevice confirmed it was not.

The alder boughs, still resplendent with green leaves that lay in an orchestrated tangle across the stream where it ran beside the road, identified the culprit. An enterprising beaver had decided the narrow gap where water drained from a small shallow pond was a good place to make it a bigger, deeper pond for beavers to do whatever it is they do.

The stream was a small tributary of a larger stream that ran under a short bridge to the northwest. Below the bridge were numerous beaver ponds, stepped down the valley where previous generations of the large rodents had built palatial lodges. Family tradition, it would seem.

We had a moment about the legalities of tearing out a beaver dam and decided, judging from the way the current was washing away the road, that if we didn’t there would be no road in short order.

Okay then. Here they are, on federal lands, wondering what to do about a beaver dam that is going to soon plug the culvert that makes driving possible. Gee I wonder what they’ll try? Don’t you?

We decided to remove enough of the dam to drain the pond below the road-crossing level and call the Forest Service when we got out of the mountains.

Relief flooded over me when I talked with a Forest Service fellow I had gotten to

know while doing ptarmigan survey work. He chuckled when told of the dilemma and said it was fine and they would be up to clear out the dams.

A beaver had also dammed a culvert that ran across the road south of the washout. We both figured someone would trap the beaver when the trapping season opened, and that would solve the problem.

Until the freeze-up of the 2018 season, we cleared the dam about every 10 days. The Forest Service was also clearing it, and it seemed other folks pitched in too. By that time, we had developed a fondness for this enterprising animal that did not take no for an answer, and that we had never seen.

They kept shoveling away, ripping out that dam. And never once cracked open the google to read about those new fangled beaver deceivers they were using in the lower 48.Sure why not? It’s Alaska. Frontiers and all that. You’ve got nothing to lose but your time.

We began to enjoy the time spent in the stream, making more work for an animal that displays the capabilities of a journeyman engineer. Each time would reveal more of its amazing creativity and resolve.

When we started up the road in the spring of 2019, we wondered if our buddy had made it through the winter. When we saw no evidence of his presence, it was kind of sad.

A few weeks later we drove through again, and there was a trickle of water going across the road. Christine clapped with delight.

“He’s back!”

Funny story. I mean not to interfere with your fun new hobby or anything, but the beaver needs that water level so that he and his family don’t freeze to death during your long Alaska winters. I’m guessing since you never left them any water they DID freeze to death. And you just ended up with new beavers the following year.

So it’s not really “He’s back” it’s “We still haven’t learned!”

The 2019 season was a repeat of the year before. Between us, the Forest Service and other folks we don’t know, we thwarted the marvelous little fellow’s efforts. By freeze-up this animal had become “family.” We kept our fingers crossed he would make it through another winter.

Early in 2020, it seemed the same as the previous year, except now we had more faith. Once again, one late spring morning, the dam was back, and once again, we were delighted.

The dams in the stream and the culvert have become more substantial. The freshly chewed alder boughs, dead sticks and small rocks from the previous years have been supplemented with rocks the size of footballs placed in the streambed and culvert. One end of the pipe sits above the pond bottom by a foot or so, and these large rocks had been hoisted into the opening.

How these creatures manipulate these objects a source of wonder. We have found old, waterlogged root masses and logs encased in packed mud that stagger the imagination.

Wanting to see what goes on, we’ve spent some nights sitting by the dam, hoping to observe. Nothing. It is as if they know, and are not playing. A couple of times, there have been tail-slaps, perhaps telling us to go away.

Or maybe telling their family to WATCH OUT! “Those crazy fuckers are here again!”

In the past, the dam would be rebuilt after about 10 days. This year, it’s more like every three or four days.

During the most recent clearing of the dam, a couple of weeks ago, this story’s start occurred. It was a particularly tough job, and water flowed over the road that day.

When I finished, I called my friend with the Forest Service to tell him about the road and that I wouldn’t be able to get back for more than a week, and the speed of the beaver’s rebuilding might demand a visit sooner.

No problem, they would take care of it.

Hmm. How exactly? I’m holding my breath.

When we got back a couple of days ago, I had one of those pit-in-the-stomach moments, when it appeared the beavers had not done much in 10 days.

The last time we cleared the dam Christine commented that the work was more challenging than climbing the mountain, and how good it felt to be doing something beneficial in the outdoors. Some might say, “Not to the beaver.” But, they are disposed to do what they do and must do to survive. The benefit works both ways — we keep the road, and they keep working.

So, as I write this, I hope the beavers just took a mini-vacation and in a few days they’ll be back to work. If not, then we’ll hope a trickle of water over the road will welcome us back when we drive up in the spring.

You sweet, plucky, fools. If you had installed some culvert protection 5 years ago you could have spent the time dog-sledding or planting rhubarb. I mean there are worse ways to be stupid. Killing the beavers for instance. But if you’re going to spend your effort and time and care about this why not make the right kind of difference?

BEAVER RESEARCH: FULLY FUNDED

heidi08 Beaver ponds, Beavers, Beavers and Flooding, Beavers and water September 1, 2020

We’re officially caught up with beaver news. For a month I have had a stack of articles waiting to tell you about because apparently August is the right time for good beaver news. Now it’s September and we’re moving into the days soon of BAD beaver news. Beavers in the fall are raising their dams and people are getting worried about flooding. Soon we’ll hear about the reasons folks in Wichita or Boise need to trap.

But there’s one last victory to celebrate.

Funding for prospective students

Dam beavers: quantifying the impacts of nature’s water engineers on the fluvial geomorphology and flood regimes of streams and rivers, Geography – PhD (Funded)

The University of Exeter’s College of Life and Environmental Sciences, in partnership with the National Trust, is inviting applications for a fully-funded PhD studentship to commence in October 2020 or as soon as possible thereafter. For eligible students the studentship will cover UK/EU tuition fees plus an annual tax-free stipend of at least £15,285 for 4 years full-time, or pro rata for part-time study. The student would be based in Geography in the College of Life and Environmental Sciences at the Streatham Campus in Exeter.

The Eurasian Beaver (Castor Fiber) was hunted to extinction in Great Britain and near-extinction in Europe. Over recent decades, it has made a comeback, with numbers now nearing 1 million in mainland Europe and with a number of reintroductions and licensed trials established in GB to improve understanding of the role that this ecosystem engineer might play if more widespread. Since beavers were absent from GB, landscapes have been modified extensively in support of agricultural intensification, with an emphasis upon the drainage of the land to deliver enhanced production of food. Waterways are now straightened and deepened, fields under-drained and often bare of vegetation, to maximise drainage efficiency, but with detrimental impacts downstream. Thus, there are very few, if any ‘natural’ streams or rivers in GB, which means that research is required to understand what impact beavers might deliver, as they return into densely populated, intensively-farmed ecosystems. This PhD will deliver new understanding of the ways in which streams and channels will respond to beaver activity and will therefore provide fundamental science to guide both decision and policymakers and land managers as to how to respond.

How much do you want to be THIS PhD candidate? Hired to measure streams or walk around dams for 4 years as a fully funded doctoral student? Knowing that your dissertation is guaranteed to break ground and change the country for decades to come?

The overall aim of this project is to quantify the impacts that beavers will have on the fluvial geomorphology and flood regimes of a wide range of surface waters in Great Britain. It is noted here that the PhD student will both refine and redesign this project, as their ownership of the research develops, however we have established the following hypotheses to test:
1. Beaver activity (particularly beaver dams) will force channel-planform change across a range of stream orders (at least 1st to 4th), increasing sinuosity, decreasing width:depth ratios and increasing the presence of multi-thread channels in the landscape, which engage more regularly with floodplains.
2. Within-channel bed characteristics will be significantly altered via beaver dam construction, with along-channel heterogeneity of bed material increasing; becoming finer upstream of dams and coarser downstream.
3. Channel long-profiles will be altered towards more step-formed geometry due to the presence of beaver dams and these geomorphic changes will persist, delivering changes to hydraulic behaviour along beaver-dammed reaches, when compared with non-dammed reaches.
4. Beaver dammed channels will deliver flow attenuation, reducing peak flows and increasing lag times in a comparable manner to more conventional natural flood management techniques such as woody debris dams.

The project will deploy a Multiple Before-After-Control-Impact experimental design, deploying methods including: ground-based surveys, structure-from-motion drone-based photogrammetry, hydrological monitoring, suspended sediment and bedload monitoring, numerical modelling and GIS.

Oh my goodness. Something tells me excited grad students across the country are lining up to pack their wellies and do this work themselves! Great job Richard Brazier and Alan Puttock. We can’t see to hear who you chose and what the find!

My work is entirely unfunded, but as you can see, it’s still productive. Now we just need to bring in some real artists.