Category: Beavers and water

BEAVER WETLANDS IN THE VOLUNTEER STATE

heidi08 Beavers and water March 31, 2018

This site is just missing something. I’m not sure what. We talk about everything under the sun and waterline here at our very committed beaver coffee club, but there’s something we forgot. I can’t put my finger on it but there’s something we almost never write about here at beaver central.

Oh wait, I just remembered. The benefits of beaver dams in Tennessee.

What Did the Fish Say When He Ran Into the Wall?

DAM! ? The wetland at TN State University university was not always a wetland. Does my hilarious joke give you a hint as to how it was formed? You guessed it…what was once a stream leading into the Cumberland River was dammed by a group of beavers. Beavers are what is known as an ecosystem engineer. Ecosystem engineer alter the environment around them for their benefit, other species benefit, or both (Hall, 2016). The ariel images below show how the beavers have changed this particular landscape. The above image was taken in 2005 and the below, current image was taken in 2016. The beavers may not have realized, but their work has created a valuable wetland as it is in a highly developed part of the state.

Dr. Sutton took our Wetland Ecology and Management class out to the wetland to practice observing the three main wetland indicators we had been learning about: hydrology, hydric soil, and hydrophytic vegetation. Our first stop was to observe the characteristics of the hydrology, what was in sight from where we were standing can be seen in the top photo. We were standing in the eastern area of the wetland and noted that the hydrology was channelized and we could see evidence of beaver activity. We notes that Box Elder was present at the bank full line. Box Elder is facultative, which means it occurs in both wetland environments and non-wetland environments (www.rnr.lsu.edu).

As we had learned that cattails are obligate species, meaning they are found in wetlands 99% of the time, we hypothesized that the change in vegetation type indicated a change in the water table. This type of thinking is great for when you are doing field work, it is helpful when you would need to establish a boundary for sampling or surveying.

The last indicator we looked for was hydric soil. We dug a hole near the cattails and found that the water table was easily uncovered and we moved away towards the short shrubbery it took more digging to find signs of water. The soil horizon near the cattails showed oxidized rhizospheres (discussed in previous post), indicating prolonged periods of saturation. By these oxidized rhizospheres, the sulfuric smell, the lack of visible organic matter, and the density of the soil indicated that the soil at the TSU wetland is mineral soil, particularly clay soil.

Well whadya know, beaver dams save water both above and below the ground. I like that more every single time I hear it, but I like it a LOT when I hear it from Tennessee.

It’s kind of amazing that they’ve been allowed to live on campus for 11 years and change the wetlands so much. I imagined Dr. Sutton might have had something to do with that but it turns out this is his first year teaching there. Guess where he was before. Go ahead Guess!

Clemson University in Georgia where they invented one of the very first flow devices.

The man has obviously had some beaver education in his background, And now these students do also. They learned to spot the hydrophytic vegetation between zones, and learn that BEAVERS were responsible for them.

BEAVERS JOIN THE SIERRA CLUB

heidi08 Beavers and water March 15, 2018

Back when Martinez was in the throws of whether to save our beavers or not, one of our biggest winning arguments came in the form of the Sierra Club: the head of the Wildlife Committee of the Sierra Club to be precise. As I was to learn it was highly unusual for the powerful advocacy group to take a stand on behalf of wildlife at the time. The major push for this came from two sources. Columnist Gary Bogue, who was a highly respected member, and Terri Preston, who was the head of the Wildlife Committee and wanted to push wildlife more into their view. As I understood it the Sierra Club preferred to focus their resources on saving lands and resisting degradation rather than specifically defending species that depended on those lands.

It was December 2007 when I received a very unexpected call at the office. Terry had negotiated time for the beaver issue to be discussed at the local chapter meeting, and if I could be there that evening it would help. I remember shuffling some patients around so I could have the night free and driving to Berkeley in a bit of a panic having never done anything like that before.

The meeting was in an older shabby office space on San Pablo Avenue and I had hunt hard for parking among the homeless. I remember Gary was there, although I didn’t know him then and only recognized hm from his photo in the paper. Terry was very reassuring and said quietly what she hoped I could focus on. And then the, to my surprise, the board asked my thoughts and talked about the Martinez Beavers, whether they were good for the environment, and whether they should risk annoying anyone to get involved.

It was so early in the process that I didn’t know much about the research or the stakes. I had barely started my time on the beaver subcommittee and I hadn’t been the one to reach out to them in the first place. I just knew the beavers mattered to me and to the community, had read a few articles about their value, so I gave it my best shot. The positive response I received turned soon into a letter of support.

It was a big deal when they released this.

Sierra Club Beaver Resolut.. - Copy - Copy

All this comes to mind this morning when I read over one of the articles Fran Recht sent me discussed in the hydrology film released yesterday. Apparently the Sierra Club in Colorado has some ideas about beavers too.

Water storage and the American Beaver, Castor Canadensis – A solution to Colorado’s aquatic resources challenges

The American beaver, a nuisance to some and an afterthought to others, may in fact be Colorado’s most effective tool to improve watershed health and regulate the state’s water supply.

According to The Lands Council (Spokane, WA; 2010), in their study conducted in Eastern Washington State on water storage by the beaver, they estimate that 10 acre-feet (ca. 3.26 million gallons) of water storage can be attributed to a single beaver due to its dam-building prowess. According to the authors, this is a conservative estimate of the amount of surface water and groundwater water held back by the average beaver included in their study. If this is an accurate figure, then it would take about 40-million beavers to store the equivalent amount of water that the entire United States used for all sectors – public and domestic supply, irrigation, livestock, aquiculture, self-supplied industrial, mining, and thermoelectric power – in the year 2010 (129.6 trillion gallons; USGS.)

The beaver is largely absent from Colorado’s discussion on water issues. These statistics alone show that beavers should be central to the state’s plans going forward.

According to The Lands Council (Spokane, WA; 2010), in their study conducted in Eastern Washington State on water storage by the beaver, they estimate that 10 acre-feet (ca. 3.26 million gallons) of water storage can be attributed to a single beaver due to its dam-building prowess. which include beaver dam analogs that mimic natural beaver dams, should not be overlooked (Pollock, 2015.) Potentially, the easiest, cheapest way to accomplish this end is to allow nature to regenerate where practicable to its previous state with the mighty ecosystem engineer, the American beaver, breaking the trail. In fact, restoring and protecting the beaver population is consistent with the intent of the Colorado Water Plan – store water, conserve aquatic resources, and close the approaching water supply gap – and goes further to deliberately enhance ecosystem productivity and resilience.

Now those are very nice sentences to read from the Sierra Club. I can’t believe every single chapter hasn’t adopted their position, because an abundance of clean fresh water is important everywhere. (A person struggling to find meaning might point out that the Sierra Club was, you know, originally founded by John Muir, who happened to live in this town, the town of the MOST FAMOUS BEAVERS EVER and which btw also happens to be the site of the grave of on the most famous beaver trappers ever.)

I’m sure it’s all a coincidence. But sometimes it kinda seems like destiny.

WATER-SAVERS TO THE RESCUE

heidi08 Beavers and water March 14, 2018

Sunday I did a little research for my upcoming SARSAS talk by checking out the references listed in the salmon-steelhead summary of the 60-day notice of intent to sue issued to Wildlife Services by the Western Environmental Law Firm and the Center for Biological Diversity. It’s a wonderful rundown of the research and very broadly sourced but there was one reference in particular that caught my attention. Let’s see if you can guess why.

Hoffman, W. and F. Recht. 2013. Beavers and Conservation in Oregon Coastal Watersheds, available at https://www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/final-Beavers-and-Conservation-in-Oregon-Coastal-Watersheds.pdf

Did you see it? That’s a reference in a legal document to a paper linking to THIS WEBSITE. Because that particular article wasn’t available anywhere else on the web, which describes this website very nicely, thanks. You know sometimes I wonder whether anyone actually reads this site and then I see our name appear in court! Back in 2013 I had just befriended one of the authors of the paper at the State of the Beaver Conference, so I asked if she could share her it.

Fran Recht works for the Habitat program for the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission which means they happen to be very interested in the habitat beavers create for fish. The habitat arm “is involved in programs on the West Coast that further habitat protection for anadromous, estuarine, and marine fish species. Program efforts are focused on watershed and estuarine conservation and restoration, work with regional science and policy bodies and marine debris and pollution abatement.”

Fran wrote yesterday saying they had just posted a new video and asking that we share it around. Over the years they have championed some wonderful stuff, like the landowner film in the right margin. This one is even better! She needn’t have asked me to pass it on, because it is outstanding and I couldn’t resist. Give yourself a wonderful wednesday and watch this all the way through.

THIRSTING FOR BEAVERS

heidi08 Beavers and water February 16, 2018

Days like today start with a decision. Do I post the really wonderful thing I discovered yesterday or the really annoying thing? Or do I try to post both like sweet and sour sauce in honor of Chinese New Year? It is not in my nature to avoid the irritant, so I think I will give you the unpleasantries sandwiched in between two excellent slices wholesome.

The first is a presentation by Carol Evans formerly with the BLM in Nevada. She presented recently at the Society for Range Management in Sparks Nv. There was a packed crowd of 300 and a host of presenters. One group focused on bringing back the Emerald Isles using “beaver as tools” for restoration. All 30 presentations are now online, but I’m going to share two of my favorites. Feel free to browse any or all of the others.

Isn’t Carol wonderful? She should look familiar to you because she was the woman in that first part of the Leave it to Beaver documentary who wanted to show the stored water to Suzanne Fouty. Carol has the earnest, intelligent, friend-making cooperative style that I most admire. It’s no wonder she could turn hearts in beaver’s favor. One of those grizzled hearts in particular will be the other presenter whose talk I will share at the end of this post. Stay tuned.

Now for the sour. How long has it been since we mocked a truly self-righteous trapping article? Too long, I said when I saw this in my inbox yesterday. Michael DeWitt of South Carolina wants you to understand that trappers are really much more than little angels of death, and work their dark magics for the benefit of all mankind.

Local trappers a boon to wildlife management

Not all heroes wear capes. Some cruise around in camouflage gear, driving beat-up, green Ford pickups with a dog box in the back that reeks of beaver musk and coyote scent.

Trappers like Jake Gohagan may not be considered heroes down at PETA headquarters, but they are to hunters, local landowners and wild game management-minded folks. Gohagan, a 26-year-old Scotia resident and avid outdoorsman, rides the railroad for CSX during the day but fights invasive species like the dastardly coyote at night. Gohagan has been hunting and fishing his entire life, but began trapping roughly 7-8 years ago.

See? Jake’s a hero! See why I couldn’t resist writing about this? I commented on the article yesterday but it’s been deleted three times as “spam”. I’m quite sure that what ever choice words I had for Jake and the curiously named Mr DeWitt, it wasn’t spam.

“The fur market is gone, there really isn’t a fur market anymore,” Gohagan said, as took this writer on board during a January run of his trap lines. “Everything we do anymore is to improve the wildlife habitat for hunting and farming.”

Native predators and “varmints” like the coyote (a much-unwanted invasive species to our area), fox, bobcat, raccoon, and the like threaten the populations of game animals like the whitetail deer, quail, and turkey, either through direct predation or through disturbing nests and consuming eggs. Hunting that centers around these game animals brings millions of dollars annually into our state, and these dollars pour into wildlife conservation programs that ensure that our children and grandchildren can enjoy fish and game in the coming generations.

“During my first year trapping, I took 26 coyotes,” Gohagan said. “Can you imagine how many fawns 26 coyotes can eat? In my opinion, trapping is the most crucial part of game management.”

Gohagan generally uses live traps or rubber-jawed traps to avoid unwanted injury to animals. Not all animals that are caught are harvested, some are relocated. He baits these traps with commercial baits, often made of meat glands, crawfish oil, or shellfish oil. The smellier the bait, the better. Gohagan also sets conibear and snare traps for otters, which can wreak havoc on the fish population in a farm pond, and beavers, which can be downright destructive and expensive to deal with.

Did you catch that? This modern day St. Francis catches coyotes because he’s worried they’ll eat fawns and they’ll be less deer to hunt. No I’m not kidding. And he catches OTTER because you know, they eat all the fish which means we can’t catch them!

And the beaver? We’ll they’re just downright destructive!

There aren’t many trappers around these here parts because, frankly, it’s hard work and there isn’t any money in it.

“It’s a lost art,” says Gohagan. “There are only a handful of us left. This involves a lot of early, cold mornings. You have to be out there every morning, checking your traps at daylight. By law, you have to check them every 24 hours…It’s a good bit of work and it ain’t for a lazy person, that’s for sure.”

I really really believe it. Serial killing is time consuming and not for the feint of heart. Ruining nature takes a lot of time and effort and one has to climb into muddy waters and dark holes to get it done. You can’t just wait for death to come to you. You have to wake up and MAKE it!

Perhaps the most rewarding part of this interesting hobby—or mission, as Gohagan thinks of it—are the positive phone calls and remarks from hunters and landowners.

“My favorite part is hearing from the landowners about the number of fawns they are seeing, or their wildlife numbers going up. Plus, I just like outsmarting coyotes. I enjoy it and I wish more people would get involved in trapping. You get to spend time outdoors, away from society, and you get to help wildlife.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Help wildlife? Are you kidding me? “Please don’t help me, next” (Says every wild thing ever.) I suppose I can imagine a little socipathic ‘Dexter” type praising his true calling by lying this way, but it is BEYOND me why any reporter worth his spit would write down the ridiculous lies he spouts as if it were true.

Megan Isadore says it’s because the trapping lobby is well-funded by the NRA and works hard to promote the North American Model (NAM) which emphasizes that trapping is necessary for wildlife conservation, This article and others like it is a symbol of their success.

Maybe. But I’m partial to the notion that these “man-crushes” seize reporters because they are sick of their desk jobs, copy machines and coffee cups and like to imagine themselves on the great frontier swinging a pelt over their shoulders. (more…)

PRO-BEAVER FORCES AT WORK!

heidi08 Beavers and water, Environmental February 5, 2018

Cheryl sent out our announcement for the beaver festival to exhibitors last night. We immediately had two confirmations! One from JoEllen Arnold of Nor-Cal bats, and the other from Alana Dill of face painting by Alana. Off to a good start, that always makes me happier.

(Plus a good start with actual beavers! Did you see the footage yesterday? Scroll down to view our new mascots.)

With all the commotion, I’ve been waiting for a space to talk about Rick Marsi’s latest column which ran as part of USA Today, intriguingly titled:

Great Outdoors: State of the swamp

So much for the State of the Union address. It is time for the State of the Swamp.

Loyal readers may remember I gave a State of the Swamp address some 15 years ago. The big news back then was beavers. They were everywhere, building dams, cutting trees, flooding roads, reproducing like crazy.

Much debate as to their worth ensued. Bipartisan rancor ran rampant. Pro-beaver forces saw good overshadowing evil. Our region’s influx of beavers had created countless new wetlands, they said. These wetlands, in turn, had created nesting habitat for mallards, wood ducks and other waterfowl.

Flooded trees had succumbed. Downy, hairy and pileated woodpeckers were chiseling nest holes from their decaying wood. Herons had benefited from all the new water created by beaver dams. Frog and dragonfly numbers had spiked, supporters insisted.

“Wetland, schmetland!” the other side shouted. All those beavers were cutting down trees in their yards, killing timber stands, clogging road culvert pipes with their clutter.

It was quite a debate. I stand here to report that it still rages in some quarters. While it does, beavers are holding their ground. Because of their presence, the state of the swamp remains good.

Pro-beaver forces! I like the way that sounds! A noisy debate over whether beavers are of value or a nuisance. That sounds like every day since this website first breathed it’s life 10+ years ago. I’m always interested in how the argument ends.

Waterfowl numbers have reached the highest levels in recent memory. Great blue herons appear everywhere. The trilling of toads provides deafening noise every spring. More wetlands also have created additional rainwater impoundments.

During thunderstorms, runoff can do one of two things. It can rush unimpeded to rivers and streams, depositing in them potentially damaging sediment. Or, it can flow into a wetland, deposit much of its sediment there and run on toward the river much cleaner.

The latter is clearly the scenario of choice. I am pleased to report local wetlands continue to help keep our waterways clean.

After praising beaver wetlands he goes on to mention the less wonderful “crafted wetlands” installed by developers who need to restore some nature after their big creation. He says they’re nice enough, but nature (BEAVERS) do it best. He ends the column with:

Go forth strong of purpose and always remember: A swamp is a wetland, and we all know a wetland is good.

Sounds right to me.