Category: Beavers elsewhere

BRING IN THE CALGARY

heidi08 Beaver ecological impact, Beavers in Wales, Who's saving beavers now? October 3, 2020

Sorry about my silence yesterday. But one of the things I liked especially about Mike Digout’s tailslap video was that we have almost the exact same footage. Since I’ve become more of an expert I realize beaver tailslaps in the wild are MUCH MUCH FASTER and more intense. And I was always worried. Are our beavers delayed? Sick?

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Seeing Mike’s video made me understand that our beavers are relaxed. That’s a tailslap from a beaver whose not so much alarmed as irked or making a point to friends. Isn’t that wonderful?

Meanwhile there’s some nice news from Calgary.

Residents upset about beavers being trapped in southeast community wetland

CALGARY — Jen Corbett discovered a dead beaver in a trap behind her home in the southeast Calgary community of Riverstone a few days ago, something she says has been ongoing since her family moved there last fall.

“For the past three years they’ve been trapping and killing them,” said Corbett.

“As opposed to finding other solutions that aren’t lethal, that would include maybe grates on the culverts or water levellers or other implementations that would allow us to co-exist with them.”

Hurray for Jen! And hurray for neighbors who care about wetlands! Apparently our good friend Adrien Nelson of FBD just installed a flow device not too far away so maybe the word is catching on. Stay tuned because this story could get even better!

Oh and I finally found peace after my disruption yesterday.

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 DEFENDERS ON VANCOUVER ISLAND

heidi08 Flow Device Installed, Who's saving beavers now? September 18, 2020

Plenty of good beaver news this morning, with this from Vancouver Island. There’s a brand new beaver advocacy group in the world and the teamed up with our friends at FBD to install a flow device. I just checked out their website and was surprised to see my name – not just Worth A Dam or martinez beavers which is more expected.

Well, if you’re going to make a name for yourself, I suppose there are worse ways.

And right out of the gate they installed a pair of outstanding flow devices,

City of Port Alberni learns to coexist with beavers

Port Alberni has become the first beaver-friendly community on Vancouver Island.

The city has partnered with The Fur-Bearers (a non-profit society dedicated to protecting fur-bearing animals) and VanIsle Wetlands (a Port Alberni company that specializes in non-lethal methods of managing beaver activities) to have beaver conflict sites fitted with “flow devices” that will reduce lethal trapping while protecting local infrastructure, wildlife and the greater community.

Lesley Fox, the executive director of the Fur-Bearers, said the non-profit reached out to the city of Port Alberni about a year ago, proposing a sustainable, coexistence-focused solution to beaver conflict sites.

“Most people are surprised to know that beavers are a part of our cities,” she explained. “This is an opportunity for understanding the role of beavers, and the important role they play in keeping the water on land.”

Hurray for the Vancouver Island beavers! It’s wonderful to see good work being done so near by. Let’s meet the new kids on the beaver block, so to speak.

Chris Holtslag, the founder of VanIsle Wetlands, says beaver dams can also protect downstream spawning areas, which helps increase salmon and trout populations.

“You get better fish, bigger fish when you have slow-moving streams,” said Holtslag.

However, dams can also lead to infrastructure damage. A blocked culvert, for example, can cause flooding and damage to nearby roadways. Removing dams and beavers are short-term solutions, as new beavers will return to the sites where beavers were removed. Beavers are triggered by the sound and flow of the water to build a dam, explained Holtslag.

Hi Chris, great to meet you. I’m so glad this work is happening!

Flow devices are a solution that can protect both the animals and the infrastructure, by allowing water to continue moving as designed regardless of damming activity. These devices have now been installed in two locations on Lugrin Creek: one can be found just off of Beaver Creek Road, across the street from the Alberni Co-op, while the other is located on the Kitsuksis Dyke trail.

The two sites were “especially troublesome” with beavers, said Fox. The mouth of the culvert on Beaver Creek Road had been blocked by a four-foot dam. Holtslag installed a culvert protection fence, as well as a pond leveller: a pipe and cage system that helps to manage the height and volume of water near beaver dams. The cage at the end protects the intake from damage.

“It was a lot of work, very muddy,” said Holtslag. “I put a hole in my hip waders in the first five minutes.”

At the other site on the Kitsuksis Dyke trail, Holtslag installed a pond leveller straight through a beaver dam.

Now that’s a familiar site! And a great look for you, Chris. Beavers will be very happy to cooperate with your efforts.

Fox said she’s not aware of any other municipality on Vancouver Island that has made this commitment to addressing conflict sites, although the Fur-Bearers have worked with other municipalities in the Lower Mainland to install flow devices.

“It’s really taking off in other places in B.C.,” she said. “This is a great success story, not only for Port Alberni, but the Island as a whole. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from local residents, who are happy to see a more long-term solution,” she added.

Fox says a shift in policies is happening at the municipal level when it comes to wildlife.

“We’re responding to a need, and it’s coming from the municipalities, for long-term, safer ways of managing wildlife conflicts,” she said. “And we hope to see more of it on the Island.”

Beavers are great teachers. They’ll make sure you know right away if anything needs tweaking or changing. Thanks Chris and Leslie for giving the beavers of Vancouver Island a fighting chance. It’s hard work to colonize a place when you first must cross a strait filled with Orcas. They worked hard to get there.

It’s the least you can do.

HOW YOU TALK TO REPORTERS ABOUT BEAVERS REALLY MATTERS

heidi08 Who's blaming beavers now? September 17, 2020

Yesterday was an exciting dejavu with some calls to Fairfield public works and the local paper that had the familiar echo of history to them. I ended up having a great conversation with a reporter who is now meeting with Virginia at the dam site this morning. It was strange to have all the urgency of our Martinez story but have it be less personally upsetting to what me. When I dealt with our beavers talking to the press was always breathlessly terrifying that I would say something wrong and they would suffer because of it. This was someone else’s beaver so I could be calmer, focused and more clear-headed.

We talked a long time and as he knew nothing about beavers or the Martinez story I later had the distinct feeling of helping somebody up a mountain a little bit at a time. I would explain what dams were for and then wait for him to catch up. Then explain why beavers mattered and help him along a little more. In the end it felt like he had a pretty great vantage point onto why beavers matter and why removing a dam would alter the ecosystem. Maybe I’m explaining it wrong or exaggerating but it felt important, and I was both hyped up and exhausted afterwards: ready for battle or a long nap.

In the end I connected him to Sonoma Water Agency who had just installed two flow devices and talked about how our success in Martinez. We learned that it HAD been the city that ripped out the dam but didn’t figure out whether the beavers had been harmed already or whether there was a permit to do so in the future.

I’m imagining that quite a few people got phone calls or emails yesterday that they weren’t expecting. And I expect we’ll hear more on the story soon. We wish all good things to Virginia this morning. Good thing beavers can manage in fairly shallow water. This is from the Wenatchee project in Washington.

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In the end how we talk to reporters about beavers really matters. Yesterday this rather strange article starring Glynnis Hood was published. It is from the very tippy top of Canada that is almost Greenland.

Meet Nunavut’s newest arrival: the beaver

A recent beaver catch in Baker Lake, along with this summer’s earlier beaver sighting near Kugluktuk, more than 1,000 kilometres northwest of Baker Lake, have some wondering whether beavers are expanding their range into Nunavut.

The short answer is yes, said Glynnis Hood, a beaver expert and environmental science professor at the University of Alberta.

“What you’re seeing is the start of a frontal movement of animals that are ready to explore, and if it works others will come,” Hood said.

Okay so I’d rather a friend like Glynnis talks to the press about the scourge of beavers ruining the permafrost than anyone else, but sometimes scientists are trying so hard to appear unbiased that they err on the other side.

Case in point:

“Beavers are great colonizers,” she said. “They build on their past successes. They will build a dam and pond system and then, of course, they can successfully reproduce and their young will disperse.”

“Think of how coronavirus spreads, Hood suggested as a comparison: one person can infect two people, and those people can each infect two more people, and “so the spread does get to be fast.”

Good Lord Glynnis. Pick another metaphor, will you? Corona Virus? Yes, beavers are EXACTLY like a crippling plague that’s killing our way of life. You know one that we are spending all our money and time avoiding.

Various articles on beavers have dubbed beavers “ecosystem engineers” and “agents of Arctic destruction and have accused them of “running amok in the Arctic.” That because their landscaping may speed up the thawing of permafrost and release more climate-warming greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

“They can do all of that. They can be a major disturbance, but they are a natural force in nature,” said Hood.

Well yes they are natural. Hurricanes and earthquakes are Natural too. It doesn’t mean anyone likes them. Glynnis can’t you use that big old brain of yours to say something nice about beavers?

“I don’t think they are the only reason that the Arctic is warming and permafrost is melting,” she said, adding that she prefers to see beavers as “our ecological second chance” because they also create biodiversity.”

Next time LEAD WITH THAT okay???

Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh!

FAIRFIELD TRAGEDY

heidi08 What's killing beavers now? September 16, 2020

You remember the story of the beautiful cascading dams through the middle of Fairfield and how they were being lovingly followed and photographed by resident Virginia Holsworth. Well, it’s September 16. We all guessed that this would happen this month. But there is no joy in being right when something this devastating is the cause. This is what that big beautiful dam in Fairfield looks like now.

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Those are the lush reeds that had grown in the deep water exposed to their roots to die. Remember what it used to look like.Just a month ago Cheryl visited and so did our friend from Pittsburg. As far as I know the city has only take out the one large dam, but there are at least four others and I’m worried about what happens next.

Virginia is beside herself and rumors are flying that the city took the beaver kit and gave it to Suisun wildlife. We know that’s not true but I will do my best to move this into the public eye where we can still do some good. As Mike Callahan wrote once to me when I was heartbroken about our dam. ” Did they trap? If they haven’t trapped yet all is not lost.”

Here’s Virginia in her own words.

RIP Laurel Creek Dam (look in pictures to see before and after)

It happened, the city broke the dam. What was once a beautiful developing ecosystem is now destroyed. Hundreds of animals have lost their homes and avenues of travel. The steelhead that were growing have washed down stream. The frogs and turtles have been misplaced, the birds which feed on the animals have left. There is also talk from locales that the city also took a baby beaver from the area, which I will be looking into. (Edit: The baby beaver was found in Vacaville)

This is because the city would rather destroy than take preventative measures to work with the beavers, who will always keep coming back.

I will be out by the dam in the evenings creating community awareness and informing people of this Facebook page, so they can look for guidance on how to protect our beavers and local ecosystem.

I told Virginia she has three big jobs today. Number 1 call the mayor and find out who did this and whether a depredation permit has been saught. Number 2 call her neighbors and let them know what happened and what they can do. And number 3 local paper and get them interested in the dynamic habitat that was lost.

Believe me when I say I know just how she feels.

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