Despite all the good news about beavers they still aren’t winning any popularity contests any time soon. Today is a mixed bag of beaver news. A county in Iowa is launch a bounty to get rid of beavers. A beaver believer in Utah has a beaver he wants removed in the winter and may need to trap it offered with a photo of you know what. And all of this comes with a new look at the 15 year old beaver story in Martinez from a lost interview with sub-committee member Julian Frazer suddenly turning up in my feed. I guess you should never say you’ve seen it all.
I would embed the charming bounty video for you to watch but I can’t figure it out. I’m sure you get the idea and if you want to see more click on the headline,
“Beavers can place a lot of stress on many areas of our infrastructure, with dams preventing water to flow to designated areas,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Brian Shea said in a statement. “Pottawattamie County is responsible for maintaining many roadways and drainage ditches in our area, and some of these dams can end up causing a lot of damage, costing our county a considerable amount of money to repair. We hope this program helps in minimizing the possibility of that happening.”
I hardly know what to say. I guess Iowa doesn’t need clean water for farms or fields and I guess Iowa doesn’t need fish or birds or otters or ducks. I wonder how they’ll feel when all the dead beavers increases the forage for the next crop and they end up with a population rebound?
Let’s move onto Utah where this short report from a self described beaver believer is featured with a fine photo of a nutria. Because why the hell not?
I won’t post the photo of the nutria because it will just show up as another photo of a beaver one day. You can trust me or follow the link your self. I’m glad they said they wouldn’t relocate the beaver in winter, but I’m dreading what’s going to happen next.
I’m now waiting to hear from my neighbor for the rest of the story. May it be favorable for this remarkable aquatic mammal, so essential for creating healthy watersheds, which equals abundant, high quality water!
Nice interview with Julian, the part about the beavers starts around the 6 minute mark. i can’t believe I never saw this before, but it starts with a mention of this website!
How about a mystery to puzzle through this weekend? I heard about this a couple days ago and apparently it still hasn’t been unraveled. I have my primary suspect list involving the phrase “plausible deniability” of course, but the city denies involvement so I’m curious what you think.
SHELTON, CT — Shelton officials are asking for the public’s help determining why a beaver dam at Boehm Pond was destroyed.
According to Teresa Gallagher, the city’s natural resource manager, the relatively new beaver dam was likely constructed around 2019 off Winthrop Woods Road and was a favorite sight for hikers in the area.
“Some people, especially hikers, loved seeing the pond and the dead trees, viewing it as a normal cycle of nature,” Gallagher said in an email to Patch. “It was a favorite spot for people to take pictures.”
In mid-December, Gallagher announced on the Shelton Trails Committee blog someone brought heavy equipment into the area and ripped the dam apart.
Well now I’ve surely known public works crews to do their really unpopular dirty work right before a holiday break so that no one will have to answer the phones until everything dies down. But maybe I’m hardened and too suspicious.
“Nevertheless, someone dismantled the guardrail on Winthrop Woods Road and brought in heavy equipment to rip apart the beaver dam, take out trees and move large rocks along the shore,” Gallagher said in the blog post. “People in the neighborhood assumed city crews had done the work, but no one at the city authorized or knows of any crews having done this.”
Will no one rid me of this meddlesome beaver? The misquote comes from Henry II who wanted someone to get rid of the archbishop of Canturbury Thomas Beckett without appearing to be directing folks get rid of Beckett. Four henchmen heard his cry and promptly dispatched the man of their “own” accord. Cities often function like little kingdoms. How many mayors have muttered under their breath for the problems to be “dealt with” so that someone could do in an unauthorized act what they themselves couldn’t be seen to do?
Gallagher said no further information about the beaver pond’s destruction has been received as of Thursday morning and the reason for it being torn up is still unknown.
“It was referred to the [city’s] Inland Wetlands Department since they have regulatory authority and can impose penalties,” Gallagher said.
The larger shallow pond created by a beaver also benefits nearby wildlife, including fish, herons, ducks, turtles, frogs and otters. The dead trees are also used by breeding birds, including wood ducks and woodpeckers, and filled with insects as they rot that are eaten by woodpeckers and other wildlife, Gallagher said.
It’s such a shame someone would take all that away, The selectman’s just sick about it. Doesn’t this sound like some hardy buck passing to you?
Though hikers in the area and others have enjoyed viewing and taking pictures of the beaver pond and the wildlife it attracted, Gallagher noted some people in the neighborhood, conversely, thought the dead trees were an eyesore.
“It’s important to understand that the best wildlife habitat often looks messy,” Gallagher said. “Dead wood has high ecological value. Conservation lands are typically meant to be left untouched, and that means they will not look tidy or manicured. This summer, the dead trees will allow light to reach the ground and a rich layer of plants to grow, providing food and habitat for species such as deer and rabbits.”
The willingness to pass blame along to anonymous nosy neighbors is pretty much TEXTBOOK in my experience when it comes to mayor’s getting rig of problems without appearing to.
Case in point: A life time ago there was an incident when I expressed concern that with all the public attention at the dam a young teen was “fishing” right near the beaver kits and a kit actually darted toward his line in curiosity. I had visions of kits with hooks in their mouth or tangled in fishing line.
The mayor appeared to be concerned saying over the phone “That’s too bad, I fear the beavers may become victims of their own popularity” and to this day I’d swear I could hear him rubbing his hands together wistfully at the thought.
Anyone with information about what happened to the beaver dam is encouraged to email conservation@cityofshelton.org.
I’ve got a theory. Do you think I should email them?
Sure Christmas comes with it’s share of good cheer and all, but nothing comes even CLOSE to this story which features the finest human profile I believe we will ever see.
I love this man with a fiery passion. I’m sure you’ll understand why. You might love him too. But step aside, because I saw him first,
Whatever else you do in the final days before 2023, WATCH THIS VIDEO!
In a near perfect marriage of headaches, Bolduc’s neighbour had an uninvited colony of beavers that he considered a nuisance and Bolduc welcomed the rodents to his side of the property line with open arms.
The beavers soon constructed a lodge that not only ensured the well never ran dry, but created a large pond in Bolduc’s backyard.
“It increased the water table by six to eight feet, solved my problem with the well, no more upset wife which is fantastic,” Bolduc told CTV News. “At the end, it was a wonderful place for the kids and I to come skating.”
It’s not just the neighbours that enjoy the new pond, so does the wildlife. Moose and bears have been spotted in the water, occasionally at the same time.
Don’t you LOVE this man? Shouldn’t he be emperor and president and King of North America forever? Or at least in charge of all the wetlands and water for the foreseeable future?
There are few things that make me want to drop everything and move to Canada. Pierre Bolduc is one of them.
Here’s hoping everyone had good cheer and there aren’t to many things to clean up day. I got really excited when I saw this headline this morning, I love a good “suing USDA story”. But looks can be deceiving. Remember that.
A paper company in northern Minnesota is suing the federal government over a botched beaver dam removal that flooded two streets and a campground, leaving a lake clogged with debris.
Blandin Paper Co., which owns 180,000 acres of forest in seven counties, which in 2019 contracted with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to manage beaver dams on its Itasca County land near Lake Pokegama.
But two USDA employees blew up a dam on the company’s property without first digging another beaver dam downstream on the same creek, an action that caused a water cascade that eventually brought the paper company under control of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for complaint .
Sigh. I do love a story about USDA being sued, but not this one. They aren’t suing USDA for blowing up beaver dams. They’re suing them for not blowing up ENOUGH beaver dams. Because you gotta blow them all up at the right time.
Grrrr.
Blandin also claims that it appealed directly to the USDA to recover costs of repairing damage caused by the flood, but was denied. The company’s lawsuit was filed in federal court on Dec. 14. Blandin declined to comment through a lawyer.
According to the agency’s website, she provides technical and direct assistance to farmers and foresters dealing with beavers, noting that an analysis of her work found that “for every dollar spent dealing with beaver damage, $20.93 dollars were saved”.
But in the case of Blandin’s dam removal, the company said in its complaint that the total cost of repairing the damage and paying inspection fees to the DNR was $817,902.30.
After the two USDA contractors blew up the first dam, a second one downstream was overwhelmed, causing “a tremendous torrent of water and sediment,” according to the lawsuit. Water poured downstream onto the creek bed, uprooting trees and boulders, clogging the culvert under Sugar Hills Road and then washing over that road and Sherry’s Arm Road beyond. The water inundated private property and parts of Fishing Springs Campground, eventually depositing dirt, rocks and debris on 19,000 square feet of Pokegama Lake.
The DNR later ordered Blandin to repair the damage to the unnamed creek and lake, which are public waters. A document provided by the DNR showed 14 sites where Blandin was responsible for stabilizing riverbanks, fortifying flood plains and repairing the waterway’s original flow. The company eventually removed around 1,100 cubic meters of soil from the lake.
Gee I wonder how important having enough water is to a paper company? You would think that they would want to save as much of it as possible, wouldn’t you? But I guess they didn’t think about the water-savers before them hired hitmen to kill their families. Why should they?
Under an agreement between Blandin and USDA, the federal agency was responsible for obtaining permits for the dam removal work. But the DNR later told the company that no one had obtained the necessary permit to alter public waters.
Blandin commissioned the USDA to reduce beaver damage by removing the animals from their land by either trapping or shooting, and removing their dams with either explosives or hand rakes. But Blandin claims the two USDA employees were negligent in not investigating how the first blast they set off would affect the rest of the site.
However, the company has completed its restoration work. According to the lawsuit, in October 2021, the DNR determined that the repairs were adequate.
We hired you to shoot the beavers not flood the road! Sure we could have kept the beavers and the water and their dams and all that wildlife and nitrogen removal, but we’re our name is “Blandni”
Yesterday we got some nice new acclaim for Leila’s book and a follow up story about the beaver pond-snow mobile controversy in New Hampshire. I was charmed by both, but couldn’t help feeling that the Martinez beaver story would have been a prime candidate for sharing on the popular Science Friday hour.
Not to toot our own horn too much but Ira would have LOVED us!
The American beaver, Castor canadensis, nearly didn’t survive European colonialism in the United States. Prized for its dense, lustrous fur, and also sought after for the oil from its tail glands, the species was killed by the tens of thousands, year after year, until conservation efforts in the late 19th century turned the tide.
In her new book, Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America, author Leila Philipp tells that tale—and the ecological cost of this near-extermination. But she also has good news: beavers, and their skillful engineering of waterways, have the potential to ease the fire, drought and floods of a changing climate. She talks to Ira about the powerful footprint of the humble beaver.
Nice job! Of course I would add that the problem with ripping out a beaver dam isn’t just that it’s wrong for beavers, it’s also a waste of time. Either those beavers will fix it and you will have wasted manpower. Or new beavers will move into your ‘vacancy’ sign and you’ll have to do it all over again.
What I want to know is why wasn’t Martinez on science friday??? I’m pretty sure you remember this great story. It’s a hallmark Christmas movie just waiting to happen. I would definitely watch it ever year if you just tweaked the ending a bit.
People pitched their ideas for restoring the pond and keeping the bridge safe. Mark Dube even came up with his own, inspired by his time working on railroads in Northern Maine that had issues with beavers plugging nearby culverts.
By the end of the meeting, Dube was exchanging contact information with the rest of the committee to coordinate a proposal.
Some residents are determined to restore the pond. But to install a new dam or make other changes, they’ll need to get a permit from the state, and that could be a long shot. Their best bet might be to wait, and hope another family of beavers moves back in.
We would have been amazing on Science Friday. Although I guess I’m glad our stodgy council didn’t receive any more fame than they did from the whole struggle. You should never get to look like heroes in repeated news stories just for wanting to kill beavers.
Which reminds me it’s a great time to remember this old favorite, so you have something to carol to or sing around the piano tonight. A Merry time indeed!
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me A Dam in Alham-b-ra Creek
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me Two adult beavers and A Dam in Alham-b-ra Creek
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me Three watching women< Two adult beavers and A Dam in Alham-b-ra Creek
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Four furry kits Three watching women Two adult beavers and A Dam in Alham-b-ra Creek
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Five City Council! Four furry kits Three watching women Two adult beavers and A Dam in Alham-b-ra Creek
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Six baby ducklings Five City Council! Four furry kits Three watching women Two adult beavers and A Dam in Alham-b-ra Creek
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me Seven on committee Six baby ducklings Five City Council! Four furry kits Three watching women Two adult beavers and A Dam in Alham-b-ra Creek
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Eight eager muskrats Seven on committee Six baby ducklings Five City Council! Four furry kits Three watching women Two adult beavers and A Dam in Alham-b-ra Creek
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Nine children laughing Eight eager muskrats Seven on committee Six baby ducklings Five City Council! Four furry kits Three watching women Two adult beavers and A Dam in Alham-b-ra Creek
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Ten news reporters Nine children laughing Eight eager muskrats Seven on committee Six baby ducklings Five City Council! Four furry kits Three watching women Two adult beavers and A Dam in Alham-b-ra Creek
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me Eleven cameras snapping Ten news reporters Nine children laughing Eight eager muskrats Seven on committee Six baby ducklings Five City Council! Four furry kits Three watching women Two adult beavers and A Dam in Alham-b-ra Creek
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me Twelve hatching turtles Eleven cameras snapping Ten news reporters Nine children laughing Eight eager muskrats Seven on committee Six baby ducklings Five City Council! Four furry kits Three watching women Two adult beavers and A Dam in Alham-b-ra Creek
“Beavers can place a lot of stress on many areas of our infrastructure, with dams preventing water to flow to designated areas,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Brian Shea said in a statement. “Pottawattamie County is responsible for maintaining many roadways and drainage ditches in our area, and some of these dams can end up causing a lot of damage, costing our county a considerable amount of money to repair. We hope this program helps in minimizing the possibility of that happening.”
