Category: Beavers elsewhere

ANOTHER HEART TOUCHED BY A BEAVER

I’m going to make you all cry now. Well not me, Patti Smith. The Vermont “me” – way more graceful and without the sarcasm. She’s going to make you cry with this beautiful column about the death of her heroic ambassador beaver, Willow. You’ll know, when you read her elegiac prose, how much I thought of the death of our own mother beaver loo, lo, these nine years ago. It takes the courage of a matriarch to change a woman’s life apparently. Mom was the one who decided to live near us in Martinez. And Willow was the first that allowed her life to be touched by Patti. My heart grieves for her loss, and ours.

Smith: View from Heifer Hill: In Memorium for Willow the beaver

On the night of December 3, I broke a trail through the deep fresh snow to the shores of Sodom Pond. It was not the tough, uphill work that made me immune to the beauty of the moonlit forest; I was going to say good-bye to my old friend Willow.

Some of you met Willow when I began writing about her in this column nearly twelve years ago. If so, you will know that she was the first volunteer when I decided I would like to meet a beaver. She has been sharing her life with me (and you?) ever since. This fall found her settled in a new pond with Henry, mate number five, and Gentian, their 18-month-old kit.

Willow’s life was remarkable on two counts. As a beaver ambassador, she welcomed many visitors over the years. In this capacity, she played a small role in awakening humanity to the tremendous role beavers play in making habitat and in holding cooling water on a heating planet.

Willow also had an unusually long life. I have speculated about the superpowers that kept her alive while so many other beavers disappeared. She has been blind in one eye for the past five years and has had the disheveled, bony appearance of advanced age for nearly as long. I suspect she was close to the maximum age for a beaver. The record for a beaver in captivity is 23 years. Beavers in the wild seldom attain half that age.

I wish I could say something that would soften this article for you. But I can’t. All I can do is remember this, the night after we lost mom and my long sniffling watch to see if her kits were cared for, I filmed these the night after mom died.

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In late November, after the first snow of the year, I heard a beaver’s tail slap warning when I arrived at the pond. Henry made a brief, nervous appearance but swam away again. Willow did not show up. I tried not to worry, but Henry’s anxiety was contagious.

The next night, I headed to the pond again hopeful that I would find the wayward beaver and prepared to search if I did not. Only Henry came when I called. I wandered downstream to previous ponds and back on the far side of the brook. I found no recent sign of Willow, but many reminders of the hours spent on those shores. When I arrived at the far side of their home pond, I could see young Gentian out on the ice processing a tree they had felled. From that vantage, I also saw the tracks of a bear. The bear had walked across the slushy surface of the pond the previous night and pawed at the roof of one of the beavers’ temporary lodges.

Willow was nowhere to be found but the next morning she came back to look closer at the bear tracks. I know, I’m crying too. And remembering this.
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The next morning I set myself the grim task of determining her fate. If I could not find evidence of a predator attack, I would assume that Willow had achieved the near-impossible—dying of old-age in nature. Frost crystals gleamed on the sedges by the pond, and a light skim of ice crystallized into snowflake patterns over the open water. I followed the beavers’ trails up the hillside again. I saw no evidence of predation. I returned to the place where the bear tracks left the scene. The tracks continued up the hill, went over a stone wall and up stone steps to a cellar hole. Bear feet left impressions along the edge of the foundation. At a corner, it looked like the bear paused to goof around with a branch since the tracks went back and forth, and a groove appeared beside them. As the tracks continued into the woods, the groove went with them. The bear was dragging something. I knew what I would find.

The pile of sawdust under a skim of ice looked like bedding from a squirrel’s nest at first. When it registered as Willow’s last meal, I dropped to my knees and howled my sorrow to the still forest. The depth of grief is a measure of love, so I welcome it. I loved that old beaver.

A week later, I made my sad return trek to the pond. The section of ice near the entrance to the lodge was slushy, and I made an opening with my ski pole. I called Henry and waited for many anxious minutes before I heard the gurgles that announced his approach. He rose to the surface wearing a cap of ice and then lumbered up the sloughing snowbank to beach himself, in magnificent portliness, for a treat. In his company by the moonlit pond, I found my farewells had already been said. The night demanded attention to what was there, not what was missing. I could feel Willow’s presence in Gentian, snoozing in the lodge nearby. Could she share her mother’s remarkable traits? If she does, she will live a long life — and she will share it with us.

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I will never forget the wrenching feeling in Lily pond reading as Hope watches her beloved beaver die, I don’t know why, but women mourn beaver matriarchs and that’s just how it happens. There is of course always the fear of what will happen to the children. But I’m sure you know they were cared for. That night we all commented on how the yearling was accepting the kit for a back ride. We rarely saw those two apart in the coming month.

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Patti, we are so grateful you allowed this beaver to touch your life. Your readers hearts and minds were forever opened because of it.

And thank you, Mom, and Willow.

Lastly; the Hubermans

Hans.

Papa

He was tall in the bed and I could see the silver through his eyelids. His soul sat up. It met me. Those kinds of souls always do – the best ones. The ones who rise up and say, “I know who you are and I am ready. Not that I want to go, of course, but I will come.” Those souls are always light because more of them have been put out. More of them have already found their way to other places. This one was set out by the breath of an accordion, the odd taste of champagne in summer, and the art of promise-keeping. He lay in my arms and rested.

Markus Zusak: The Book Thief

BEAVERS MAKE UNEXPECTED FRIENDS

heidi08 Creative Solutions, Flow Device Installed, Who's saving beavers now? December 6, 2019

Great news coming out of Rhode Island where both our friends Mike Callahan and Ben Goldfarb helped find a sweet end to a beaver complication.

Beavers Continue Their Rhode Island Comeback

CUMBERLAND, R.I. — At the Cumberland Land Trust’s nature preserve on Nate Whipple Highway, beavers created numerous dams on East Sneech Brook in the years after their arrival in 2014, flooding the property and forcing the organization to detour its hiking trail and build a boardwalk over the wettest areas.

Worse, the flooding killed many trees in the Atlantic white cedar swamp, a rare habitat found at just a few sites in Rhode Island.It’s a sign that beavers are continuing their comeback in Rhode Island, after being extirpated from the region about 300 years ago.

When the white cedar trees began to die, the land trust took action to address the situation. They hired a Massachusetts beaver-control expert to advise them on how to install a series of water-flow devices — a combination of wire fencing and plastic pipes going through the beaver dam that tricks beavers into thinking their dam is still working but which allows the water to flow down the stream unhindered.

Hurray for Mike! Hurray for the Cumberland land Trust! Just because Rhode Island has the word ‘Island’ in its name doesn’t mean you are going to avoid beavers. You get what we all get. And its good to know you understand how to cope.

According to Ben Goldfarb, author of the award-winning 2018 book Eager: The Surprising, Secret Lives of Beavers and Why They Matter, beaver ponds also help to recharge aquifers, dissipate floods, filter pollutants, and ease the impact of wildfires. A 2011 report he highlighted estimated that restoring beavers to one river basin in Utah would provide annual benefits valued at tens of millions of dollars.

“Even acknowledging that beavers store water and sustain other creatures is insufficient,” Goldfarb wrote. “Because the truth is that beavers are nothing less than continental-scale forces of nature, in large part responsible for sculpting the land upon which we Americans built our towns and raised our food. Beavers shaped North America’s ecosystems, its human history, its geology. They whittled our world, and they could again — if, that is, we treat them as allies instead of adversaries.”

“Great blue herons gravitate toward newly flooded areas with dead standing trees,” Brown said. “But beaver ponds aren’t perpetual. They come and they go. Beavers create a dynamic state of change that can benefit a lot of things.”

Yes, yes they do. Including humans. I’m so glad you could see the forest for the [cedar] trees and make the right decision. You are a Land Trust after all, that should include wetlands and wildlife right?

There’s time for a little bit more good news right? I mean both its a little big of news and a little bit good, Well we are grading on a curve. And its USDA, So I’m pretty sure its good.

Helping beavers move to the suburbs

Nick Kaczor, CWB, an assistant manager at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, met with Wildlife Services in Colorado to explain that the arsenal was going to try to re-establish a local beaver population. The refuge management plans include promoting a native population of American beavers (Castor canadensis), which would aid in restoration of a stream.

At the same time, another cooperator was requesting relief from damage caused by beaver on a suburban property in southern Douglas County.

The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge, a 15,000-acre urban wildlife refuge just north of Denver, seeks to conserve and enhance populations of plants, fish and wildlife and to provide compatible public uses. Over time this land has transitioned through a variety of uses, first from prairie to farmland, then to a military site in the 1940s and to a chemical production site in the 1950s. A public-private partnership carried out clean-up efforts from the 1980s through 2010, and today the site is a sanctuary for more than 330 wildlife species including bison (Bison bison), black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), and burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia).

Hmmm so someone wants beavers and someone wants to get rid of beavers. Wait, don’t tell me,I know how this ends.

Under a permit from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Wildlife Services-Colorado used suitcase traps to capture five beaver causing damage elsewhere. They were trapped during the summer months until mid-September in order to relocate them when they were old enough to survive on their own and find adequate habitat before winter.

They were released on the refuge at sites where staff provided fresh-cut trees for temporary forage and shelter. Refuge staff will continually monitor the sites, while also protecting bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) nest trees from beaver damage.

Wildlife Services-Colorado appreciated this opportunity to support a localized recovery effort and the recognition we received for it from the Colorado Trappers and Predator Hunters Convention. We look forward to finding more beaver that are looking for a suburban Denver lifestyle.

THE BEAVERS SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH

heidi08 What's killing beavers now? December 2, 2019

I hope your long weekend of family and weather was enjoyable. We experimented with drying orange slices to string and our entire house smells delightful. Save yourself the heartache and don’t try kiwi. It dries like little curled bats and looks just about as nice. But lemon, lime and orange come out lovely!

Fresh horrors in the UK this morning where a folks who don’t want beavers back on the landscape apparently still want their fur. This startling headline greeted me this morning:

Shock as dead beaver discovered ‘shot and sheared’ on Broughty Ferry beach

The animal’s carcass was spotted washed ashore by a dog walker last month. It is believed the animal had been shot and skinned before being thrown in the river.

As of May, beavers are a protected species in Scotland, making it is illegal to kill the animal or destroy established dams and lodges without a licence.

But several reports of beaver’s being persecuted unlawfully have emerged in Tayside, despite the protection.

A dog walker, who spotted the animal, said: “I was walking the dog on the beach when I came across the dead beaver but was shocked to see it had been shot and skinned. It looked like it had been washed ashore.

Beavers can cause issues for Tayside farmers since their release into the region as they are said to undermine river banks and block drainage.

Landowners can obtain a “lethal control” licence from the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

But in Perth last week, TV presenter and conservationist Chris Packham called on tighter legislation to prevent landowners using loopholes to cull the creatures.

He said the landowners’ applications must be heavily scrutinised to prove beavers are causing damage to human interests.

Good lord. The most horrific part of this story for me is that some asshole farmer is going to keep that beaver skin on his floor or wall and brag to his friends about how he finished him off. All I can say to that is JUST WAIT until climate change means you don’t get enough water for your crops and then think about all the water-savers you’ve killed.

ENJOY YOUR RITUAL SACRIFICE WITH PIE

heidi08 Who's saving beavers now? November 28, 2019

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American readers, and happy Thursday to everyone else, pilgrims and natives alike. Honesty who hasn’t done a favor for someone and later regretted it? Whether it’s that roommate you let borrow your civic or the boyfriend you gave your trig notes too, we’ve all made deals we lived to regret. Take Ukraine for instance.

It’s actually kind of sweet they made an national holiday for it.

Of course just because the relatives are coming over and you’re busy basting is no reason not to complain about beavers. God knows every day is a day to complain about beavers. Right?

A busy beaver wreaks havoc in Olathe

An unwelcome guest at Olathe Community Park has done a lot of damage to trees there.

Working at night, a suspected beaver rapidly gnawed his way through several trunks, and high winds did the rest. Rather than gathering larger wood to build a dam, the animal is apparently after the tender twigs and leaves at the top of the tree and is storing them in a hidden den as food for the winter. At least three trees are down including the pictured one which represents about 15 years of growth. More than a dozen others have lost bark to the busy creature

What I particularly love about this story is the photo. Notice they put up orange caution fencing around the scene of the crime to keep the neighborhood safe. Good lord I almost expect to see a chalk outline of the tree itself. Or maybe some crime scene tape marking off the area.

Darrin Scott, parks director for the Town of Olathe, has set out a live trap in hopes of capturing and relocating the beast. As of Nov. 22, parks personnel haven’t caught the beaver, but they also haven’t seen the animal or spotted him on camera, so they’re hoping their attempts at capture have made him uncomfortable enough to leave the area.

Sure. Great idea. It’s 32 degrees this morning in Olathe and the area gets three feet of snow on average so a beaver dropped into a soon freezing home will quickly starve. But hey, it looks good in the paper so just say you’re going to “live trap” and everyone will feel better. And sure, don’t bother wire wrapping any of the remaining trees to prepare for next time, because why on earth would you waste time with actual solutions that when you can just kill the intruders?

One of my favorite modernish Thanksgiving traditions is to watch the Buffy episode about its celebration, which, if you never have, you really should before you leave this life, even if you’re not a Buffy fan. She’s in college and a angry Chumash indian and when his ghostly tribe attacks the southern California campus and a surprisingly profound discussion of what the holiday means ensues. Here’s a little taste, For clarification in these scenes the blonde tied-up fellow is a vampire, and the woman in the front of the second clip is a 1000 year old ex-demon. Everyone is plain folk like you and me, well you anyway,

Enjoy your ritual sacrifice with pie.

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E.P.I.C. CHANGES PROPOSED IN BEAVER DEPREDATION

heidi08 Who's Killing Beavers Now?, Who's saving beavers now? November 25, 2019

It begins with an ask.

If you want to have something new you have to start by requesting the change. Even if they’re sure to be turned down. Even if they’re pie-in-the-sky and way more than you can achieve. You have to start by making it clear what you want. Even if its just to yourself, so that you have something to push against as you move forward.

Consider this the ask.

EPIC Petitions for Better Beaver Regulations: Proposed Rules Would Clarify Rules for Trapping

EPIC filed a rulemaking petition with the California Fish and Game Commission to ensure greater protections for beavers and to clarify existing legal rules concerning their trapping. Together on the petition were the Center for Biological Diversity, the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, and the Northcoast Environmental Center

The proposed regulations would impact the 700+ beavers killed each year because of conflict with the human environment, and would require individuals to exhaust non-lethal methods to deter or diminish conflict before a permit could be issued that would allow their lethal removal. It further codifies federal law prohibiting the removal of beavers if that removal would harm a species protected by the Endangered Species Act.

Consider this the shot across the bow. Don’t kill beavers until you’ve tried not to kill them first. And don’t kill beavers when endangered species like salmon and red-legged frogs and least bell’s vireo rely on them for habitat. Actually the rule change text is gentler than the article makes it sound. The landowner just has to show they tried one non-lethal means. Like wrapping trees. Many depredation permits already include this info. But I assume it’s not required.

This is a “proposed rule change” which has to go up before the fish and game committee to be considered and you can already imagine the resounding NO votes it will receive. But it’s an ask. And it is filled with really epic, important things. Like this:

Beavers are Biologically Important to California

The North American beaver (Castor canadensis)is native to California. Accordingly, the flora and fauna of the state have co-evolved with the beaver, developing unique and complexinterwoven relationships.Beavers, however, are currently missing from much of their historic range and the effects of their absence are felt by the species that co-evolved with beavers. Beaver create freshwater habitats used by a variety of wildlife, including fish, birds, and other mammals. Their dams filter stream water, improve water quality, raise the water table, increase water storage, and repair eroded riparian areas. In particular, beavers have a significant beneficial relationship to many species currently listed as threatened or endangered under the California Endangered Species Act and/or the federal Endangered Species Act, such as coho salmon. The proposed amendments to the regulations recognize the unique ecological importance of beavers and take steps towards promoting our co-existence with beavers by prohibiting the commercial trapping of beavers,and by requiring that non-lethal or less-lethal measures have been taken to avoid and minimize conflicts with humans.

For reasons I am not privy Worth A Dam was not asked to be a cosponsor of this proposed rule change OR asked for any information obtained from the last five years of review of depredation permits, ahem. or asked for information about how other states regulate beaver trapping. Still, the somewhat glaring omission doesn’t negate that this is an important ask. An ask that’s a big deal

The total impact of beavers to the hydrologic characteristics of streams is difficult to overestimate. Beaver dams increase in-stream storage capacity, which in turn has been shown to result in greater summer flows, even going so far as to result in continual flow in previously seasonal streams. Impoundment of water also has been shown to stabilize water temperatures.Beaver dams slow stream flow resulting in increased sedimentation, thereby raising incised channels to the point where streams are reconnected to their historic floodplain

We are very happy for the mention of hydrology and water impoundment. California cares about drought. But I would argue this doesn’t go far enough. What about groundwater and the sinking aquifers in much of California? What about fire prevention? What about saturation of soils that prevents the wildfires that destroyed Paradise?

Well, as far as shots across the bow go, this one is pretty dam good. We’re EAGER to see what muffled excuses CDFW offers in response. You know it will be something pretty effusive and super concerned with landowner interests. I just wish the application had included more about how GOOD it is for landowners to have beavers on their property. Keeping water on their land and making sure their well doesn’t run dry while preventing fires.

And Cinderella of course wishes she’d been invited to the party, sniff, but I’m very interested in seeing what happens next.