Category: Beavers elsewhere

THE “MIGHTY WHITE OF YOU” BOOK REVIEW

Some readers spring remember that this spring we entered a very dark period where the website went away involuntarily. I was scrambling day and night to win it back but all of the images had suddenly ‘disappeared’ when a clever tech offered to make things easier. (Word to the wise. Clever techs don’t always make things better,)

In my scramble I met a vaguely reasonable voice at bluehost who was slightly less erratic than his co-workers. He warned me against trusting techs with good ideas and said, without a hint of irony, “Some of these guys haven’t even been here a year!” He cautioned, and leaned in proudly “I’ve been here 13 months!”

I must have burst out laughing at that point because he was very surprised at the noise and I was equally surprised to find he wasn’t being ironic. It eventually took a smart girl and her supervisor all day to fix the problem, but I never forgot that line because no matter who you tell, maytag repair man, electrician, comcast installer, it always makes people laugh.

Well, this morning Ben’s book gets reviewed by a similarly qualified science blogger. I’ll just post the title and leave it at that.

Get that? Since 2017? Who would put that on a website as a tag line? Ye olde science blogger. Here’s Ben’s review:

Book review – Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter

I cannot deny that the first thing that came to my mind upon seeing this book was Leslie Nielsen’s slightly smutty beaver joke in Naked Gun.

Wow. That’s his open? Hilarious and soo original. He must have had many, many dates in college.

Shame on me, as environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb presents a serious, incisive book that shows just how important beavers and their dams are for biodiversity, ecosystem health, and hydrology. If humans are now said to be a geological force to be reckoned with, birthing the term Anthropocene, our persecution of beavers led to the loss of another geological force.

You can tell both that he didn’t much care for the subject or Ben’s brilliant language-laden prose. But he cared more than he expected to and wrote about it here.

We meet Mike Callahan, a former physician-assistant at a methadone clinic who invented flow devices: low-tech beaver-proof structures of pipes and fences that partially drain a beaver pond to prevent catastrophic flooding of nearby roads and properties, now highly in demand throughout the US. There is Nick Weber, a scientist who has been imitating beavers by constructing artificial dams that have beneficial effects on the hydrology of landscapes and are not infrequently colonised be returning beavers, giving them a leg-up when re-establishing themselves. Or Heidi Perryman, whose non-profit Worth a Dam has been ceaselessly campaigning for the benefit of beaver-dom, dispelling many myths and misconceptions in the process.

Ohhh we get a mention! Be still my heart – oh wait. It is.

Though I have always had a superficial mental image of beavers as those dam-building rodents, I found Eager to be a revelatory and very interesting book. The regular castorid puns and rich alliteration might not be to everyone’s taste, admittedly, but overall my feeling was that the prose flowed off the pages into my eyeballs. Eager is clearly far more than a dry, scholarly treatise on the subject. In my opinion, Goldfarb here successfully advocates the beaver’s cause while also writing a beautiful book.

So you liked it? I think I’m going to call this the ‘mighty white of you’ book review. Yes Ben did write a FASCINATING and earth changing book, and beavers are literal earth changes and worth so much more than a Lesie Neilsen pun. Although maybe you’re right when you think of it.

Calling vagina’s beavers makes since because, after all, vaginas made the world as we know it and so did beavers. Ahem.

Our friends to the north Jim and Judy Atkinson of Port Moody B.C. were excited to install a flow device yesterday. Hurray! And Brrrrr! I guess this means that DOF will stop cutting out the dam every five minutes. Adrien of Fur-bearer Defenders did the deed with Jim’s able assistance. Kudos to both of them.

THANKFUL FOR BEAVERS

There is much to be thankful for this year in the beaver world. It has been one of the best years to support flat-tails we have ever known. Let me just give a shortlist of reminders before start the day with friends and family.

I’m thankful that this may our story and beavers appeared in the National Wildlife Federation’s “Ranger Rick Magazine” where they could be seen by children all over the country and beyond. We were so lucky for Suzi Eszterhas photos with our beavers. Happy Thanksgiving, Suzi!

The very next month Ben’s book was published and the beaver world has never been the same since.I’m so grateful that we got to be part of that story and part of the brilliant torch that got passed forward on this journey. Happy Thanksgiving, Ben.

Our beaver festival was held in a new park for the first time, and graced with the amazingly generous artwork of Amy G. Hall who gave two days of intensive labor to create this. Happy Thanksgiving, Amy.

What a year. And thanks to you all for making it happen.

A final somber wish for the day goes to the peace and recovery of our friends and neighbors in Paradise. Remember them today in your warm homes with all your loved one gathered because they are reminding us all what it means to be thankful for what you have left even after unthinkable tragedy when we keep listening for the still, small voice.

And after the earthquake a fire; but the lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

1 Kings 19:12

North Valley Community Foundation: 530-366-0397
American Red Cross: 1-800-733-27677 or text REDCROSS to 90999
North Valley Animal Disaster Group: donate here

COLORADO CARRIES OUR BEAVER MESSAGE

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Who's saving beavers now? November 20, 2018

Last week we reported on a beaver issue in in Manitou Springs Colorado that had encouraged enough support to bring out Sherri Tippie to consult. Sadly the property owner brought in a trapper before a solution could be found. But there was enough of a fuss created that I wrote the city council and paper thinking it could be different next time around.

This is the paper’s follow-up today.

Manny the beaver’ lives: Video captures evidence

Our Nov. 14 cover story (Beavers drive a wedge between Manitou Springs environmentalists, business owners) drew responses from readers empathetic to both the plight of Manitou’s euthanized beavers, and to the decision of a motel owner to protect her property.

Two readers’ letters are printed below. But perhaps the most intriguing development since we published the story is this video from Roy Chaney, director of aquatics and fitness at the Manitou Pool and Fitness Center.

Nice to see one beaver family member remains. Prior conversations with Sherri Tippie suggest that this might be mom since she’s usually the last to be caught. Let’s hope that she has a bit of a food cache somewhere and can build up the dam before the freeze sets in.

They published my letter in full with links to our website and the beaver institute so I’m happy.

I was sorry to read about the difficulties with beavers in Manitou Springs this morning, beaver challenges have become more common and many cities struggle to find resolution. Unfortunately, trapping is a short-term solution since population recovery means beavers will return to adequate habitat often within the year. In my city of Martinez California we faced a similar issue when beavers moved into our city creek in 2007. There were concerns from local business and residents about the potential for flooding and damage to trees. While the initial plan was to trap the beavers, residents protested this plan and recommended an alternative solution. We weren’t lucky to have an experienced woman like Sherri Tippie near by – so we had to bring in expert Skip Lisle (Sherri’s colleague) 3000 miles from Vermont to solve the problem.

That was a long time ago, the Castor Master Skip installed controlled flooding in our city for a decade which allowed the beavers to safely remain, bringing birds, wildlife, steelhead and tourism to the creek. We wrapped established trees and planted new ones. We even celebrate with a yearly beaver festival, and were featured in National Geographic and Ranger Rick Magazine this year.

Luckily for you, it is MUCH easier to solve beaver problems than it was a decade ago. There are now books, websites and even videos to teach you how. There are plenty of reasons even businesses should appreciate beaver, including drought and fire protection. I am hopeful that you can work together to make a plan on how to solve this issue next time. We would be happy to consult along the way.

Our motto is, any city smarter than a beaver, can keep a beaver – and knows why they should.

Heidi Perryman, Ph.D.

Our story told in just the right places! But I especially loved the other letter from a local educator whose class room had been persuaded that beavers matter by Jari’s outstanding documentary.

As a current educator and former landscape business owner, I was both sickened and exhilarated after reading “Leave It To Beavers.”

In September, my students studied beavers with vigor, and enjoyed a field trip to view a beautiful beaver lodge and scout out beaver “signs.” They are still talking about beavers to this day. The children embraced a beaver’s place in our ecosystem, and after viewing the PBS Nature film Leave It to Beavers, they realized that awareness and education allows for all of us to coexist peacefully.

I sympathize with Evelyn Waggoner when the beavers felled trees and shrubs on her property. That is devastating! For 25 years, I attempted to manage voles, deer, and bunnies in residential gardens. The damage caused was monumental, frustrating and costly. However, the very best control I found was barrier methods. Live and let live! If they can’t get to the plants, they will move on.

I believe that education and awareness will help protect these amazing creatures!

Stacey Kaye
Lake George, CO

I also got a nice response back from the mayor and city council woman supportive of the beavers, so something tells me there might be a better resolution in their not too distant future. Fingers crossed.

Finally, reader Sheri Hartstein requested this yesterday to comfort our battered-by-the-camp fire hearts. Of course I had to oblige. In case you haven’t seen the meme the hat says “Rake America great again”.

THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD

heidi08 Beavers and salmon, Who's Killing Beavers Now? November 17, 2018

Another day of unbreatheable air for us while rescue workers in Paradise sift through the unimaginable looking for victims of the camp fire. There are 1000 people still missing and we know what that means. In the mean time there are beaver stories that merit our attention. It’s winter in many parts of the US that aren’t currently on fire. And that’s never good news for beavers.

Traps poised for sharp-toothed wanderers

Beavers are being trapped along the Alaska Highway across from the Meadow Lakes Golf Club as a precaution, says conservation officer David Bakica.

The Department of Highways and Public Works (DPW) is afraid the buildup of water behind the dam the beavers have created could push against the gravel road bed and compromise its strength, Bakica explained recently.

The water is already inside the right-of-way, he pointed out.

The devices installed a couple of years ago at the mouth of the highway culvert to prevent the beavers from damming the culvert is working well, Bakica told the Star. The beavers have, however, decided to block the creek upstream from the culvert, within the highway right-of-way, he said.

So the culvert protection you used a couple years ago is working, but the beavers have dammed upstream and rather that build on the success of a couple years ago and install a flow device, you are choosing to kill them in winter.

As it was explained to him by Highway staff, when water sits against a roadbed, every time a vehicle passes over it, the roadbed acts as sponge, pulling in water and heightening the risk of failure, he said.

To date, five have been trapped, though they’re still not certain if all the beavers have been removed, Bakica said Thursday.

Waiting for ice cover not only increases the safety aspect, but it’s also easier to target the entrances and exits of the beaver lodge, he explained.

DPW wants to pull down the dam, but to do so while the beavers are still in there would be inhumane, as the animals would eventually freeze to death without water or become easy prey, he said.

In other words DPW thinks beaver live IN the dam because DPW is almost always stupid.

Bakica said relocating beavers really isn’t feasible in most cases. It’s costly, and can simply mean moving a problem from one area to another, he pointed out.

DPW’s Doris Wurfbaum said the intent is to break down the dam this winter so that the water is free-flowing come spring.

I’m going to assume that the fact that you installed culvert protection 2 years ago at all means that public pressure cared about these beavers and forced your hand. Hey killing after the freeze has another benefit of keeping the beaver-lovers away so they won’t complain too much!

You know there’s another way to do this, right?

North American Beaver
Castor canadensis
Eating willow
Martinez, CA by Suzi Eszterhas

We need to remember that beaver stupid still exists everywhere and its not all hearts and Ben’s book out there. I was stunned to see this complaint whine its way across my news feed the other day.

Salmon Runs in the Columbia River system are being systematically ruined by the pseudo science ecologist/ environmentalists who are incharge.

If it was not for the pseudo science of ecology we could have infinitely more fish in northwest rivers and beyond. The environmentalists actually are the real cause of fish declines.

Wow. Ecology is a pseudo-science and environmentalists cause fish decline. The mind boggles. The jaw drops.

The Indian tribes controlled the salmon at these points of difficult uphill cascades passage in the gorge for several thousand years. The river was much more polluted than it is today when salmon runs were much larger. The Indian populations along the Columbia river were higher per square mile concentrated along the river than anywhere else in north America at the time in pre Columbian times. Beavers had everything dammed and were so numerous the river was fouled by Beaver feces and from the Indian populations along the rivers and streams. Those nutrients fed the salmon runs.

Got that? The rivers used to be more polluted because of all the beaver poop. And all that poop fed the salmon. So now that there is less pollution there are less salmon. Because of the stupid ecologists.

In some ways today the rivers are too clean for fish to thrive as much as they can and fish hatcheries can also be placed further down stream to more tidal areas of the river system like in the Willamette river itself right downtown. There is horrible missed opportunity in developing the ‘resource’ and worst of all the fisheries selected the best salmon for the hatchery fish and the eco environmental flakes designate those as unnatural fish which is helping to destroy river and ocean survival traits of various species. The truth is absolutely not allowed . Ensured are stupid jobs for idiot people and the salmon and the economic value of these salmon is suffering as a result

If we were to substitute the word pollution for the words ‘nutrient-rich’ I could almost agree. Of course you can’t conflate what beaver do to rivers with what industrial or chemical companies do to rivers. There is zero comparison. The author is onto something though about lots of beavers resulting in lots of salmon, but he misunderstands the role that ecologists want to play in restoring rivers. Correlation isn’t causation. Just because they showed up when the salmon population started to fall apart doesn’t mean they caused it. Just like going to the hospital isn’t the cause of death.

I posted a comment in response and surprisingly he approved it and its still there. I’m not sure what that means, but I’m going to assume its a good sign. At least anyone else that visits the sight can see it.

KORENWOLF AND WILLOW-WOLF

heidi08 Beaver ecological impact, What's killing beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? November 15, 2018

There have been so many beaver news stories in recent days, it’s a relief that I can catch up this morning. Let’s say the leftovers are kind of a mixed bag. Some rotten news and some wonderful news. Of course I’m starting with the rotten.

I’m not sure whether the Round-up has anything to do with it, but I’m going to bet that CDFW know more than they’re saying. Surely concentrations get stronger when the fresh water content of the delta is affected by another drought. I would be heartbroken for those beavers, but the delta is a very hard place to be a beaver even if you aren’t poisoned.

Let’s have a cheerful chaser after that heavy shot of bad news, This was posted by Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife a few days ago. It’s a feel-good beaver story that is worth sharing. From WJLA in DC.

Isn’t that something? I’m not sure if even I’d have the guts to bundle up an injured beaver and drive him across state lines for treatment in my prius. Good for him!

Good news also to our own Ben Goldfarb who’s amazing book made the Washington Post list of the top 50 non fiction reads in 2018.

50 notable works of nonfiction in 2018

Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter

By Ben Goldfarb (Chelsea Green)

Hurray for Ben and his wonderful, page-turning read about beaver benefits. I have been in the beaver reporting biz a long time now and this is the very best year the animals have ever had, and they owe that all to you.

One final snippet of good news comes from beaver friend Willy De Koning the filmmaker and wildlife photographer in the Netherlands that put together those awesome videos I’ve shared before. I noticed recently on facebook she posted a wildlife photo I didn’t recognize. So I had to look it up. Isn’t it amazing?

Of course like you I had ZERO idea what a korenwolf was. And it turns out it’s a wild hamster in the Netherlands!!!! Its name is like “CORN-WOLF” because it eats what grows in the field. How much do you love this news? Maybe we should start calling beavers “Willow wolves?”

This isn’t her film but I just had to see them in the wild.

Thanks Willy, for yet another wonderful gift! I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to think of all the caged hamsters in children’s rooms, running on that stupid wheel but dreaming of their escape to the Netherlands!