There are a few different ways to try to save beavers. Dam by dam at the local level, which we have in Martinez. County by county like we have by reviewing the depredation permits and shaming the offenders.. State by state like we did the summit.
Or larger scale still, like trying to keep beavers in National Forests all across the country.
A Guide to Advocating for Beaver Restoration in National Forest Plans offers guidance for public engagement in the national forest planning process to ensure that newly revised plans include affirmative and proactive language around beavers and beaver habitat restoration.
National forest plans set the overall management direction for a given forest and provide guidance for the design and execution of specific management actions. As the pace, scale, and magnitude of climate change has become increasingly evident, there is an urgent need for these plans to explicitly address the impacts and implications of a rapidly changing climate, and offer solutions to build resilience and ecological integrity.
WOW! Describing this as a ambitious undertaking undercuts it. This is an lofty mic drop of a move by our friends at the National Wildlife Federation. The main report is 21 pages long and the appendix contains specific resources like how to structure comments about including beavers in National forests.It comes out of Montana and credits these authors mainly
Contributors: Sarah Bates (National Wildlife Federation), Taylor Simpson and Taylor Heggen (University of Montana Alexander Blewitt III College of Law), and Lowell Chandler (University of Montana W.A. Franke College of Forestry & Conservation)
Citing forest service policy and specific language about climate change it is meant to be a useful tool in beaver advocacy. It talks about forest policy and how to best engage the public, Go Download the whole fascinating report by clicking here:
Thanks Montana! Now if you need good beaver news from another state check out this guide from Hermit’s Peak Watershed Alliance in New Mexico. We are building up our tool kit, one beaver at a time.
I have to admit, that in my day I’ve seen my fair share of bureaucratic sputtering and hand-wringing over efforts to protect one team member from having to face the weight of public reaction from their horrificly inept or insensitive remark at one time or another, but this might take the proverbial cake. Seems one flow device was installed at Coats marsh during the punic wars and they want another one, but they don’t want to release the report about why it’s necessary until it’s been “Redacted” for sensitive material.
What do you want to bet that the sentive material is the magistrate referring to those “Goddamn rodents:? Or directly said, “How do we get rid of these rats once and for all?”
The Regional District of Nanaimo intends to install a second pond leveller at Coats Marsh Regional Park sometime this fall, but some Gabriolans feel there’s a lack of information that demonstrates the need for it.
Nick Doe has been visiting the shallow-water wetland of Coats Marsh and surrounding forest for 10 years and has been making field observations and taking measurements, including water flow through to Coats Creek, for Gabriola Streamkeepers since 2015. Doe, an electronics engineer by trade, likes the solitude in the sensitive ecosystem, home to frogs, bats and waterfowl, and has witnessed the work of beavers as they have built two dams in the roughly metre-deep wetland and the way the overall ecology has adjusted to their homebuilding efforts.
Uh oh. Officials definitely get nervous when free-lance biologists start walking around their habitat and making observations of the habitat over several years. They hate that.
Years ago the beavers’ labour raised the level of the marsh and increased the overall surface area, expanding the habitat for ducks and insects including multiple species of dragonflies.
The RDN plans to install the second pond leveller at Coats Marsh “following recommendations” from a weir assessment report completed in May 2020 by mechanical engineering firm SRM Projects. Since last summer parks quarterly reports have mentioned the intention to do so.
Doe has been “anxiously awaiting” to read the report of the consultant, with whom Doe and others shared observations and historical information about the weir and marsh.
“I’m not sure what problem it’s solving,” Doe said of a second leveller, adding he wants to know what consideration has been given to how it might affect the overall ecology of the wetland.
“Since 2015 the beavers have been increasing the height of the dam,” Doe said. “That stabilized a couple of years ago. In the last three years there has been no increase in the height of the dam – the beavers are quite satisfied with the level they have.”
Oh I can tell you exactly what problem a second flow device would solve. The Frickin’ Beaver problem. They want to lower the water enough that the rodents are forced to leave the ex-marsh entirely. Does that sound right to you?
Upon requesting a copy of the report, an RDN spokesperson told the Sounder that it contains “sensitive information” and could not be shared unless redacted. The Sounder was later told the report had to be shared with the board of directors first. Yann Gagnon, RDN manager of parks, later clarified that consultant reports “can contain private personal information as well as information from third parties” and are not shared with the general public.
You know how beaver documents are… with all that “SENSITIVE” four letter words that need redacting. It’s a full time job, really, talking smack about beavers, doing bad things and covering them up. 24/7.
Gagnon provided the Sounder with a short list of “priority actions” noted in the 2020 weir assessment report, which include “lowering the greater Coats Marsh pond level to the ‘design’ weir spill level” by installing a Clemson pond leveller through the beaver dam as well as removing the beaver debris and vegetation buildup in front of the weir and footbridge. RDN staff did not respond as of press time about what impact, if any, that work would have on the beavers and overall conditions of the wetland.
Apparently they also would like to travel BACK IN TIME to the 90’s when people actually used clemson pond levelers. Good luck with that.
Madrone Environmental Services Ltd. has been contracted to install the second pond leveller. The parks report from July 2020 notes that an environmental management plan will be prepared to support the installation of a second pond leveller; however, staff did not say if that plan has been developed yet. An RDN spokesperson said the timeline of installation or total cost will not be known until mid-August “as they are currently working on the best solution for the environment.”
Why just a second? Why not a third pond leveler? Why not a fourth? Why not an actual sump pump or vacuum cleaner that can get rid of the water entirely? Come to think of it why is their a pond at all? It’s just a bunch of mud that’s going to need cleaning up eventually. Why not make my job easier once and for all?
Doe, who humbly acknowledges he’s “not an expert,” just wants to see the report and is frustrated to not have results shared given the amount of background information and data he and other volunteers provide the RDN that is then used to develop plans.
“I think we deserve some feedback.”
I’m so old that I can remember when our own city council member wanted to REDACT their own child’s beaver drawingbecause they were sure that it only reflected the conflict in his newly divorcing family. He was so concerned about it that he sent another council member came to ask me in person not to share the artwork with the paper or the website. Ahh the good old days.
Well. just because our Martinez beavers have left the stage, doesn’t mean there isn’t fine urban beaver work afoot. Check out this FANTASTIC story from Fairfield about the Laurel creek beavers, and their champion, Virgina Holsworth.
Virginia Holsworth leads Boy Scouts Troop 482 on a tour of beaver habitats along Laurel Creek in Fairfield, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic)
FAIRFIELD — Dusk had settled onto Laurel Creek when the excitement level rose among the nine members of Scouts BSA Troop 482 who on Wednesday had walked and cleaned up a mile or so of the stream’s banks.
Popping a head out of the dark, breeze-rippled water, not far from its lodge, a beaver could be seen.
Moments earlier, a pair of whiskered river otters were spotted in the creek as well.
The appearance of the two aquatic mammals was the climax to the tour the scouts were guided on by Virginia Holsworth, who has made protecting the beavers and their self-constructed habitat on the creek one of her life’s missions.
Her Facebook page has more than 200 followers, and she maintains a website to provide information about Laurel Creek and other waterways in which beavers make their homes in the Fairfield area.
“It’s amazing. I really like beavers and otters,” said Taran Flowers, 11, the newest member of the troop, which is trying to rebuild after the Covid-19 pandemic prevented them from meeting in person and participating in their usual group activities.
Flowers sketched many of the dam sites along the creek. Art is just one of his many interests. Ultimately, he would like to be a baker.
I love every single thing about this story. Every photo, every adjective. As a woman who spent a decade wishing our story would replicate itself like an unfurling strand of bDNA this makes me as happy as I can remember being vicariously.
Virginia Holsworth, far left, leads Boy Scouts Troop 482 on a tour of beaver habitats along Laurel Creek in Fairfield, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic)
“My mom was looking through stuff on the internet and she thought it might be a good thing to do,” the younger deRosier said.
He said he enjoys the outdoor activities that have been lost to scouting during the pandemic, and particularly camping, his favorite activity.
“And we are absolutely worried about the beavers,” he said.
While Holsworth spent most of the tour teaching about the beavers and the creek environment, she also told the troop members about how the city comes in each year and tears down the largest of the dams.
The city contends that the dams contribute to flooding issues, and materials from the structures, when they break up, have contributed to millions of dollars in damages to city infrastructure.
Holsworth said the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed her campaign for the city to use other alternatives than simply tearing down the dams, but she said she has stayed in touch with city officials, and specifically Councilman Chuck Timm.
Go Virginia GO. Tell those children AND THAT REPORTER all about how the city cuts down the dam year. And one of the kids was sketching the dams? Jesus get that drawing, scan it, send it to the mayor and make sure it airs on the evening news. This is all falling into place. Well done!
Trevor deRosier, left, and Logan Brooks, center, of Boy Scouts Troop 482 check a map for locations of beaver dams along Laurel Creek in Fairfield, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic)
“I’ll just say I haven’t received a response in my favor; I’ll just say that,” Holsworth said.
But that has not stopped her from trying to keep the public educated, including conducting tours to anyone who wants to come out and learn about the beavers.
“We did a creek cleanup; that was in June. And I have adopted the area of Laurel Creek where they (razed) the dam,” she said.
The creek adoption actually took place through the city’s road adoption program, and includes a signed two-year commitment to keep the creek clean and to “represent the creek well.”
Prior to the tour beginning, Holsworth had “salted” the area with four stuffed beaver toys for the scouts to find, which they did with little difficulty, once they realized what they were looking for among the natural sites.
So so smart. So so smart. Sniff, they grow up so young.
Holsworth has gone so far as to name each of the dams along that stretch of creek, such as the skunk dam due to the unexpected visitor arriving while they were there. In some cases, a cluster of dams fall under a single moniker, such as the Dickson Hill Complex – named for the nearby street.
“They build so many dams close together to slow the water down,” Holsworth said.
But she also told them that she knew very little about beavers and their environment until she took up the cause to try to preserve their habitat on Laurel Creek.
Some dams, as she pointed out, are made of tree material and mud, but in areas where trees are not abundant, they are built with cattails and fennels. She was able to show the scouts where the beavers had gnawed on trees, and an area referred to as an “otter latrine,” on one of the banks.
She also told the scouts that some beavers live in burrows built into the creek banks, while others live in open water lodges. The news that the city tears down the dams each fall did not sit all that well with the scouts.
Siddharth Kishan, 12, also described the tour as “amazing.”
Ohhhh you clever girl. Nicely done Ms. Virginia. Get them to care and them tell them why the dams are in danger. Now it’s up to the troop leader to hand them some paper and ask them to write the mayor.
As others walking along the creek came across the scouts, several noted they, too, had been in scouts in their younger days, recalling their exciting adventures.
“This is really fun,” said Logan Brooks, 13. “You can really see all of nature.”
Yes it is. And yes you do. Now go track down Taran Flowers and send him this. picture of the famous Jack laws sketching at the Martinez beaver dam. for Bay Nature in 2010.
If you live or have lived in a condominium association, nothing gets the dander of owners to rise faster than fights over pets. Some love them; some hate them. Everyone has an opinion.
But dogs and cats are not the only critters that have raised concerns at associations. There are others, sometimes not with the result you would think. And frequently not pets. In 2018 in rural North Carolina an association had a problem with beavers. Yes, beavers. (Mr. Busy is from Lady and the Tramp.) Seems local beaver dams were blocking Pokeberry Creek, causing water to rise and threatening the association’s boardwalks and bridges. (They have 24 miles of trails, so it’s large, rural and wildlife invested.)
Okay, we remember the beavers of Pokeberry Creek, in fact the people who cared about them still have a website. But this is the fun part.
It takes a lot of beavers to create such a problem and the association estimated it had three dozen beavers creating its perceived problem. The board of directors was stumped (no pun intended), and looked at alternatives such as raising or replacing the boardwalks and bridges, but deemed that solution more expensive than necessary, so it called the authorities. The U.S Department of Agriculture came, poked around, evaluated the site, and informed the board of directors that if the board wanted to go forward and solve the problem by removing the beavers, it could be done, but the beavers could not be trapped and relocated, but would have to be killed.
Three dozen beavers on a 7 mile creek? Why only three dozen. Why not a MILLION. If you’re going to pull random numbers out of your ass you may as well pick a bigger one.?
Of course a single family of beavers can build an awful lot of dams to cause condo-chaos. It’s not that hard. A single lilac mailbox can cause condo-chaos on most days. What I HATE about this is that some “experts” came in and cited that number. and everyone just believed it.
The truth is that BEAVERS ARE TERRITORIAL. There is zero way that 36 beavers worked together like furry mischief communists to cause you problems.
I’m sure the numbers were just inflated to make it seem like moving them was too hard.
Why killed and not moved? It seems in North Carolina beavers are, by law, considered a nuisance, and as such the law prohibits trapping and moving them. So they had to be killed; the board of directors was OK with that solution; and it so informed its fellow owners. But the board of directors did not expect the reaction of fellow homeowners and neighbors in the larger community. Outrage would be considered mild. So, two days later the board noted it was going to take a step back and consider other alternatives.
Ahh when the people lead the leaders will follow…they say. It worked in Martinez. Not sure whether it actually works in North Carolina condominiums, but it’s worth a shot.
Unfortunately, try as I might, I cannot find anything that details whether the beavers lived or died. The association’s website doesn’t mention anything about the beavers, though there is a picture of a new boardwalk. So, perhaps the unnamed solution was to pay to raise the bridges and boardwalks. If not, it would seem the board simply decided the beavers weren’t worth a dam. (No word on whether fur sales rose in the community.)
Let me guess what happened. I’m good at these.
There is one amusing side note to this story. Wikipedia tells me that Pokeberry Creek is a tributary to the Haw river. Which interests me because way back 15 years ago when I was frantically trying to find information about coexisting with beavers there were THREE helpful sites on the entire universe of google (imagine that!). One was Beavers: wetlands and wildlife, one was the old beaver solutions website, and the other was the Haw River Assembly.
When the beavers were found dead recently, their bodies were too decomposed for veterinarians to test for a cause of death, Northwestern University spokesman Jon Yates said in an emailed statement. It’s unclear if there were any surviving beavers. They reportedly began living on campus in 2018. “We plan to work with the county in the future should this unfortunate situation occur again,” Yates said.
The beavers had likely migrated from the Chicago River and settled around the Lakefill on campus, according to Frisbie. She said beavers are making a comeback in the Chicago area.
“There’s some real enthusiasm about beavers. Beavers can have real impact on their environments, particularly in rivers,” she said.
Beavers can help shore up water levels in drought-prone areas out west. And wetlands created by beavers can help fight wildfires. In the Midwest, beavers can be most helpful by creating wetlands to combat flooding.
“They’re extraordinary. And there’s good reason to leave beavers alone,” she said.
But despite their importance in the ecosystem, beavers are considered a nuisance by some because they chew on trees and dam up running water, Frisbie said.
In nearby Glenview, one of the community’s beavers was recently found dead – and some feared it was been killed.
“There was speculation they were poisoned,” Rachel Siegel, a founder of Glenview Beavers Fan Club and the president of the Illinois Beaver Alliance.
The beavers had made enemies with a nearby homeowner association after chewing on the local vegetation, Siegel said. Someone had even made a group on social media calling for the killing of the beavers, she said.
“They are controversial and the homeowner association wished they would go away. But if they had just wrapped their trees, the beavers would be harmless,” Siegel said.
Beavers are an “urban success story” and a key to combating the effects of climate change, Siegel said.
“Pre-settlement, North America was teeming with beavers – with ten times what he have today. Because of that, rivers were different then, a complex river wetland corridor. But we’ve lost 80% or 90% of our wetlands since then,” she said. And then hunters nearly trapped beavers out of existence, followed by farmers who pumped away water from the wetlands, she said.
“And here we are in Illinois, we want everything to be predictable so we don’t tolerate the ecosystem engineers [i.e. beavers]. But with climate change we’re getting more rainwater in shorter and more intense bursts. And our water infrastructure isn’t made for it,” she said.
Although beaver dams create a level of uncertainty in our water infrastructure, they slow the flow of water and lessen the risk of flooding, she said.
“Our river system is designed to remove water from the area as fast as possible, but a slower system (created with the help of beavers) with many channels and wetlands would be healthier,” she said.
Providing spaces for beavers to thrive would go a long way toward restoring that ecosystem, Siegel said. “If humans learned to live with beavers, we’d solve our problems.”
Go Rachel. Illinois is changing because of you.
I’d write lots more but I’m listening to testimony. And you should be too.
A Guide to Advocating for Beaver Restoration in National Forest Plans offers guidance for public engagement in the national forest planning process to ensure that newly revised plans include affirmative and proactive language around beavers and beaver habitat restoration. 
If you live or have lived in a condominium association, nothing gets the dander of owners to rise faster than fights over pets. Some love them; some hate them. Everyone has an opinion.
