Category: What’s killing beavers now?

New beaver news!

**Putah Creek Beaver Grooming: Ale Garcia**

Yesterday a video of this beaver was posted on the Putah Creek Wildlife Stewards page grooming in the middle of the day. Obviously all this rain had flooded them out of their den and they were adapting as best they could, Robin saw it and wrote that the beaver looked mighty fat and pregnant, and my initial reaction was that all beavers look tubby when bending over to groom, but I decided to check the date on that old pregnant beaver photo Cheryl took in 2008.

March 18. Pretty dam close.

Then Ale and I chatted about the what the beaver was doing and why mom would be more worried about water in the lodge at this time of year, especially if she was expecting kits any minute. Prompting him to ask me if I’d be interested in speaking at their conference in April – although he’d have ask the organizers. Could I tell him anything about my beaver credentials?

Hahaha.

I must say it was weird to be asked because I never, ever am. Because most of the people who have contact with me already know about the Martinez beavers or the website or the festival or the papers or whatever. I did my best to explain and get over being befuddled because I’d like to help those folks out. The details about beaver pregnancy spurred me to make this:

I was happy to learn to do a two page spread so that no white borders appear. It’s trickier than it looks! Actually, the time of year could explain what Robin say yesterday at the pond too, in Napa. Two kits feeding cheerfully and looking for all the world that mom had told them to GO PLAY and leave her alone. Looks like they’re doing an excellent job stripping that bark! Nice to see the two kits doing well after the winter storms.

Wouldn’t you know, in the middle of working I got a call from Suzi Eszterhas who I had asked a question about using urban beaver photos for the chapter. She said the rules meant she couldn’t until they were published but she enthusiastically agreed to donate another set of books for this year’s silent auction at the festival, plus the soon to be published rehab books! Hooray! Thanks so much Suzi!

A good old-fashioned beaver rant

heidi08 Beavers, What's killing beavers now?, Who's blaming beavers now? March 6, 2016

Last night at dusk we were one of 16 special houses to experience a very localized power outage. Fortunately it arrived with just enough waning moments of daylight to scramble for the candles and flashlights before we settled into very pretty darkness. We managed to bring it up to 6 whole candle power and kept warm with the cozy fire, but it was still very dark and the storm was raging outside. We suddenly understood why the pioneers used to go to bed so early. Fortunately, thanks to some hardy linemen, power was restored in 90 minutes and we were thrust back into the 21st century.

Too bad North Carolina isn’t so lucky.

As beavers move in, dams cause destruction in town

It seems the critters that clog country creeks and turn farmland into swamp have gone big city in Fayetteville. And when nature’s engineers encroach on man, trouble rises faster than the water behind one of these impressive dams.

Most recently, a beaver dam on Clayton Road in Sampson County ruptured after heavy rain, flooding the road. The road was closed to traffic until water receded.

Homeowners across the Cape Fear region have found more dams blocking culverts and backing up water this winter than in years past. Part of that, wildlife experts say, is because North Carolina’s wet winter has created new opportunities for beavers.

And once they’re set up, beavers just don’t take a hint and leave. Bust a hole in their dam, and they’ll have it fixed overnight. Blow the thing up, and they’ll start rebuilding. Trying to chase them off is a Sisyphean task.

There’s only one option, unpleasant as it seems.

Adams noted that in the past, “we have tried both nonlethal and lethal methods. We found that nonlethal methods are ineffective. Live trapping and relocation is against state law, so that leaves lethal removal with the use of specialized traps.”

“If you want the dam building to stop, the beavers have to go,” Backus said.

“In the past, they’d try relocating them. But any place you’d put them now already has beaver. There’s nowhere to go.”

A generation ago, the beavers could have been put almost anywhere. By the end of World War II, beavers were all but extinct in the Cape Fear region, hunted out of existence.

In fact, several were relocated here to get the native population started again.

Cumberland County was an area selected for beaver restocking. They were considered a “renewable resource,” since wildlife experts figured farmers and trappers would catch them for pelts and keep the population constant.

By the 1970s, roughly 1,500 annual licenses for trapping beavers were issued in the state. It quickly became apparent that beavers do two things very well.

They build dams. And they make baby beavers – lots of baby beavers. Statewide, the current beaver population estimate is more than 500,000.

Ahh memories! There is nothing quite like a good ol’ beaver panic article! We haven’t had one in ages. This one hits all the right notes, exploding populations, flooded towns, and useless nonlethal methods. Nicely done, Fayettville and Chick Jacobs of the fofayobserver.com. You repeated all the lies you were supposed to and then some! Just for folks at home, lets consider the population estimate of 500,000. Wikipedia tells me that North Carolina is about 53000 square miles, or which 9.5 is water. Which means that they are claiming they have around 80 beavers per square mile of water, which is pretty dam hard for me to imagine.

It would be funny, if the dams weren’t so destructive. There’s no way to put a dollar total on damage statewide, but officials say thousands of acres of farmland and timberland are flooded annually. Septic tanks are rendered useless as water tables rise.

In the five years between 2008 and 2013, more than 3,500 Department of Transportation projects were damaged or delayed as USDA Wildlife Services workers destroyed dams.

The state pays more than $1.1 million per year in beaver control efforts, mainly to catch the animals and destroy dams in urban areas and along highway projects.

I’m so old that I can remember when John McCain joked about North Carolina using stimulus money to blow up beaver dams! I guess it takes a lot of money to do things badly. And I guess you would know.

“For now, it’s all we can do here,” Backus said. “We’ve got to catch all of the guys living here before it makes sense to take this one down. I figure that’s at least a dozen of them here.

“When that’s done, we’ll be able to drain the water slowly. Then we can use dynamite. Remember, all those booms you may hear around here aren’t coming from Bragg!”

I guess if you’re a beaver trapper in Fayetteville, business is booming!

Yesterday I worked on photos for the urban beaver chapter. The funny thing is that I want photos as urban as possible, and pretty much every photographer (including Cheryl) takes frames as natural as possible. I put out a special plea to our friends for urban photos, and this was a favorite that came from Robin Ellison of Napa.

Urban dam Napa Robin Ellison — *Robin Ellison*

Suddenly can’t resist posting this:

B B Beavers!

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers and water, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Environmental, What's killing beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? February 16, 2016

That’s the BBC for you. Working hard to eventually report the news that other outlets have broken if the Guardian posts it first – adding a negative twist at the end that basically makes sure it will unsay everything it just said if the news is in any way controversial.

Beavers ‘help to prevent flooding’, says study

Scotland’s beaver population may help to prevent flooding, according to an academic study.

The rodents, which are living wild around the River Tay, were accused by some locals of contributing to flooding in the Perthshire village of Alyth. But Stirling University researchers said beaver dams helped to mitigate flooding by storing and then slowly releasing water.

And they said beaver dams also helped to improve local wildlife habitats.

The study was part of a 13-year programme of research by the university’s scientists, who studied streams which drained water from 13 hectares of surrounding countryside.Areas where beavers were known to have been active were compared with areas in which they were absent.Pools created by the dams had 20 times more aquatic plant life, and the number of species in the surrounding habitat was 28% higher.

Nicely said. Beavers improve biodiversity and reduce farming pollutants. Don’t think for one moment that they it’s a quirky accident of language that they called this a STUDY rather than RESEARCH. Because now it’s time for the UN-SAYING:

NFU Scotland deputy director of policy Andrew Bauer said: “Statistically, it was always likely that there would be small pockets of land where the environmental benefit might outweigh the considerable problems being caused.

“There is no indication where the 13 hectares mentioned in this case are, but any benefits seen in localised areas will need to be viewed by the environment minister against the damage being done to productive farmland, long standing flood banks and established woodland on large parts of Tayside.”

Anne Gray, policy officer at Scottish Land & Estates, said: “We are not opposed to official trials of beaver reintroductions but this process has to be properly managed, which did not happen with the illegal release in Tayside.

“As we know from the trial at Knapdale, there may be some environmental benefits from beavers but this must be balanced against the negative impacts on many farm and forestry businesses.”

Such commitment to science. Delivered with all the unbiased open-mindedness of Waldorf and Statler.

No matter. The research has been reported in the BBC now and that makes it much harder to ignore. I believe that places our beaver friends in the UK on step three of the Gandhi advice-for-winning-just-battles-over-improbable-odds hierarchy.

First they ignore you.
Then they laugh at you.
Then they fight with you.
Then you win.

Calls to end Culls

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Environmental, What's killing beavers now? February 13, 2016

The battle to grant protection to the beavers in Scotland just got big supply of ammunition. It comes in the form of a dramatic letter on their behalf from the Royal Zoological Society and the National Trust for Scotland and is rightly showcased by the BBC.

‘Urgent’ call for Scots beavers to be recognised as native species

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and the Scottish Wildlife Trust “strongly advocate” recognising the animals as natural residents.

The groups voiced fears about ongoing culling of wild beavers in Tayside. The Scottish government has said it will “take time to consider the issue carefully” before making a decision.

The RZSS and Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) have joined the National Trust for Scotland in calling for the mammals to be legitimised as a resident, native species of Scotland.

A joint statement from chief executives Chris West and Jonny Hughes said there was “particular urgency” with beavers on Tayside being culled and the need to introduce more of the animals in Knapdale to ensure long-term viability of the population.

They said: “The decision has now become urgent as animals are being indiscriminately culled on Tayside.

“The indiscriminate nature of this culling has led to well-publicised animal welfare concerns, and in the medium term, could threaten the existence of local populations.

“Scientific evidence shows that the return of the beaver will help to restore our depleted wetland ecosystems and bring a range of other social, economic and environmental benefits.

Whoo hooo! Well done RZSS and SWT! And well done trigger-happy farmers who are forcing this issue into such a painful public spotlight that the beavers are going to be safer than they would have been if you had just kept your mouths (and guns) shut. I’m imagining that what the Scottish farmers need is an old burly farmer who slaps one upside the head and cries “IDIOT! Now everyone is going to be talking about what we have a right to do on our own land!” And he’d be right. I hope this pushes the protection issue before the election. You can’t just not do your job because you’re waiting for it to be someone else’s job

Lots of excitement on our own “Culling Agency” front, with a scathing 7 page article in Harpers about the USDA and a review of it in National Georgraphic!!! If the irresponsible wildlife management reported by our friend Thomas Knudson way back in the day doesn’t get some traction NOW I would be very surprised. I didn’t actually read anything newly uncovered, becauseKnudson did such a thorough award-winning job already. There were parts, though, that the paper didn’t print but were available as supportive materials – and reading it again by new eyes is going to matter.

I hope.

The Rogue Agency

Peter DeFazio, a Democratic congressman from Oregon, has repeatedly called for a congressional investigation of Wildlife Services, describing it as a “rogue agency” that is “secretive” and “unaccountable.” He said that he considers the lethal control program a “wasteful subsidy” and has called the agency’s practices “cruel and inhumane.” DeFazio has proposed legislation to reduce government funding for lethal control, but Congress, under pressure from the livestock industry, rejected these attempts at reform.

“We have seen a host of credible leaked information from credible former employees about the inhumane practices,” DeFazio told me recently. He said he has asked Wildlife Services for “detailed numbers about finances and operations, and they won’t give us this information. I’ve served on the Homeland Security Committee, and Wildlife Services is more difficult to get information from than our intelligence agencies.”

This Government Agency’s Job Is to Kill Wildlife

Wildlife Services is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and it specializes in killing wild animals that threaten livestock—especially predators such as coyotes, wolves, and cougars. Outside the ranching community, few have heard of Wildlife Services.

Since 2000, the agency has killed at least two million mammals and 15 million birds. Although it’s main focus is predator control in the West, Wildlife Services also does things like bird control nationwide at airports to prevent crashes and feral pig control in the South.

Reporter Christopher Ketcham’s investigation, out this month in Harper’s Magazine, doesn’t mince words. The article is called “The Rogue Agency: A USDA program that tortures dogs and kills endangered species.” Ketcham exposes Wildlife Service’s use of poisoned bait, neck snares, leghold traps (which are banned in 80 countries), aerial gunning, and cyanide traps to go after animals that have attacked, or allegedly attacked, livestock grazing on public lands. Ketcham’s sources—former Wildlife Services trappers—told him they’ve witnessed or participated in these practices themselves and that they go on to this day.

One final morsel of delight was sent to me yesterday without explanation by USFS Kent Woodruff. Check this out and think about how very smart we used to be.

Would you care for some WHINE with that Mr. Quinn?

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver News, Beavers, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, City Reports, What's killing beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? February 6, 2016

The fine report by the Vancouver Park Commission is taking some heat. Something was printed this morning from Stephen Quinn, the host of On the Coast on CBC Radio One. Obviously the paper felt the entire airwaves wasn’t space enough for him in which to broadcast his petulant opinions, and granted him a full page to write whatever he liked. In my head I hear the voice of Niles Crane writing this over an expresso, see if you don’t agree.

Biodiversity report wildly exaggerates the alleged upside of critters in the city

I have read with interest the so-called draft Biodiversity Strategy you released earlier this week and I have to tell you, it’s not sitting well with me. Frankly, it scares me, particularly the sections outlining measures that could lead to more wildlife running around our city. I urge you to take a more cautious and measured approach.

Let’s begin with beavers. While the Park Board apparently sees the increase in the city’s beaver population as a positive signal, I assure you it is no such thing.

I had never seen an actual beaver until a few weeks ago. Have you seen one? It was huge, like a giant flat-tailed rat with hideous teeth and beady black eyes. It was swimming upstream in Still Creek right beside the Superstore parking lot. I can tell you that just a short distance away there were mothers walking with their children! No one should have to face this sort of threat at eight o’clock on a Saturday morning in a place that is supposed to be nature-free.

Day-lighting the creek was a huge mistake! Your own report says salmon have returned and are spawning and then dying and if I may quote, “provide food for otters and mink.” So attracting more wild animals?Where does it stop? Bears? Wolves?!

It goes on at some length, because word restrictions are only necessary for us persona non grata peons, not for celebrities like Mr. Quinn who’s afraid of beavers, wolves and bears. It all reads like those paragraphs so you can get the idea. For my money the best line is, why would anyone want to daylight a creek anyway?

My hair was on fire this morning when I read through this tripe and burned out my response, but now I can see the humor of it. It’s almost offers the best argument against itself by very quickly becoming absurd. If he didn’t have a national radio platform to beat his drum every day I could laugh this off. Hmm.

Your report also celebrates the “healthy populations” of other mammals like raccoons and skunks. Have you seen what

the mammals you love so much have done to my lawn – which already looked pretty terrible thanks to your ban on cosmetic pesticides? They have reduced it to mud, I tell you!

And then you say that 674 racoons have been killed by cars since 2001? Does that not tell you that animals like raccoons don’t belong in our city? I find it interesting that your staff can keep such an accurate count of dead raccoons but still not know how many coywolves are out there.

I had no idea that this golf course mentality existed in Canada. I thought it was uniquely American – a product of places with green lawns and clipped hedges. Thank you, Mr. Quinn for opening my eyes.