Category: Who’s blaming beavers now?

I heard the beavers Christmas day

heidi08 Beaver Chewing, Beavers, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, What's killing beavers now?, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? December 25, 2015

Ring beaver myths still loud and deep
The war’s not won, nor shall we sleep
For fear and doubt
Persist in drought
Our water-savers spurned by men

Apologies to Mr. Longfellow

It’s christmas day, and just in case our puddings and cakes make us feel too lazy and indulged to believe the world needs us to pay attention to beavers, here are two prime examples that should remind us what we’re fighting for. The first is from the heart of the drylands where anything that saves even a drop of water should be regarded as a national treasure. Seems like these school girls know what they’re about, but their neighbor, the beaver grinch, has other ideas. Merry Christmas.

Beavers create barriers between Girls’ School, neighbor

For nearly a decade, the Santa Fe Girls’ School has taught students about the environment through restoration projects and science experiments on a nearly 9-acre swath of land south of the city that includes a portion of the Santa Fe River. Principal Lee Lewin says the parcel in La Cieneguilla is a crucial part of the curriculum for the school’s 40-plus middle school students.

But an ongoing dispute between the private school and a neighboring landowner has heated up in recent months, and the girls’ work at the site has been halted.

The neighbor — hunter, businessman and self-proclaimed conservationist Ed Sceery — contends the girls’ efforts have attracted beavers that are damaging land and trees, and he warns that they are working in contaminated water. School officials say Sceery has endangered the girls by placing a metal contraption in a pond on the property where they often roam. The device’s function is unclear, but school staff said they think it’s intended to break up beaver dams.

Sceery, who earned a doctorate in animal sciences at New Mexico State University, lives downstream from the Girls’ School property. He owns and operates Sceery Outdoors, a company that makes and sells game calls for elk, deer, turkey and other animals. His wares are sold in specialty hunting markets, such as Cabela’s, and general stores, including Wal-Mart.

Okay, first of all that device doesn’t break up beaver dams, it breaks up BEAVERS. Mind you his trees have already been protected by a deal with Wild Earth Guardians. But if Dr. Sceery says that the water’s contaminated, I myself believe him. He should know, because I bet he poured the lighter fluid in himself. I’m relieved to hear he’s also a “conservationist” because that means he has deep abiding respect for the animal that Enos Mills called “the original conservationists“. Right?

Honestly, this whole story should be written by Charles Dickens. The trap-setting hunter who sells decoys to walmart doesn’t want the beavers near his property happens to be named Dr. Sceery? Am I on candid camera? Is he just pretending that’s his name because Dr. Eevil was taken? Was he assigned that name by the department of ruthless irony? Did he really believe it was a good idea to set a trap on school property without permission where lovely eco-minded young girls walk every day?

And just in case you think I’m making this up, here’s another headline worthy of a Christmas tree.

Otters, beavers feasting around fish ladder at Rocky Reach Dam

WENATCHEE — Otters and beavers may have discovered it’s easier to capture a nice fish dinner by congregating at the fish ladder at Rocky Reach Dam and entering the current to pursue their prey. Either that, or they’re just chasing fish and having fun.

Video recordings at the dam show one or more of the aquatic critters swimming past the fish-counting window between May and October.

One otter was chasing a small fish. Another is latched onto a carp not much smaller than itself. In another shot, a beaver appears to be engaged in some good-natured exploring.

That’s right. It’s YAKIMA in Washington, which I have foolishly considered the state with the highest beaver IQ in the country. And the biologists watching the salmon counter think that the beavers are there for supper. Here is an actual headline about BEAVERS EATING FISH.

“We’re not sure how many salmon they’ve actually taken,” Von Pope, the PUD’s Wildlife Program manager, said Wednesday. “Maybe some smaller ones.”

When salmon are migrating past the dam, the video camera operates around the clock. Human fish counters come in and review the video to tally the numbers of each species of fish.

Thad Mosey, the PUD’s senior fish biologist, says no fish counter has ever seen an otter or beaver in the fish-counting window in real time. But they occasionally appear in the video recordings.

I have nothing to say but this.

You deserve a dose of cheer after all that beaver-stupid. Here’s a little something I hope you sing along with your family by the fire. Merry Christmas from Worth A Dam!

It’s always darkest just before the dawn

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? December 16, 2015

Things were looking might grim for the beavers of Tom’s River in New Jersey a couple days ago. Residents had taken all they could stand of the animals blocking the outflow of the lake, which meant creeping water lines into their gardens. Trapping season doesn’t start until the day after Christmas, and we all know how hard it is to wait until Christmas. They were chomping at the bit to get rid of the animals once and for all.

Toms River’s dam dilemma

Leave it to the beavers.

Township Engineer Robert Chankalian points out a clogged drain. Beavers are wreaking havoc for residents along Lake Placid Drive and Oak Glen Road by clogging the drainage systems along the lake between the two roads. Toms River, NJ Wednesday, November 18, 2015 @dhoodhood (Photo: Doug Hood/Staff Photographer)

The industrious, brown-furred rodents have been building dams in Lake Placid here, and some residents say that flooding caused by the busy beavers threatens their yards and homes. Beavers have become a big problem in this part of Toms River — so much so that it’s already cost Toms River some $75,000 to $80,000 to put in drainage facilities to dissuade the beavers, but the efforts aren’t working, said Business Administrator Paul Shives.

“For the past three years, the width of the stream has widened four to five times,” Lake Placid Drive resident Anthony Gural said at a recent Township Council meeting. “It’s approximately seven feet from my property.”

Come on, just 75,000 to 80,000 to dissuade the beavers? They are very hard to dissuade. Is that ALL you can manage lying about? In Martinez we said beavers cost the cities hundreds of thousands, $375,000 to be exact. We even got a gullible reporter from the LA Times to repeat it. I mean its just a made up number. Why not make a big one?

Regardless of how much the oddly named Tom’s River has spent valiantly hiring backhoes or throwing keg parties to discourage the beavers, it just hasn’t worked. Awww. Lucky for them New Jersey happens to be the home of the Unexpected Wildlife Refuge. So newly minted director Veronica Van hof called her many beaver friends to the plate. This morning she announced that Mike Callahan of Beaver Solutions will consult for free. And Owen Brown of Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife will pitch in if he needs a helper.

Their local Patch reports:

Beavers Vexing Toms River Resident

An animal group that operates a sanctuary was meeting informally with township officials on Monday in an attempt to convince officials not to kill the animals.

“More humane, compassionate and ethical methods of discouraging beavers from damming waterways and causing flooding exist. In the long run, these preferred methods are more successful and actually save money,” a member of the group Unexpected Wildlife Refuge, which takes particular interest in beavers.

I’d say they take a particular interest in beavers. The refuge was started by Hope Buyukmihci and her husband, with a special dedication to the animals. Here’s a favorite photo of Hope that should make her feelings fairly clear.

I would caution that the battle isn’t over yet, I mean just because the solution is offered there’s no telling if it will be accepted. And the rights of property owners versus the rights of beavers is never a fair fight. But I’m hopeful with all these good players involved there’s at least a chance for a Happy New Year.

In the mean time there was a LOVELY look at beavers on Wild Canada the other day, which I think I can share with you for a while. And before you say to yourself, beavers hrmph, who needs to see more of them, let me tell you that the beautiful documentary contains a NEVER BEFORE SEEN DISCOVERY of muskrat behavior in the beaver lodge. You will NOT believe it. The whole thing is excellent and the clip starts with great wolverine footage, which is pretty rare too. I’d watch it all the way through when you have time before it ceases to be available.

Beaver elements: water and fire?

heidi08 Beavers and water, City Reports, What's killing beavers now?, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's Killing Beavers Now? December 11, 2015

Hopkinton residents blame beavers for flooding woes

HOPKINTON — Several residents of Huckleberry Road are pushing town officials to help find solutions for beaver dams on Whitehall Brook they say are flooding their properties. “The water is less than 40 feet from my house,” Jim Sullivan, of 18 Huckleberry Road, told selectmen last week.

Don MacAdam, conservation administrator, said Thursday several town officials inspected several properties on Huckleberry Road earlier this week to see the flooding. He said he has also seen a beaver dam and evidence of the animals at Pratt Farm, a nearby property on Fruit Street that the town recently bought. Along for the walk were the animal control officer, health administrator and principal planner.

“I’m assuming (the flooding) has to do with beaver dams further down the brook,” MacAdam said.

Sullivan said at Board of Health meeting they also brought up beaver problems. “They agreed there is a situation there,” he said.

Jennifer Belesi, of 24 Huckleberry Road and also a member of the Board of Health, said the problem will take a well-coordinated effort of the residents, town and state. The flood water could threaten wells and septic tanks, which makes it a health problem, she said.

“This is not just one beaver,” she said. “This is an enormous issue.”

Call the WAAmbulance. Between November 2013 and January 2015 this website has reported on no fewer than 7 articles about the DIRE beaverness in Hopkinton, which warranted trapping on every single count. Even though we got them to talk to Mike Callahan of Beaver Solutions somewhere along the way, many many beavers were killed. Apparently the problem is still DIRE.

Honestly, even more so than most of beaver-phobic Massachusetts, Hopkinton appears to be on permanent red alert.

More reasons to fear beaver from the Swedes. Actually this might be my very favorite beaver headline ever. Maybe I should be keeping a file.

Did a beaver burn down a Swedish family home?

Police have revealed that a list of usual suspects has been narrowed down to one main culprit believed to be responsible for a fire which gutted a Swedish family home: a beaver.
The house burned to the ground after a blaze in Heby municipality near Uppsala, north of Stockholm, on Monday.

Police launched a probe into suspected arson, but revealed late on Wednesday that a forensic examination of the site had identified a potential suspect, who is yet to be traced.

“Our technicians have reached that conclusion. The beaver left behind forensic evidence which led us to it,” Uppsala police press spokesperson Christer Nordström told public broadcaster SVT.

No one was injured in the blaze, which is believed to have been caused by an electrical fault after a tree toppled by the four-legged rodent fell on to a power transmission line.

“I heard the evidence was trees that had been gnawed on and such like. I don’t know anything about the forensic team’s beaver expertise, but that’s the information I have received,” said Nordström.

The animal, thought to have his hideout in a nearby river, was understood to still be at large on Thursday.

“The beavers themselves would probably not claim they destroy society functions. But they often fell trees that fall on electricity wires. If I may offer a theory, without having any insight into the case, I think it’s a tree that has fallen and caused sparks,” beaver expert Lars Plahn at the county council’s environmental department told SVT.

I LOVE LARS. Don’t you love Lars? He’s brave enough not to play another round of Blame the Rodent, and we have to respect that. I’m sorry for the fire, but at least when the Swedes write a silly article like this they have the decency to realize they’re being ridiculous.

Which is obviously more than we can say for Hopkinton.

SO MUCH LEARNING!

heidi08 Beaver Chewing, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, What's killing beavers now?, Who's blaming beavers now? December 9, 2015

The bright sparks of dimly lit Nevada are continuing to process ground-breaking research and expert advice using their intricate circular filing method. They have received consultation from the Sierra Wildlife Coalition, the Human Society, the Sierra Club, Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, and Worth A Dam, so of course they are paying the most careful attention.

Sparks changes tactics with nuisance beavers

Nuisance beavers have been gnawing their way through trees and building dams along the North Truckee Drain in Sparks, causing damage and increasing the risk of residential flooding.

After spending city resources focusing on the dams to little long-term effect, the city of Sparks recently tried to shift its focus to the beaver population itself. In order to mitigate the problems caused by the dam-building beavers, the city was advised by the Nevada Department of Wildlife to seek a special permit last month to catch and kill the animals. As of last week, however, the city decided to put that strategy on hold, concerned about the inhumane nature of the process.

The permit, which was issued Nov. 10 and is good for a full year, gave the city permission to remove the animals through trapping and/or shooting them, which they decided to do through a third party contractor. Captured animals are not allowed to be moved or relocated due to the potential spread of disease, such as the infectious bacterial illness tularemia, and the territoriality that occurs between beaver populations.

The beavers in Sparks were being trapped underwater to avoid potentially capturing domestic animals, or even small children, above ground. The beavers were drowning to death, which the city now feels is not the most humane way to take care of the problem. Five beavers were killed in total.

Well at least they finally got the beaver deaths reported, even if they didn’t admit that it was an entire family. Sherry and Ted Guzzi have been hard at work offering solutions to problems at hand, and we had a long discussion about how to wriggle maximum support out of their lying, opportunistic mouths. But obviously there has been little real change. Just look at what Mr. Healy is saying even after I specifically sent him three research articles on beavers and birds.

“This is part of the ongoing drought,” said Chris Healy, spokesman for NDOW. “When we have troubles with drought, water sources are limited, and so instead of the beavers taking out willows and creating dams, they go up drains and start taking out trees.”

Nevada law allows for the aggressive removal of beavers that are obstructing the free flow of water. Beavers can also cause significant damage to a river’s ecosystem, Healy said, in that they remove the limited number of trees that provide nesting for local birds and contribute to healthy fish habitats.

“Trees take decades to grow, whereas beavers only take a season to grow,” Healy said. “Nobody wants to kill an animal, but in some circumstances we have to do that. There are logical reasons for why we do what we do.”

Apparently trees in Nevada don’t coppice and Mr. Healy has never heard of the work beavers are doing to restore streams just up the road in his very own state. His is also unaware that beavers don’t respond to drought by moving into city drains. He feels no need to trouble himself with the research saying that beavers help birds, because he obviously knows better. Five years ago I’m sure he’d be saying beavers don’t belong because they’re not native. So that progress of a kind. And hey, beavers DO take less time to grow than trees. He’s got me there.

I guess what this all proves is that you can lead the NDOW to information about water, but you can’t make them THINK.

We need a good story to get that taste out of our mouths. This will do nicely.

New Beaver Dam in Roosevelt Forest teaches Lauralton Hall & Fairfield Prep students about beaver ecology

On November 24, Lauralton Hall students and Fairfield prep students met up with Christina Batoh, Stratford’s Conservation Officer, to learn about beaver ecology at the site of a recently constructed beaver dam in Roosevelt Forest. Students set out to answer the question, “Does the presence of the beaver dam impact stream water quality?” To do this they tested water samples from an upstream site.

Lauralton Hall students instructed their Fairfield Prep counterparts in how to conduct tests for dissolved oxygen, carbon dioxide, turbidity (sediment load), and pH. Students then analyzed their test results and concluded that the presence of the beaver dam does indeed impact stream water quality with water downstream having better quality than the water upstream or at the dam site.

Got that? Did the high school student go to fast for you Mr. Healy? Let me know and I can slow them down. There’s more to talk about in the Ecologist this morning, but I have a conference call for the paper this morning, and am going to have to stop for now. For some reason, I’m thinking this video might be helpful to our new BFF in his scientific quest for the ecologic advancement.

Multiple Elbows Sprained in Scramble for Credit in Sparks, NV

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, What's killing beavers now?, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? December 2, 2015

Beaver killing suspended after News 4 ask questions

SPARKS, Nev. (MyNews4.com & KRNV) — Just a few weeks ago, the City of Sparks was trapping and killing beavers along the North Truckee Drain that runs along Sparks Blvd. But the City suspended that plan after News 4’s Terri Hendry began asking questions. Now, the City is hoping a group or person comes forward to offer advice and expertise on managing beavers without having to kill them. CLICK HERE if you have expertise to send an email.

Yesterday I was sent news of this ‘change of heart’ by Brock Dolman of the OAEC, John Hadidian of the Humane Society, and Sherry Guzzi of the Sierra Wildlife Coalition. who had already been in contact with Ron Korman the public works manager of Sparks.

The sad part is of course they had ALREADY KILLED FIVE beavers, before deciding to appear like they actually would use alternatives if someone just gosh-darned just told them what to do. Now everyone is straining themselves to take credit for this finger crossed pledge to do it right if ONLY they knew how.

For the record, I wrote them with resources, suggestions, and my phone number minutes after this story broke a week ago. And you can count on no hands the number of times my phone has rung since then. One funny thing is that when I sent information to the mayor of Sparks he wrote back and said that the city attorney was handling the case now. Ahh memories of Martinez! City attorneys are notorious. I guess you send a rodent to catch a rodent?

Sherry and Ted Guzzi are less than an hour away and have already installed flow devices in the area. They’ve exchanged emails and phone calls, but the city is committed to pretending like they want to do this better but just don’t know how? Can someone please help? Preferably someone without any skills or knowledge?

This ain’t my first rodeo. I know politicians, city attorneys and public works lie lie lie. It makes me want to pull their receding hair out in chunks. But the truth is, it’s at least BETTER for us when they lie right – wanting to appear to do the right thing, than when they lie wrong not giving a damn about the truth.

Maybe I’ve become cynical in my very old age, but I really believe all we can truly expect of our leaders is that they understand what the public wants enough to tell the right kind of lies. They would never tell the truth, of course, assuming they even know it. But when they tell the right set of lies sometimes they accidentally behave correctly. Or slowly come to the unpleasant realization that it is in their own best interest to behave as if they were telling the truth. This is doubly true for beavers. Let them act like they’re open to installing flow devices or wrapping trees next time.

Because there will be a next time. And then we can use their own glorious self-interest, (our only truly renewable resource), to get what we want.