Category: Who’s blaming beavers now?

Beaver maybe’s are better than no’s

heidi08 Beavers and Birds, 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? February 14, 2015

I guess beaver ambivalence in Massachusetts is a step forward?

New ‘neighbor’ sparks worry, excitement in Ponkapoag

A new neighbor has moved into the Ponkapoag section of Canton, and it’s either a reason for celebration or a cause for alarm — or possibly both.

In an email to the Mass. Water Resources Authority, Kodzis wrote, “It seems some beavers have done some work to plug up the brook and it is now flooding. My concern is that the flooding will get to a level where the new sewer access manholes will be covered with water. There also seems to be some erosion of the new access road as the brook has been redirected. I think it deserves a walk-through since beavers can be very destructive.”

“It was a privilege to have found it,” he said, “but I also realize that it does bring its problems.”

Yes, unlike humans, pets, and freeways, which never cause concern, beavers can bring problems. They’re completely unique in that way. And since you live in Massachusetts there couldn’t possibly be a company an hour away called Beaver Solutions. Because obviously, beaver problems can never be solved. I guess we should be pleased that you were at least happy to be the one who found ‘it’. It could be worse. You could be him.

Mark Thomas, another Ponkapoag resident and owner of a wildlife removal business, Baystate Wildlife Management Inc., was more matter-of-fact in his assessment of beavers in the neighborhood.

“Beavers are bad news,” said Thomas, who recently spotted the beaver in question near the brook. “It’s cute and cool in the beginning, but then it really becomes bad pretty quickly.”

In addition to the flooding problems, Thomas said beavers “kill all the trees” in the area and are generally more disruptive than they are beneficial — at least when they are located too close to human development.

Thomas said that beavers, if allowed to remain, would be one more wildlife problems in a neighborhood that is already dealing with more than its share, including a recent infiltration of coyotes.

Mark sounds like a real wildlife lover doesn’t he? Like the Jane friggin’ Goodall of Ponkapoag. Beavers are bad news! I’m sure he misspoke, though, when he said beaver were bad news. Since he makes his living with wildlife removal, they must be GOOD news right? I mean, no one hires a company to get rid of a problem that doesn’t exist, right? If there was no bad news you’d never make your boat payment, right?

According to MassWildlife, “By damming streams and forming shallow ponds, beavers create wetlands. These wetlands provide habitat for a tremendous diversity of plants, invertebrates, and wildlife, such as deer, bats, otter, herons, waterfowl, songbirds, raptors, salamanders, turtles, frogs, and fish.”

The state agency suggests that humans also benefit from beavers, as these new wetlands help to control downstream flooding, improve water quality, and can also recharge groundwater.

MassWildlife, for instance, suggests a number of nonlethal solutions to address human conflicts with beavers, including tolerance, fencing, dam removal, and water level control devices, or “beaver pipes,” which allows water to flow through a dam while remaining undetected by the beaver.

Talk about ending on a positive note! This is a reporter that really did his homework! Jay Turner talked to the doubtful, the opposition, and the advocates! And ended his thoughtful piece on a positive note. As a woman who has written about beaver news in almost 3000 columns, I can firmly attest that almost never happens. I’m a little hopeful for those beavers in Ponkapoag. Aren’t you?

As for Kodzis, the man who got to the bottom of this neighborhood mystery, he is still undecided about how he feels about beavers. Personally, he said they do not bother him “one way or the other,” although he acknowledges that their presence may impact some more than others.

Nevertheless, Kodzis finds it “amazing” that there is so much wildlife right in his backyard. “And if the beavers are going to be here,” he said, “then we have to learn how to live with them.”

Now on another more pragmatic note, dentists have finally noticed that beaver teeth might turn out to be useful to human teeth!

Beavers Show Way to Improve Enamel

Beavers don’t brush their teeth, and they don’t drink fluoridated water, but a new study reports beavers do have protection against tooth decay built into the chemical structure of their teeth: iron.

This pigmented enamel, the researchers found, is both harder and more resistant to acid than regular enamel, including that treated with fluoride. This discovery is among others that could lead to a better understanding of human tooth decay, earlier detection of the disease and improving on current fluoride treatments.

Layers of well-ordered, carbonated hydroxylapatite “nanowires” are the core structure of enamel. The team led by Northwestern researcher Derk Joester, PhD, discovered in rodent teeth that it is the material surrounding the nanowires, where small amounts of an amorphous solid rich in iron and magnesium are located, that controls enamel’s acid resistance and mechanical properties.

Hmmm. It turns out a diet rich in iron is what makes beaver teeth stronger than human teeth. It also prevents tooth decay and happens to be what turns beaver teeth orange. Should we be expecting the classic Hollywood smile to be orange soon? The article ran with a nice, uncredited photo shown here. Based on that nose I’d say this was castor fiber. But I’m sure the enamel is the same.

Before I go let me wish all those beaver lovers out there a happy valentine’s day. There’s good evidence secondary dam is getting worked on so we’ll stop by under the stars to share our love with them. The primary dam is not getting worked on, so we may have to have an official renaming ceremony soon.

Beaver Art, Craft and Vandalism

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Environmental, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's Killing Beavers Now?, Who's saving beavers now? February 13, 2015

Ohhh whew. Thank goodness the heroes at Trout Unlimited got rid of those pesky cheerleaders just in time for the football team to arrive at the party. You know how much they hate hanging out with each other.

Tell me when fishermen are going to stop removing beaver dams as if they were water condoms, blocking the creek’s manly flows? I was alerted to this article from Joe Wheaton who was alerted by Chris Jordan of NOAA, so you know much smarter minds are trying to change this stubborn behavior. Apparently with little success in our middle states.

Much better article this morning from Manila of all places…

Beavers, ecosystem engineers

Previously their dams are obliterated by dynamite and bulldozers because of causing flooding, but now they are becoming respected as a defense against the withering effects of a warmer and drier climate. They raise the water table alongside a stream, aiding the growth of trees and plants that stabilize the banks and prevent erosion. They improve fish and wildlife habitat and promote new rich soil. And most importantly beaver dams do what all dams do: hold back water that would otherwise drain away.

The beaver is famed for its industriousness and its building skills. Beavers burrow in the banks of rivers and lakes. But they also transform less suitable habitats by building dams. As a family moves into new territory, the beavers drop a large tree across a stream to begin a new dam, which creates a pond for their home called lodge. They cover it with sticks, mud and stones. As the water level rises behind the dam, it submerges the entrance to their lodge, which makes entry nearly impossible for any other animal. By constructing dams they create wetlands – lush environment which host a variety of animals, fish, birds, frogs and other creatures.

And why is it that people in the Philippines know why we should coexist with beaver but people in North America don’t? Well, I guess we should just be grateful and not speculate on whether it’s easier to admire beavers when you don’t actually have to deal with them plugging your culverts.

This morning I heard from Suzanne Fouty that she is coming to the state of the beaver conference and looking forward to my talk! I’m so excited! She said she was coming in 2011 but got tied up with another job. Then said 2013 but that didn’t work. Then she and Jari Osborne of the beaver documentary talked about coming to the beaver festival last year and that didn’t work out either. Fingers crossed she and I will finally get to meet in person in five days time! In this clip she’s carrying the backpack on the right.

Finally a smile sent by Rusty from Napa, whom you should all be getting ready to welcome because he’s taking over website duties while I’m in Oregon. (Thank you very much!) Now I would find this comic very witty IF I hadn’t already seen Dad beaver personally do that when kits brought wood to the dam. He’d let them enthusiastically stick it in any which way, appear to approve, watch them swim away and then very quietly move it to the proper place. 🙂

“That change is too ‘changey’.”

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? February 9, 2015

Looks like Ohio has decided to return to its natural shape so our opinion of them won’t need to be adjusted any time soon. Remember that cool story from Yellow Springs where people were advocating for beaver benefits and wanting to coexist? Well apparently Hamlet was right.

virtue cannot

so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it.

Act 3 Scene 1

Or in other words, that council-driven leopard rarely changes its spots.

Council nixes grant for wetland

At their Jan. 20 meeting, Village Council delivered a setback to a group of local environmentalists who sought to develop a management plan for a wetlands on the Glass Farm. The group requested Council’s approval for a federal grant application that would provide funding to help manage the wetland, increase species diversity and also find solutions for flood control and other neighbors’ concerns.

“Yellow Springs could become a model” for how to balance the needs of wildlife and humans in wetlands development, according to Nadia Malarkey, a member of the newly reconstituted Environmental Commission, which sought Council approval for the grant.

But the majority of Council worried that the group was moving too quickly, and that a grant would lock Village government into a project it has not fully embraced, and which may have unintended consequences.

“I don’t think this is a bad idea …” said Village Manager Patti Bates, who recommended against the grant application at this time. “I’m concerned that we’re rushing into this without proper preparation.”

And how much preparation does YS usually take before killing beavers and destroying wetlands? Oh that’s right. None. You were THIS CLOSE to getting this right. It is so frustrating to see how remarkable efforts can still be tossed aside.

The grant would have provided funding for developing a management plan for the area and to purchase fencing that would protect trees, create new flow-devices if necessary to control flooding and remove invasive species, according to the proposal. Overall, the grant-funded activities would enhance efforts to allow beavers and humans to share the area, according to EC member Duard Headley.

However, several Council members feared the grant would pave the way to a commitment to the wetland that they had not signed on for when they approved funding the original “beaver deceiver” flow-through device.

I’m sorry for the derailing of this particular wetlands train bound for glory, but I’ve not run out of hope yet – and you shouldn’t either. These are a smart group of people doing the right thing for the right reasons.

The resulting wetland has led to a significant increase in new species in the area, according to Hennessy, who presented a slideshow of photos of the area taken by neighbor Scott Stolsenberg. The photos show great blue herons, red-winged blackbirds, indigo buntings, great egrets, red-shouldered hawks, grey catbirds, cedar waxwings, green frogs, snapping turtles and other wildlife that live near water.

“Beavers are a keystone species that create an environment that ____supports other species,” Hennessy said. “Most of these species would not be here without the wetlands.”

Several neighbors who support the wetlands spoke in support of the project.

“The change in the last three years has been amazing. It’s like a second Glen,” said Lew Trelawny-Cassity, who said he and his young children enjoy watching the birds and animals. “This is a great place for families. It impacts the neighborhood in a positive way.”

As alarming as change for the better is – it is for the better. Eventually even the city council will see the writing on the wall and have the sense to steal credit for the idea instead of looking stupid and out of touch by preventig it.

Ours did.

I worked yesterday using my ‘negative space beavers’ to put together a short film. I decided to use the audio from Ellen Wohl’s excellent interview on Santa Fe Radio a few years ago. I think it works rather well.

I also talked to Michael Howie of Fur Bearer Defender Radio and Jari Osborne of the beaver documentary about getting my poem recorded in resonant tones so I can make a video. We’ll see but I’m expecting great things.

Finally a bonus prize this morning, because a friend from Florida sent a photo of a mystery bug that research showed was really surprising. I thought you’d be interested.

The Scarlet Bodied Wasp Moth, Cosmosoma myrodora , is a moth species that mimics wasps as a means of survival. Since the harmless moth resembles a stinging wasp, many predators will give leave it alone. Here’s the amazing part: the adult male moth extracts toxins known as ‘pyrrolizidine alkaloids’ from Dogfennel Eupatorium (Eupatorium capillifolium) and showers these toxins over the female prior to mating. This is the only insect known to transfer a chemical defense in this way.”

Crocodile Tears

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers and salmon, Beavers elsewhere, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's Killing Beavers Now? February 4, 2015

Salmon experts say beaver risks are ‘simply too great’

Salmon experts have condemned the possible reintroduction of beavers to Courier Country’s prime sporting rivers as a risk that is “simply too great”.

Sporting interests said the reappearance of beavers on those rivers would be an “ill-advised additional pressure on our fragile salmon runs” and have called for the plan to be rejected.

Beavers have been extinct in Scotland since the 17th Century, although they appear in small numbers in many parts of the country, including Perthshire and Angus, it is thought after escaping from private collections.

“There is little doubt that beavers can generally have overall positive effects on production of some species of salmonid fishes due to their role in engineering river habitats and influencing the chemical dynamics within the watercourse.

“However, their influence on Atlantic salmon is more ambiguous because this species of fish is specialised for swift waters, which would be reduced by extensive beaver damming.

“Furthermore, Atlantic salmon is highly migratory and hence vulnerable to obstruction of free passage. “It is, therefore, by no means certain that salmon across their range can tolerate negative effects of beavers in the way that once they could.

Oh puleeze. Your special punkin’ salmon are migratory and used to fast water? Unlike those lazy couch potato fish in the pacific friggin’ ocean? I guess NOAA was wrong. Honestly, I don’t know what irritates me more – people pretending to be alarmed while willfully ignore facts or people who lie while doing it to the press. No wait, I know. These kilted prevaricating fishwives are so delicately concerned only this clip will suffice. Replace the word “Guilder” for the word “Beaver”.

Well, since we’ve had a full dose of beaver liars this morning, we may as well have a trapper-adulation article to finish it off. Remember, that every year we get at least 6 of these, wistfully remembering the lost art of the animal-killer, remarking with awe on what thankless work it is, and don’t forget, admiring with lip-smacking subtlety their physical prowess.

Poor economy, sanctions in fur-loving Russia catch up with wild-animal trappers in US

44264447dc15b410VgnVCM100000d7c1a8c0____-Furs Future-1 — In this Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015 photo, Brian Cogill prepares to pack up a beaver he trapped in Limington, Maine. Market slowdowns in big fur-buying countries like Russia, China and Korea are hurting prices, and recent warm winters haven’t helped, trappers and auctioneers. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (The Associated Press)

Tall, husky, barrel-chested, with a bushy auburn beard and a rosy complexion, he tromps through the forest to check traps capable of killing an animal within five minutes. Stepping onto a frozen pond, he chips through 4 inches of ice, reaches into the icy water and pulls out a 45-pound beaver.

Five years ago, its pelt would have fetched $50. These days, it will likely yield half that.

Economic forces including market slowdowns in big fur-buying countries like Russia, China and South Korea, as well as a continuing trend toward distaste for fur as a result of animal welfare concerns, make Cogill among a dwindling number of trappers catching fur-bearing beasts in the wild.

“I love trapping, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not going to trap something for nothing,” Cogill said. “If there’s no market for it, I’d have to sit on it. There are warehouses full of fur right now, and no one buying.”

The words Boo and hoo spring immediately to mind. I remember how surprising it was to be in Alaska and see fur coat stores everywhere in the open streets. No one would risk that kind of public display in San Francisco or New York.

The fur industry has also experienced a slow but noticeable decline in acceptability in the U.S. in recent years. A 2014 Gallup poll found that 58 percent of respondents thought buying and wearing clothing made of fur was morally acceptable, a decline of 5 points from 10 years earlier.

Some delight at the industry’s decline. Mollie Matteson, senior scientist with the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, said the reduction in trapping will mean less chance that imperiled, non-target species will be caught in traps.

Still, Brian shouldn’t worry. People will still want beavers dead even if they can’t find a use for their fur.

Ohio 1, Minnesota 0

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? November 22, 2022

Sharon Brown of Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife sends this excellent story, which will be further reported in the next issue of Beaversprite.

Columbus, Ohio Metro Parks Installs a Beaver Flow Device

Using BWW’s “Coexisting…” DVD Staff at Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks, Ohio in December installed a beaver pipe system in a beaver dam to manage the water level and save some wetlands. When beavers moved into Glacier Ridge Park last year their dam restored valuable wetlands, but it also affected a drainage ditch that served private properties bordering the park. The new flexpipe system, based on plans from Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife’s (BWW) “Coexisting with Beavers” DVD, allows a compromise that benefits both the beavers and the park’s neighbors. Now the water level can be managed—allowing the beaver dam and wetlands to remain.

Beaver activity is the major natural method of creating and maintaining freshwater wetlands,recently valued at $49,000/acre/year in terms of natural services.* About 90% of Ohio’s original wetlands had been drained by the 1980s, according to the U.S. EPA. In past decades, when beaver dams caused flooding of farms or roads, the animal engineers were eliminated. As beavers return to western Ohio, using flow devices to manage their ponds can help save newly restored wetlands.

Carrie Morrow, Assistant Resource Manager for Metro Parks who coordinated the pond leveler d project said, “many of the parts were available at our park maintenance shops. She added, “Our volunteer Richard Tuttle graciously shared the DVD with us and Andrew Boose, our Forest Ecologist and talented handyman, assembled and built the structure.” Boose was assisted by park technician Mike Bosworth. The dedicated men worked in cold, chest-deep water in December to complete the installation. Later, Andrew Boose’s wife ordered a BWW cap for him, “because the project was a success.”

Richard Tuttle, who gave the “Coexisting…” DVD to the park staff, is an expert on conservation of Eastern Bluebirds. In the early 1990s, he created the “Beaver Hypothesis”— that beaver activity produces the habitat required by many wetland species. Photo by Carrie Wakeman Morrow Andrew Boose and Mike Bosworth install a flexpipe with a cage to protect the pipe inlet in a beaver dam at Glacier Ridge Park. Photo by Annette Boose. Andrew Boose, Forest Ecologist at Columbus Metro Parks, photographs a young beaver.

Costanza, R. et al. 2014. Changes in the global value of ecosystem
services. Global Environmental Change 26: 152-158.

Nice to read about Ohio doing the right thing, and I just got an update this morning from Karen of Mt. Healthy that ODOT might be bringing in Mike or Skip to follow suit. That’s a major improvement in a state that has a very tarnished beaver reputation. We’re going to have to make sure everyone knows how much that’s changing.

A quick bit of HUH? from Crosslake Minnesota where apparently they are unaware that pressure treated wood survives better in water. Hmm metal survives better yet.

Crosslake will make capital purchases, beaver-damaged bridge repairs

The Crosslake City Council chose to move forward with plans to repair the Dream Island bridge, which recently sustained damage when a beaver chewed entirely through one of the pylons.

I guess in winter it’s theoretically possible that a unprepared beaver could exhaust it’s food cache and nibble on a board instead. But honestly do you really think this is beaver blame-worthy? And not the work of some drunk fisherman’s motorboat taking a chunk out of the piling with a side swipe?

Let’s leave MN to their conundrum and get ready for the unbearable gasp of cuteness. Jeannine Schafer of The Neenerbot, an enchanting artist and illustrator in San Francisco, has most graciously agreed to donate one of these for our silent auction. Honestly, that might be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Especially the curling feet of the kit on the end. (I think we can officially retire that kitten poster. I would ‘hang in there’ much longer for beavers, wouldn’t you?) Thank you Jeannine for your generosity and remarkable creative vision. If admirers can’t wait until August for the bidding war go here to buy your own: