Category: Who’s blaming beavers now?

Why-not Wyoming

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, What's killing beavers now?, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? October 26, 2017

Looks like those pesky beavers have been up to no good again. This time in Sheridan Wyoming which is almost far north enough to be in Montana. Apparently they took care of the problem JUST in time.

Beavers Cause Problem on County Road

Beaver dams, apparently built this past summer, caused some flooding over Slack Road, a county road in the northwest part of Sheridan County. County Engineer Ken Muller said three beavers have been removed, although a fourth may still be in the area, and county crews plan to take action this week to deal with the dams.

Muller said a state trapper was called and trapped three of the beavers. He said they’ve been relocated. The dams were built in nearby West Pass Creek, and Muller said the road is currently in pretty good condition. However, he said, the water is right up to the edge of the road on both sides, and crews need to deal with the situation before winter sets in.

Muller said this kind of situation doesn’t happen too often, but about four years ago, the county had an issue with a beaver dam flooding South Creek Road. In that situation, he said, the water actually crossed the road. Fortunately, he said, the road wasn’t damaged.

Relocated? Really? Do think Wyoming is ecologically sophisticated in ways for which we don’t give them credit? Or do you possibly think that trapper is just spinning a tale and blowing some smoke up our skirts by alleging that they were like that puppy our parents said went to ‘live on the farm”? I’m guessing that those beavers were relocated to Hamlet’s “Undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveler returns“. But either way it’s a death sentence because it’s 34 degrees there this morning, with poor conditions to build a lodge or establish a food cache.

Still the lying irks me. So brazen. This song popped in my head as I read it, although different Sheridan, I imagine.

Ohh you cannot get to Sheridan, says the false knight on the road

Speaking of my husband’s homeland, God bless BBC programs like Autumnwatch which is broadcasting an admirable program filmed on the Devon beavers with a rare local farmer who isn’t a beaverphobe. I love seeing the wonder with which they watch as Autumnthe beaver does the most mundane beaver things. It is how i felt the very first year watching our beavers alone every morning. Turn your sound UP for this just to hear it in their voices.

The peasants are revolting! (Beaver version)

heidi08 City Reports, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's Killing Beavers Now? October 21, 2017

It is impossible to read this article from the banks of lake Huron in Michigan without remembering the posterior-covering things told to us by our city staff when our beaver dams were threatened. What we learned in those early days is that everyone protects everyone else, and city attorneys are every bit as difficult and narrow-minded as you would expect them to be. And then some. Save this in case your city manager ever starts to do the same things, or just enjoy this trip down memory lane.

Beaver dam removal leads to complaints by public

LINCOLN — The Alcona County Road Commission has received complaints for the removal of a beaver dam on Cedar Lake that allegedly was causing drainage and flooding issues for residents.

Managing Director Jesse Campbell told trustees during a meeting Tuesday that although the dam may be gone, complaints from some members of the public still will be coming in.

Campbell, who acts as the county’s drain commissioner through a mandate by the Alcona County Board of Commissioners, said the dam was ordered removed by county Prosecutor Tom Weichel who is the drain commission’s attorney.

Chairman Alfred Scully said one complainant took the matter to the Cedar Lake Improvement Board and alleged the county made a mess of the dam removal, leaving debris in the area. Scully said this was Friday, the first day of the three-day removal project.

We’re in the middle of the job but he (complained) that we don’t know what we’re doing. We worked on it, and left a mess (he said) but it wasn’t like we were done,” Scully said.

We were just getting to that! Honest! It’s the way cities work. First you make the mess thoroughly and then you wait two days to see if anyone complains and then you clean up the mess. HONEST we were coming back on Monday to finish. (If we had to.) And our decision to engage in destruction on a friday had NOTHING whatsoever at all to do with the fact that we wanted the office to be closed and locked by the time you came home from work, saw the mess, and tried to call our bosses about it.

Campbell said some in the public questioned the process of dam removal in emails to the road commission. He said the county was in its legal right to remove the dam and did not need permits to do so.

“Under the drain law of 1940 in the road law there is no permit needed for beaver dam removal affecting a county drain or within the road right of way,” Campbell wrote.

One complainant was concerned with the dam removal because the presence of heavy equipment disturbed duck hunting areas near a 20-acre parcel of property.

Ripping a dam with heavy equipment might affect duck hunting? I’ve got news for you. Ripping out the dam PERIOD might affect duck hunting. Just think about all that tasty forage the silt and mud removal is going to ruin. Or the safe nesting spots that will be lost forever.

Campbell said two beavers will be killed in the removal following Michigan Department of Environmental Quality guidelines and the county would reimburse the road commission for the work, like many other subcontracting jobs.

“The person didn’t feel that we should be there and they may get an attorney,” Campbell said. “This may open up a big can of worms.”

Ohhh I think the proverbial can has been opened. And I think you are well aware of that – which is why you’re trying to cover your tracks with this weaselly little statement to the board.

One concern was the land and area where the dam was removed had ground that was disturbed.

As far as refurbishing the area where the dam was removed, Campbell said soil could not be put back into the area because it could contaminate the lake water with silt, though straw could be put in place as a maintenance measure.

“Within two years all the stuff is going to come back in, the vegetation is going to come back,” he said.

Of course we couldn’t smooth down the muck after we made it, because you know lake Huron would silt up and that would be terrible! I mean ripping out the dam probably released a little silt too, but it was necessary. Don’t worry, I know its an eyesore in your front yards now, but in two years time it will all have grown back! You won’t even know we were here.

That’s nothing. In two year’s time more beavers will move in and build a dam. Then we’ll come back and do it all again. The county reimburses for stuff like that doesn’t it?

Scully told Campbell that in the future all questions from the public would be directed to Weichel for his legal expertise. He said he was concerned with the rudeness of some of the complainants who personally contacted him by telephone.

I’ve never been spoken to by such ruffians in all my born days! My virgin ears are still stinging! There’s no cause to get personally RUDE just because my crew climbed into your front yard and ripped out the pond leaving mud and sticks all over (and that coke can). Insulting the dating history of my dear old mother is WAY out of line!

How Rude!

Ahh the pearl-clutching and righteous affront! It’s like we’ve gone back in time right down to the full tempers of the day. I’m pretty sure there’s a rule book somewhere that all city employees have access to.

First stall.
Then Lie.
Then Say there’s an ordinance.
Then act OFFENDED!

Remember when our public works director told staff that he didn’t want my husband to go to the subcommittee meetings anymore because he had scowled at him? (Truly willful scrowling can be a burden.) And remember when some smart-ass emailed the city council member after they were quoted saying the beavers should be euthanized by sarcastically saying maybe their children should be euthanized? And of course a swat team was brought in and the full 11 member police force had to be paid overtime at the meeting because of the “death threat?”

You know exactly what the drama playing out here is. Cities do what they want first, and find reasons to justify it second. They were just doing their jobs. If they didn’t remove that dam lives could be lost. When they said that offensive thing they were only joking. Can’t you take a joke? They’re only beavers, after all.

Ahh thanks for the memories, Alcona.

Apparently, Superman uses a Cross-bow

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, In the News, stupid solutions, What's killing beavers now?, Who's blaming beavers now? October 19, 2017

I’ve been covering beaver stories a long time, haven’t I? And you would think, that in a decade of reporting beaver news I had read every outrageous thing that could possibly be done to these unappreciated animals. I would have thought so any way.

Until this morning.

Beaver trap methods cause resident concerns

The Town of High River will create formal procedures involving the removal of problem beavers, those that affect town infrastructure, after a report on social media led to outcry and questions to officials.

A posting on High River Respectful Rant and Rave in late September outlined an incident in which a resident saw a person shooting a beaver with a bow, or crossbow, along Lineham Acres canal.

“Come on Town of High River,” Sheryl Gorzitza Skory wrote. “Isn’t there a better way of dealing with these ‘destructive beasts’ who are only doing as nature intended for them to do?”

High River is just outside Calgary in Alberta Canada. Innocent child that I am I thought that shooting a beaver with a crossbow had to be a mistake, a benign action misunderstood or something done by some crazy bored teenager. All silly, silly me.

Kevin Tetzlaff, town communications advisor, said the beaver control program has been ongoing for a number of years. Calls from residents meant not all people knew of the program, he said.

“Yes, they are (killed),” Tetzlaff said. “There’s a variety of different methods the trappers use… Generally you can use traps that humanely kill the beavers.”

The bow and arrow or crossbow is another form when traps are not advisable, Tetzlaff said. The release read that if a firearm or weapon is used for hunting, police are notified and precautions are taken.

“We understand there’s going to be a range of views from residents, and that’s why, we really are limiting it to beavers in areas that have to be removed due to causing a risk to infrastructure,” he said.

If you’re trying to imagine what kind of town uses a cross-bow to shoot beavers, High River is a town of 13,000 and the set where they filmed Smallville and Superman III. Which means it looks just like you would expect have expected it to look 50 years ago. I’m guessing since the canal in question is lined with homes they didn’t want to fire a gunshot and terrify the neighborhood. Let’s theoretically imagine the sides of the canal were too steep to set traps.

But a cross-bow? Honestly?

The trapper has been instructed to stop using the crossbow in residential neighbourhoods, Tetzlaff said. In addition, the town will look at current policies and form official procedures, he added.

“Part of our process is we’re going to look at what other municipalities are doing to manage this kind of situation” Tetzlaff said, noting the town will develop a standard protocol moving forward.

Here’s an idea. STOP KILLING BEAVERS! Wikipedia tells me that the town of High River was subject to severe flooding in 1894, 1899, 1902, 1908, 1912, 1923, 1929, 1932, 1942, 1995, 2005 and 2013. They have continued to add canals and kill beavers all during that time and must be puzzled why this isn’t solving their problem.

Here’s a thought.

The other side

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Who's blaming beavers now? October 16, 2017

Things are moving in a good direction in the wine country. Yesterday at the Napa community meeting they stopped talking about the crisis and started talking about recovery. (Which will also be a crisis, but of a different, long-term, unfolding kind.) I hear from the artist who wants to help us this year and she and her husband are safely back at their home home, which survived on the very edge of the burning on the Silverado trail. I can’t imagine what it’s like to return to a home that’s now in a charred ghost town, but I’m so happy they are among the lucky ones. The fire never reached downtown Napa, so I assume Rusty, Robin and our beavers are doing okay. The whole region will need lots of support and rebuilding for a long time to come.

Meanwhile the beaver campaign in Wales is going strong and they have successfully proposed a five year license that will give the animals a toe-hold in the country. They must be doing well because the big liars have turned out in full force, and are tweeking their arguments to sound convincing without appearing negative.

Opinions sought over beaver reintroduction in Wales

Members of the public will be asked to have their say on plans to reintroduce beavers into the Welsh countryside. Depending on the level of response and issues raised, a final decision could come before the end of the year. Supporters of the plan believe they will bring environmental and economic benefits, but others remain unconvinced.

Beavers were once native to Britain but were hunted to extinction for their fur in the Middle Ages. The animal has been reintroduced into Scotland and England in recent years and Natural Resources Wales (NRW) is currently considering an application for a licence to release ten pairs of beavers into the River Cowyn in Carmarthenshire.

The application has been submitted by Wildlife Trusts Wales and the Carmarthenshire-based Bevis Trust, which has three families of beavers penned on its land ready to be released. Bevis Trust founder Nick Fox believes the experience of beaver reintroduction elsewhere proves that the animals will bring big benefits to the Welsh countryside.

He told BBC Radio Wales’ Eye on Wales programme: “Beavers have a key role to play in the ecosystem. They build dams in the slower-flowing small rivers – not in big rivers – and those dams act as natural filters for pollutants and sediment.”

Alicia Leow-Dyke, who oversees the Welsh Beaver Project for Wildlife Trusts Wales, argued beavers would help improve biodiversity.

“Many studies have shown that where you have beavers you have a much richer biodiversity, you have a mosaic of different habitats – and that’s possibly something we have lost in the United Kingdom,” she added.

That sounds pretty persuasive. Better bring in the big guns to refute it and smoke up their objections a bit so no one realizes their just stubborn babies who are upset when they don’t get their own way. Go!

But Mark Lloyd, the chief executive of the Angling Trust, is not convinced that now is the right time to be considering such a project.

“There are lots of other really pressing priorities for the water environment that NRW should be focussing on rather than pet projects that are really “nice to have” but it’s not clear what the benefits are,” he said.

That is a concern for botanist Ray Woods, who has visited the River Otter in Devon where beavers are now in residence under licence.

“I asked the question, “What are they eating” and they just said, “Sorry Ray, we don’t know”. What’s been the impact on all these masses of mosses and liverworts and lichens that are absolutely bang full of useful pharmaceuticals?“

My jaw is hanging open as I type this. You’re worried that the beavers will eat up the lichens and then you can’t use them for pharmaceuticals? You do know that lichens grow in trees right? And beavers don’t climb trees. Do you think there is ANY possibility on God’s green earth that Ray was honestly ever told “I’m sorry we don’t know” when he asked what are they eating? Literally everyone is eager to answer the questions and start a conversation about beavers. Either that is a baldfaced lie or the only person he actually asked was a janitor on the train en route. And I can guess which one. Grr.

NRW has completed its initial assessment of the licence application and asked for some further information for the Bevis Trust and Wildlife Trusts Wales. Once that has been received there will be a short consultation. Depending on the level of response and issues raised, a final decision could come before the end of the year.

I’m going to guess that they’re leaning in the “Yes” direction and everyone knows it, because those two special lies aren’t the kind you make from a position of strength. They are what you say when you know you’re losing and you want to frame the argument in a new way out of desperation. Keep pushing Wales, you’re on the HOME STRETCH.

Yesterday I started making a list of the items I plan to ask for at the silent auction this year. In doing so I came across a lovely image designed by Sarah MacDonald of Into the Wilds. Her original water color was so lovely I couldn’t resist ’embellishing’ it.

Bay-State Madness

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Massachusetts Trapping Law, Mike Callahan, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's Killing Beavers Now? October 15, 2017

Winds picked up again last night and there were more evacuations in Santa Rosa. The death toll now is 40. Things slowed a little in Napa and the Atlas fire, where it all started, is now 50% contained. Here in Martinez the air was actually pleasant enough to risk going outside for a bit. Allowing us to see the fine layer of ash all over our deck furniture. The red flag warning for fire conditions in Napa will continue until the afternoon.

In the meantime I am happy to be catching up on some actual beaver news. The next installment will be an old favorite as poor Massachusetts struggles to eliminate the will of those pesky voters once again.

Massachusetts May Centralize Beaver Population Control

A slew of hunting and wildlife-related bills are under consideration this legislative session in Massachusetts, including one that would transfer control of the state’s beaver population to the state division of fisheries and wildlife.

Last month, the state’s environmental committee, which is chaired by Rep. Smitty Pignatelli from Berkshire and Sen. Anne Gobi from Worcester, took a look at close to two dozen acts addressing everything from crossbows to beaver traps. Dave Wattles, the black bear and furbearer biologist with the Massachusetts division of fisheries and wildlife, says wildlife-related bills tend to come up in the legislature on a somewhat annual basis.

Currently, local governments have the authority to regulate beaver trapping and determine if an emergency permit should be issued to eliminate an animal. But Wattles says the data on how many beavers are trapped through the permits is inconsistent, which makes gauging the population size difficult.

“Right now, we are handicapped in terms of our ability to [manage the population],” he says. “So giving us, at a minimum, that reporting, or giving us regulatory authority over it would enable us to manage the population to the best of our ability.”

The terrifying thing is that I actually recognize Ann Gobi’s name because she’s been hurling herself at this legislation for so many years. There are parts of this that actually make sense. It would be helpful to know some actual data about the beaver population rather than just make wild accusations saying that it has exploded. But I don’t understand why you’re saying this is going to come by counting the number of beavers killed? How would you possibly infer the number of living beavers from the number of dead beavers statistic? I mean we don’t say there were 365 deaths by gunshot in America this year so our population must be around 323,000,000 right?

I can already see that you’ll go back in time before the 1996 change and say “We used to trap 50% of our beaver population at a rate of 500 beavers a year.” (Never mind that you didn’t actually have population numbers back then either. I’m sure it felt like 50%) “And now we have issued 1000 permits so that means our population has quadrupled!”

Mike Callahan says that there is a provision in this change to include an actual beaver census. Which would be a very good thing if it actually happened. In the meantime they are talking about all kinds of sporty environmental changes.

And while the state is looking to assert more oversight over the beavers, a separate bill aims to increase the freedoms afforded to hunters. Massachusetts is one of 11 states that bans or restricts hunting on Sundays, but the legislature is looking to repeal that Puritan-era “blue law.” A number of past efforts have been mounted to do so, and those backing the current rollback want the state’s division of fisheries and wildlife to regulate the practice. Advocates who support the ban, however, say it should be preserved for families looking to spend time outside.

Also on the agenda is a proposal to allow hunters to use crossbows, which are currently prohibited by the state, except for people with a disability that prohibits them from using other archery equipment. If passed, the new law would allow hunters to carry equipment complying with specific weight and design requirements.

Gobi told the Telegram she was optimistic that the crossbow bill would diversify the population of archers, which would no longer be limited to those strong enough to pull back a traditional bow.

“I don’t know of a single instance involving a bow hunter during archery season when someone was hurt in the woods,” Gobi said. “I take my dog for a walk in the woods every day…and we’ve never had a problem.”

Oh well then, I guess it’s safe. I mean if it never happened to you personally it must never happen right? And it’s not like your state is the most populated in New England or anything, or the third most densely populated in the nation, so I’m sure carrying around crossbow or shooting on Sundays won’t cause any problems for folks. Right?

Honestly, that is the stupidest thing I have read in a long time. And you think adding crossbows is going to diversify the hunting population? I can’t understand why you think that’s a persuasive argument that makes sense. I suppose handing crossbows out to terrorists or hungry children would diversify it too. Is that really the goal?

I’m not the only one who thinks this is crazy. Here’s a nice letter to the editor this morning on the subject.

Letter: Let hunters go out on Saturdays, leave Sundays to non-hunters

Managing beavers and other wildlife doesn’t mean that we need to open up the state to fur trapping and Sunday hunting (“Bills introduced would allow hunting on Sunday,” Tuesday 10/10).

Sen. Gobi contends that some sportsmen don’t get licenses because they can only hunt on weekends. As a working mother, the only time my family gets to enjoy the outdoors together is on weekends as well. If hunters are given one day during the weekend to enjoy their recreation I think it’s only fair that families also have one day to take their dogs and little ones out in nature without worrying about wearing orange, explaining gunshots, or coming across hunted or trapped animals.

We enjoy seeing animals in their natural habitats, including beavers, which are an important keystone species. As expert engineers, they create habitat for other species and help improve water quality.

For those rare situations when humans and beavers come into conflict, there are plenty of humane, non-lethal, and cost effective solutions such as trunk guards, sanded paint, and fencing around tress as well as piping systems, fencing systems, and flow devices.

Trapping beavers is a temporary solution, removing one beaver from a desirable area only opens up that habitat for the next migrating beaver to occupy. In these instances, the trapping and killing of beavers must be repeated, ad nauseam.

Rather than trapping and killing beavers over and over again, as Sen. Gobi and others advocate, let’s pursue and continue to invent creative and humane solutions.

Margaret Mulcahy

Excellently said, Margaret. You made so many excellent points in such a short space that I am happy to share your letter. And you did it all while being much more polite than I was. Of course Ms. Gobi won’t change her position, because obviously her opinions aren’t vulnerable to actual facts or the concerns of voters or anything. But I am proud of you, and beavers unanimously agree.