Category: Who’s Killing Beavers Now?

Oh look! It’s noble misunderstood trapper season again!

A country built on fur

Trapper Gordy Klassen works to build awareness about Canada’s oldest commercial enterprise

Not everyone likes what he has to teach – people in Israel once called him a wolf murderer – but Klassen has carved out his “own little brand of activism” by educating the public on the importance of managing animal populations in urban river valleys, for ranchers, oilfield workers and municipalities.

“Trapping and fur trading are traditions dating back long before Alberta became a province, and they remain important commercial and recreational activities today,” reads an Internet message from Diana McQueen, former minister of environment and sustainable resources development. “Modern trappers have a deep respect for the land and its wildlife – and are proudly carrying on this long standing commercial enterprise.”

How many pages has the Vancouver Sun dedicated to this noble savage, you ask? FIVE. Obviously it takes a special kind of man to justify doing exactly what people want him to do to protect property interests and make it seem like the right thing. Once it would have surprised me, but now I understand how this game is played.

Edward Albee: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf

What I don’t understand is why people assume trappers actually KNOW THINGS about the species they kill. I mean I can understand that they have to know where they hang out and what attracts them, but that doesn’t mean they know anything at all about their natural history, does it?

Moving beavers or other animals isn’t a good option, says Dave Kay, commercial wildlife and priority species specialist at Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resources Development. Beavers, for instance, then have to compete for territory and often end up killing each other. Leaving the rodents to their own devices also doesn’t work, Kay says. When beaver populations become too big – the rodents reproduce many kits, he says – natural forces such as the disease tularemia move in, killing them off in unhealthy masses.

First of all, if beavers killed each other, wouldn’t that be easier than having you kill them? Saves everyone time and money, right? And second of all, have you never in your trapper life heard of dispersal? Do you really think kits stay with their parents forever if it wasn’t for you and your trusty conibear? Maybe your kids did?

It’s passages like these that make me want to swallow paint-thinner while singing “Oh Canada”. Read for yourself.

Klassen is motivated by managing the ecosystem – yes, even manipulating it – to use its renewable animal resources while balancing its health with the health of people and industries around it.

“It has to be done sustainably,” he says, explaining that if someone traps too many marten or beaver one year, there won’t be any left for the next. “I can’t think of a trapper where sustainability is not in the best interest. … You get as much as you can without hurting things.”

Why is it that when reporters write about Bosnia or fracking or the robbery on 23rd street they present different opinions to get the full story, but when reporters write a trapping homage they let them spew their rugged lies without any hint of a challenge? As I’ve said before, I think the reporter spends so much time typing at the computer that they have walter-mitty fantasies about chucking it all and living off the land to strangle animals (and their editor) with their bare hands. They admire trappers because they live the life they can only imagine.

The article comes with a video, but be warned it’s not for the feint of heart. In fact, watching it I’m reminded of that sneaky camera man who filmed Palin’s interview in front of the turkey slaughter. Someone behind that camera just might have an agenda that’s not too far from our own.

“The fur trade and traditions date long back before Alberta became a province and they really are what defined Canada in its day,” Kay says. “When you hang around trappers enough, you really get a sense for how much they actually do care about wildlife and wildlife habitat. It’s a passion. It really is. They do care deeply for them.“

And I care about trappers. I really do. I care deeply for them.

What’s wrong with Renton?

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Environmental, Who's Killing Beavers Now? March 3, 2014

City of Renton is dealing with beaver problems

Apparently beavers chew cottonwood trees! Who knew? After most of the horses were gone Renton closed the barn door and wrapped some of them, but sooooooo tightly. (They better not dare grow!) Why are these horrid rodents attacking the trees now? I mean it’s not like beavers survive on wood in the winter and plants in the spring and summer. It’s not like the head of the urban forestry department should know anything about coppicing, or beaver behavior for pete’s sake.

And it’s not like Renton is 40 minutes away from the smartest beaver county in the entire nation.

They got a letter, but I’m not holding my breath for these beavers. In Washington State you have to work hard to be this beaver-challenged. Sigh.

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Life as Performance Art

By Fr. G. Corwin Stoppel

I was doing a bit of archeological work in my closet during a recent snowstorm and unearthed a “Beaver Stick” carved by the late writer and historian Grant MacEwan.

MacEwan believed beavers were nature’s perfect animal. He wrote often about how industrious they are, look after their families, balance work with play and more. To be presented with one of his Beaver Sticks was a sign of honor and friendship.

I’d never heard of Grant MacEwan before so I visited wikipedia. He was a Canadian politician who became a well written historian and instructor after his retirement. MacEwan continued to be physically active, and was not known to waste any time. He believed that if you were awake you better be doing something. In his eighties, he still rode horses, hiked and walked, outpaced reporters while on morning jogs, built a log cabin and chopped logs with an axe.

He sounds pretty formidable, and to imagine a pro-beaver politician in Ontario makes me a little dizzy. Fr. Stoppel goes on to disagree with his praise of the animal:

As much as I appreciate Dr. MacEwan’s dedication to this species, it may have been shortsighted. All that hard work and industry comes when beavers build dams to create small lakes deep enough for their lodges. But after a few years, the ponds behind the dams start to fill with everything coming down river.

Eventually the water level drops and the lake turns into a pond, then marshland. The water flow was impeded and could not keep draining because of silt. The result oftentimes is flooding.

Yes, its horrible when beavers turn perfectly reasonable streams into functioning meadows. The geologists at USFS hate it, which is why they wanted to use beavers to do just that in the Sierras and needed to prove they were native to do so. (Which started the basis for our whole papers! Memories).

Well, it’s not the worst thing to remind Michigan that SOMEONE used to like beavers. They need about a million more reminders. Thanks for the history lesson!

I have no more donations to show you for the silent auction at the moment. Find me some! And wish me luck. First day back at the office post-hospital today.

And then there were three…

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers elsewhere, Who's Killing Beavers Now? February 27, 2014

Um four. Because looking at this I see and hear two youngsters and a parent. Which means there are two parents somewhere. How cool is THAT! Click on the image to go to the BBC report and watch for yourself.Everything looks rather familiar.

A group of beavers have been seen in the English countryside in what is thought to be the first sighting of its kind in hundreds of years

‘First’ sighting of wild beavers in England for centuries

Three beavers have been filmed together on the River Otter in Devon. Landowner David Lawrence is mystified about where the animals have come from.

A spokesman for the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs said it was unlawful to release beavers in England and they were looking into what action to take.

Mr Lawrence thinks the beavers could help reduce flooding on his land and improve water quality. “We are quite happy for them to be here,” he said.

“At some point we might have to go in and clear up some of the wood because it could wash on down to Tipton and cause a flooding problem down there.”

Beavers were hunted to extinction in England and Wales during the 12th Century and disappeared from the rest of the UK 400 years later.

wrestle — 10 month old Kit push-match – Photo Cheryl Reynolds

Do you love Mr. Lawrence as much as I do? Maybe we should start a fan club. I pleased to hear whining in that footage and realize we’re talking GENERATIONS of beaver! Looks like youngsters and a parent. How perfect to have wild beavers s0 near where Heidi and Jon’s ancestors once walked!

Less love this morning for Ontario that has decided that the word “management” is a synonym for the word “kill”.

Beaver management to be discussed

Beavers are a problem in Enniskillen Township and will be managed so they don’t spread to other areas of Lambton County.

According to township administrator-clerk Duncan McTavish, beavers are currently active in the watersheds of Bear Creek, Durham Creek, Black Creek and Fox Creek. These are the primary municipal drains and natural watercourses that drain the township.

“This is a management issue. Like other wildlife, the numbers of beavers have to be controlled,” said McTavish in a Feb. 27 e-mail. “Unlike skunks and squirrels that are trapped and relocated, beavers cause damage to trees and obstruct the flow of waterways.

Managed sounds SO much nicer than crushed to death, doesn’t it? Thank goodness Ontario is going to take care of these beavers before they ‘spread’ their water-saving creek-enhancing ways to other areas!

I’m beginning to think it is easier to pass a camel through the eye of a needle than to get Ontario to understand beaver benefits.

Today’s donation comes from Paper Particles in Toronto, Canada. Laurel generously donated a beaver stamp set from her delightful collection. “These Rubber Stamp Sets Feature Iconic and Sometimes Corny Slogans and Motifs, that Every Canadian will Recognize!” Thanks Laurel!

Does Mark Ross think Beavers eat Fish?

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers elsewhere, In the News, Who's Killing Beavers Now? February 16, 2014

I have always considered Ross the most knowledgeable about beavers on the gang of five. And he and Lara are definitely tied in my mind for beaver good will. Maybe this quote is a miscommunication, a giddy on camera misspeak where you just say something you didn’t mean because it sounds good. I’m going to assume that he knows that beavers are herbivores and don’t make fishing trips.

Then again, our council got lots about the beavers wrong. They thought they were going to cause a flood, cause mosquitoes, block the steelhead, destroy the creek and collapse the bridges, breed like rabbits, etc. So maybe this is just par for the course.

I particularly like this video because it was filmed about 24 hours before I got sick – which is like remembering that there is a healthy woman somewhere inside me slowly making her way out. Or getting a letter from a dead friend that was mailed before they passed. It’s a glimpse into a world I once traveled in and theoretically will again.

In the mean time, the world has not gotten any wiser about beavers, and needs me to pay attention again.

Fur dealers could trap beavers under proposal

Beavers can be trapped now, but the measure would allow fur dealers to trap, something that has been outlawed at least as far back as the early 1900s.

“It is a law that we don’t need anymore,” said Scott Harbaugh, director for the trapper association’s northern Lower Peninsula region. “It was to keep the fur buyer from adding more beaver to his lot by using the bag limit of another seller, but now we have no bag limit on beaver trapping.”

Before it was removed in 1983, the limit was 25 beavers per person, said Adam Bump, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources bear and furbearer specialist.

DNR officials requested trappers push for a law change.

There are no exact statistics for changes in beaver population, Bump said. They are difficult to track, but the population is now healthy and has grown considerably since the prohibition against fur dealers trapping was made.

Trapping keeps the population of each animal down so they don’t overpopulate and end up with diseases that can spread to humans, Harbaugh said.

A small beaver pelt can be worth around $20 and a large one about $50, said Dale Hendershot, president of the trappers association.

“Most people just do beaver trapping as a hobby because it is kind of hard to make a living off of it,” he said. “However, those that do make a living off of it trap multiple species and make supplies as well.”

Trapping beavers with no limit to keep down a population that no one has ever counted. Kill as many beavers as you want just ’cause. Mind you this is the state where the great lakes themselves have a ‘microbead’ problem with little bits of silicon killing loons and fish. Beaver dams could probably help catch some of the runoff of the feedings streams and improve the invertebrate community, but never mind. Don’t worry about that. Just change the law so its easier to kill more beavers.

“We don’t need a bag limit to appropriately manage the population so it would be an easy way to allow a few more people to get out and trap beavers if they wanted to,” Bump said.

Sigh.

There were several packages of donations when I got home. This one made me smile widely even in the hospital. The brooch is from owner Jordan Kentris of HexagonInc in Toronto, Canada. “Our eco-friendly brooches are made from sustainably harvested wood and packaged in 100% post consumer recycled materials.” Go check out their many cheerful designs from birds to crowns to beavers here, and think how nicely this would match your blue and gold Worth A Dam shirt! Thanks Jordan!

Sad and Cheerful Beaver News

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Who's Killing Beavers Now? February 3, 2014

LATE BREAKING:

We just got word from JDH of a beaver dead near the Marina Vista entrance onto Northbound 680. The kind woman who wrote to alert me says it was likely struck by a car. She’s certain it was a beaver. As it’s February and young beavers are ‘dispersing’ traffic deaths are not unheard of for beavers. We know there are other families of beaver in Martinez. A female beaver was found dead at nearby Mountain View sanitation not too long ago, and after the death another beaver came to the exact same spot – possibly looking for its mate. This could be the survivor of that pair. But we can’t be certain its not one of ours. It’s a sad day for beavers. Jon and Jean both went out to have a look. Looks like a yearling with a kit-sized tail. I don’t think it’s one of ours. Sad,though. Drive carefully and keep an eye out for beavers.

Now let’s think about something more hopeful:

This is Paulina Unrue. She is in first grade at Kensington Elementary School. Last year their teacher told the class the story of the Martinez beavers and encouraged them all to go see them before they were to turn in a report on the subject. She was a fiece wide-eyed little wisp of a girl who tiptoed around the footbridge watching our kits with a bouquet of fresh fennel clutched to her chest like a bride. The beavers did not disappoint, and were apparently appreciated!Since you’ve heard pretty much everything I have to say about beavers, I thought you’d want to see some highlights from Paulina’s report today. (Since she was so young and remembered so much, I have to imagine mom had at least something to do with it! Good job Mom!) This was my favorite part:

MY VISIT TO MARTINEZ TO SEE BEAVERS

Last weekend my family drove to Martinez where beavers moved into Alhambra Creek several years ago. We met Heidi, the President and Founder of Worth a Dam foundation, and her husband Jon.

They showed us around the creek and I could see several dams build by beavers, their old lodge and also hear some interesting stories.

There are seven beavers living in the creek now – father, mother, their five kits and yearlings. Old mother beaver died three years ago from infection after she broke her tooth. They were really worried because she left behind three kits but father did a great job raising them. Jon told me that the night the mother beaver died her older son who left a year before came back and they saw him swimming in the creek with a kit brother on his back.

Three years ago heavy rains washed out all beaver dams and lodges. Father beaver left after that and later returned with new young mate. Together they had four baby beavers. I got to see one of them swimming underneath the bridge. Little beaver swam to the shore, grabbed a branch of willow tree and dove into the creek.

Jon showed me some trees that were gnawed by a beaver. City of Martinez protects some trees and to keep beavers away they decided to put a metal net around some of the trees and also cover the bark with the paint that beavers don’t like.

Some of the beavers’ favorite trees in Martinez are willow and cotton wood. Female beavers also like wild fennel, especially when they are nursing. Martinez beavers also like carrots and I threw them at the dam so beavers can have their favorite snack.

Heidi explained to me why beavers were keystone species and presented me with a special necklace to remember it. She also invited me to their annual Beaver Festival that happens in Martinez every August.

Thanks Paulina for sharing your lovely report! Its a bright spot in a grim day and we appreciate it.

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Yesterday’s gift was three stunning hand drawn pins from Niina Koivusalo in Tampere Finland. Her work can be found at NinnyandKook here. They are drawn in India Ink on pressboard. Usually the donations from Etsy are wonderfully evocative crafts from creative people who care about wildlife. Niina’s are truly works of art, and when you see them you will agree with me. Her shop is on vacation at the moment, but I wouldn’t hesitate pick up something of your own when she gets back. I assume Niina will be on Etsy for very little time before she is snatched up at a gallery somewhere. In the meantime, look at these: