Category: Who’s Killing Beavers Now?

Sawdust everywhere…

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Who's Killing Beavers Now? November 1, 2012

Well something like beaver-scat appears to be hitting the proverbial fan. I got a call yesterday from Donna Dubreuille of Ottawa-Carlton wildlife centre in Canada who said she had just issued a press release about the shadowy fate of Lily and her two kits, the beavers living in Paul Lindsay pond in Stittsville, just outside of Ottawa. You will remember that they were slated to be killed, then saved by very heroic and loud protests for a summer, only to find their lodge ripped out by city staff on the national holiday weekend. Staff later assured local advocates that there were no beavers living there, and no beavers using that lodge, and the media was mostly convinced until Anita posted footage of the most adorable (and tiny) beaver kits that I have ever seen, and then photographed them nursing during the day with mom under a bush because they had no shelter.

You might remember that the mayor agreed to form a wildlife task force to find new ways of dealing with animals in the city and Donna and others were invited to be involved. Meanwhile myself and Mike Callahan exchanged countless emails with staff about flow devices and how they could work in storm water ponds. The city even hired flow device founding father Michel Leclare to build some much-proclaimed flow devices in experimental places where it turned out no beavers were actually living.

All of which is to say that the strategy of Ottawa under the leadership of Mayor Watson is a bifurcated path of transparency and deceit, where they ostentatiously appear to be doing the right thing, and the simultaneously continue merrily on their destructive course doing what they wanted all along. Apparently they have changed their weighty motto from Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (loyal, she remains) to the more stream-lined Mirus Illuc! (“Look! Over there!”).

Well, it’s not working too well with the locals. Donna and her wildlife counterparts resigned from the ‘pretend wildlife council’ and released a press release yesterday about the video passed off to Anita as the release of Lily and her kits.

Wildlife group accuses Ottawa of releasing fake beaver video

Not since accusations that the moon landing was faked has a video caused such controversy.

A local wildlife group accused the city Wednesday of duping them with footage said to show the relocation and release of three beavers that became the cause celebre of a Stittsville community this summer.

“We’re saying this video proves nothing, but raises more concerns about what happened to the beavers,” said Donna DuBreuil, President of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre, of footage released by the city to the group in early October. “This is not a video of an adult and a kit. These are not the Paul Lindsay Park beavers.”

So what did Mayor Watson & the City of Ottawa do with Lily theBeaver & Her Babies? November 1, 2012

CFN -Community members and wildlife organizations that opposed the relocation of a family of beavers, Lily and her two kits, from a Stittsville stormwater pond by the city of Ottawa in early September are up in arms.

Although Mayor Jim Watson and Deputy City Manager, Steve Kanellakos, attempted to portray the relocation at the time as a good thing for the beavers, no members of the media or the public were allowed to witness it.

Now, after much pressure, the city finally released a video last week that was supposed to reassure residents that the beavers had actually been released. Instead, it has fuelled concern and cynicism that the beavers may have in fact met a very different end.

The city’s video is purported to show the mother beaver with one of her kits in the water following release, indicating the other kit had dived under water.

OTTAWA BEAVER UPDATE

Is it a lie?

In a press release issued today community members who have championed the protection of a beaver family in the Stittsville (Ottawa, Ontario) region are condemning the government for what they perceive to be a deliberate attempt to hide the truth. The story is now gaining international attention as a popular California advocacy group has joined the ranks against the local government in Ottawa.

This scathing release comes only weeks after multiple conservation, wildlife and environmental groups walked away from the table with city planners when it was made clear – through inaction – that the groups were merely table settings and not part of the discussion.

Below is the release issued, along with links to the videos which purportedly show the beavers finding their new home.

Mind you all of these reports mention the ‘wildlife group from California” and the video they released arguing that beavers couldn’t possibly grown so big in such a short time. Gulp. One thing’s for sure, the city’s beaver smarts are definately not Worth A Dam.

I’m thinking it hath made a few people mad. I guess it’s safe to say I’m not going to receive an invitation from the mayor to visit Ottawa any time soon.

Give a little to get a lot

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Who's Killing Beavers Now? October 28, 2012

The county of Columbus North Carolina has settled on the specs for their beaver killin’ extravaganza. Apparently folks will get 30 dollars a tail after paying a 2 dollar tag fee (each corpse) and registering as a trapper. That means if Pa takes out a colony of 6 he will spend a dozen dollars and make himself a handy $180.

Beaver bounty rules finalized

Beaver trappers will have another incentive to take to the water in Columbus County starting Nov. 12 – bounty money. The county beaver committee finalized the details on the bounty plan Monday night, according to Dan Jones, a member of the board. The county will pay $30 per tail. To qualify for the program, a trapper must be registered with the county and purchase a $2 tag for each beaver. Members of the beaver committee and their families are not eligible to participate.

Well isn’t that nice. I mean with an unemployment rate of 12.8 percent who wouldn’t wanna kill a few beavers for extra credit? Of course the beavers have to be from Columbus county, with written permission from the landowners where they were killed, but it’s not like they’re gonna come with registration papers. Who would know if you pop over to Robeson or Brunswick to scoop a few extra? At $30 a head you can hardly afford not to!

Let’s see.. Wikipedia is kind enough to tell me that the county has about 17 square miles of water, and we can assume there’s probably not more than one colony per two miles or so, so that shouldn’t cost the county more than a cool 3000. Since they’re already in drought conditions you gotta wonder what they’ll be complaining about next. Awful woodduck hunting? Poor trout fishing? No matter that they could have been a peck of flow devices for that money and had all the trickle down benefits of those beavers with none of the drawbacks. Never mind. Preaching to the deaf.

Here’s my favorite part of the article:

Tags may be purchased through the Soil and Water conservation Office

Because nothing says ‘conservation of soil and water’ as clearly as killing beavers.

The folks who should know better…

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Who's Killing Beavers Now? October 27, 2012

With some suspicion. I will weep for thee,

For this revolt of thine methinks is like

Another fall of man.

Henry V Act II: scene ii

Wildlife agents hunt beavers to stop floods in Federal Way

State wildlife agents are hunting beavers in Federal Way over concerns of flooding on South 373rd Street. The rising water levels in the Hylebos Creek, as caused by beaver dams, pose a threat to the road’s infrastructure and the safety of drivers.

Three beavers were trapped and euthanized this week at the Federal Way site. The department is looking for one more beaver, said Matt Cleland, district supervisor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wildlife Services.

Oh my goodness. Another city bringing in the feds to trap beavers. USDA to the rescue! Where is this anyway, Arkansas? Montana? Oh, no. Its in WASHINGTON STATE. That’s right, the place where everyone knows better and they just passed a unanimous beaver relocation bill this year. The place where the lands council whose highly successful beaver program has been on NPR, the Atlantic and the Wall Street Journal is just 300 miles away.

In 2007, the Spring Valley Restoration Project was intended to control flooding on South 373rd Street and expand the spawning grounds for salmon. WSDOT built a bridge and rerouted the creek through a culvert. Friends of the Hylebos, a local conservation group, helped plant trees and vegetation at the site.

However, beavers soon moved in and built large dams. The dams have raised the water level to just inches below the bridge while flooding the surrounding properties.

Let me get this straight. You just restored the area to encourage salmon. And beavers moved in which you should know will encourage salmon more right? But now there’s too much nature in this natural area so your bringing in APHIS to kill some of it? Makes sense to me.

“We weren’t going to remove them until the water got that close to the bridge,” said Carl Ward, a biologist for WSDOT. “One of the dams is 6 feet tall and has flooded 10 acres. … They built a second dam, which made it a lot worse.”

Ward acknowledged that more beavers will eventually build dams in that area.

Ya think?

Comment from Leonard Houston of the BAC in Oregon:

In the article you will see that WDOT put in a bridge and rerouted the creek through a culvert, if that is not a reporter error then that is the most backward approach to road infrastructure and fish passage I ever heard of, here as most places we take out culverts and put in bridges to prevent blockage points by beavers and debris and to allow unobstructed passage to fish.

Hard to believe Michael Pollock lives just miles away and no one thought of working with NOAA or USFWS . This whole project stinks of poor planning with no forethought to long term management issues involved in every stream restoration project especially those conducted in beaver habitat.

Honestly, I don’t know whether to be mortified or amused by this tom-foolery. I love how much smarter Washington is than California, it encourages me all the time with what is possible. I love their successful programs and their smart public works. But to be truthful its a little daunting to see them so consistently be so much better than us. It’s like the big brother whose reputation you know you can never possibly live up to.

Well, looks like your brother has just totaled the family car and his halo will be a little bent for a while.

For our friends in Stittsville

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Who's Killing Beavers Now? October 21, 2012

“There were no beavers in that lodge“

There were beavers filmed the next night

“No beavers were harmed when we destroyed the lodge”

The male was not seen again

“We are sure there were no kits in that lodge”

There were two very small kits, now with no protection.

“Beavers will destroy the the trees”

Volunteers wrapped the trees.

“Flow devices can’t work in storm water ponds”

Beaver Solutions sent photos of flow devices in storm water ponds

“These beavers must be relocated…there’s no alternative, no not to that sanctuary you want, and not by Sherri Tippie…we picked someone better…much better…don’t worry about it being winter…everything will be alright…just close your eyes…don’t peek…are you peeking?….now…magic…..beavers are fine! See?”

Mind you, I don’t trot out Hamlet for just anyone. This is really, really upsetting. If you want to read something nice to get rid of that gripping pain in your chest, try this. It’s the update of our friends at the Sierra Wildlife Coalition, and it will take the sting away. For those of you following along at home, remember, they started out with some lying governmental beaver-killers and a failed effort to protect a colony, producing a response that eventually grew into this!

Which begs the question for Mayor Watson, do you really want to make Ottawa mad?

Beaver Weapons

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Who's Killing Beavers Now? October 18, 2012

Beaver trapping class could pay off for students

The N.C. Trappers Association, working with the Soil and Water Conservation Service and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, will sponsor a free trapping class Saturday at the Agriculture Extension office in Whiteville. Lunch will be provided, but pre-registration is required.

Dan Jones of Fair Bluff, a member of the NCTA board of directors and one of the instructors, said the interest in the class has been amazing.

“We have a lot more folks interested than we thought,” he said, “and people were asking about catching coyotes, so we decided to expand the class.”

I’m a patient woman. You might not think it, but I am. I read crazy stupid fabricated things about beavers every day and I still try not to swear and instead to express things creatively using a poem or a graphic or a story if I can. I’ve been known to hear out horrifically and willfully inaccurate remarks, and bite my tongue or dig my fingernails into my clenched fist while I struggle to find the right way to eventually answer. It’s not like I expect miraculous changes of heart from places like Columbus North Carolina. But I do irrationally hope for an ounce of sense. I desperately try not to fill every column with the letters WTF printed over and over again, but HONESTLY. A beaver trapping class for children! And now you’re going to add coyotes too! Aren’t there more things you can kill?

How about puppies?

The class was originally designed to help local trappers learn how to take advantage of the county’s new beaver bounty program. Responding to complaints about continued beaver problems in the county, the Columbus County Board of Commissioners formed a beaver committee last year. The committee proposed either increasing the county’s share in the Beaver Management Assistance Program (BMAP), which is run through the local USDA APHIS office, or establishing a bounty system. The commissioners approved both Monday. (See related story in The News Reporter).

APHIS! Perfect! So our federal tax dollars are paying to teach Jimmy how to trap beavers and coyotes! Registration includes lunch! And it’s filling up fast! How on earth could this story possibly get ANY better?

The name of the town is Whiteville.

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Need some good beaver news to rinse with? How about this story in Alberta

Wild St. Albert — busy, busy beavers

Wooly lumberjacks build homes for many

BEAVERING AWAY — A beaver nibbles on some aspen leaves in the John E. Poole wetland near Big Lake. St. Albert is home to many beavers, which can spell trouble for local trees. Ludo Bogaert

Suddenly, a shot rang out. CRACK! After a few confused moments, during which I tried to find the unseen hunter and give him a piece of my mind, it happened again. CRACK!

Eventually, I realized the truth; this was no lone gunman, but a busy beaver, smacking its tail against the water as it dived into the Sturgeon.

Beavers are everywhere in the Sturgeon, and are one of the most influential engineers on its waters. Beavers are actually a big benefit to the Sturgeon, Veenstra says, as they keep its water levels high.

Alberta was a much drier place in the absence of the beaver, Foote says. Their dams enhance groundwater recharge and create homes for moose, muskrats and bufflehead ducks. “They are an ecosystem engineer.”

Mind you, this is a actually a “dammed” with faint praise article because I had to cut and paste from both ends to put together a positive paragraph. We’re grading on a curve and it’s better than Whiteville. For some inexplicable reason they went through the trouble to get beaver commentary from the University of Alberta but NOT from Dr. Glynnis Hood, professor at the University and author of the Beaver Manifesto and charming, attractive, brilliant, carefree dropper of much, much better beaver copy than this:

“Contrary to popular belief, Foote notes, the tail is not used as a weapon and is not used to carry mud. “It’s also not very edible.”

Weapon?