Because the beaver isn't just an animal; it's an ecosystem!

Category: Beavers or Social Ambasadors


And then there were three. How’s this for keeping the story in the public eye?

How Beavers Help Save Water

Capture

In the drought-ridden West, some people are partnering with beavers to restore watersheds, where, before trappers arrived, the large rodents once numbered in the millions. Film-maker Sarah Koenigsberg captures various efforts to reintroduce beavers to their former habitat in her documentary The Beaver Believers and tells host Steve Curwood why beavers are essential for a healthy ecosystem.

Cmore filming - Copyongratulations to Sarah Koenisberg who’s Beaver Believer film made it all the way to living on earth of NPR this week. Sarah and her crew were the documentary that filmed at the beaver festival 2 years ago, you might remember them hanging around at the time. Her film is sure to be thirstily received in the west, and I’m thrilled the Martinez Beavers were a part of it.

The Beaver Believers Kickstarter Trailer from Tensegrity Productions on Vimeo.

It’s pretty exciting when there are so many good news stories to keep up with it’s hard to update the website fast enough! This weekend I was hard at work for beavers Friday with the grant application for Kiwanis, Saturday with the grant application for the city and yesterday putting together a presentation for Derek Gow of Devon so he can build momentum for a beaver festival in England.  I tried to do it in under 15 minutes so I had to leave tons out, but it’s a fun way to share with folks who’ve never seen my talk in person. And I saw almost nothing snarky about the city, so that’s refreshing. Feel free to pass it on to friends or enemies who need to hear the story.


9008_638290099610159_4507292353550062419_nThe otter folk are having a welcome back party and silent auction. I know because one of their offerings will be a beaver safari proved by yours truly. They posted this announcement the other day, which was prepared for Barry Deutsch and Lori Wynn formerly of  the top notch SF design firm Deutsch Design Works. I loved the brilliant idea of using the silhouettes as negative space, but sadly no SF graphics firm was around to help.. So I sat down with my inadequate skills and tools and tried to see what I could accomplish.

Since I don’t have photo shop I have to get buy with three inadequate programs, with which I can only make one thing transparent, not both the figure and the ground. The finished product has more white than I wish, but it came out alright. Now I am totally addicted to this and can’t seem to stop myself. As you can see the possibilities are endless.

 bwetlandsBsalmonBstreams The inspiration for all this is the Otter event which promises to be great fun, attracting the very best sorts of people. You should really go. And when you do stop by and say thank you again!


Stanley Park’s Lost Lagoon beaver ‘friend’ urged to stop

Someone has been removing the wire mesh that protects trees in Vancouver’s Stanley Park from beavers, and the Stanley Park Ecology Society would like them to stop.

 The society uses the mesh to protect large trees near Lost Lagoon, so they won’t be gnawed down by the busy pair of beavers that live there.

 “The idea is there’s no way that a beaver, as industrious as they are, would be able to take that [wire mesh] down,” said Brian Titaro, conservation technician with the Stanley Park Ecology Society.

The Stanley Park Ecology Society’s Brian Titaro shows the wire mesh used to protect larger trees at Lost Lagoon from beaver teeth. (Chris Corday/CBC)

 But some human appears to be trying to help out the beavers, said Titaro. The ecology society is regularly finding the wire tree-protectors — which are installed using pliers — removed and dumped in the water, where other wildlife can get stuck in the mesh.

Ahhh, this story sounds very familiar! How many times has Jon hauled down to painstakingly wrap a tree only to have the wire removed and tossed down stream by some well meaning passers-by? There needs to be a waterproof sign on all these fences that say “This wire is protecting our beavers’ lives! We love them and you should too!” Because I don’t care where you live, 10 chewed trees in any park means 5 dead beavers down the road.  It’s inevitable.

Onto BIGGER stories. No really, I mean it this time. AP isn’t exaggerating at all.

7ea763c3fae97b76e97ea5ea9626c970da9833347a05ae691fc48360412d6fc2Sweden’s Luleå carves spot for giant beaver

The icy artwork is both a sculpture designed to be admired by visitors and an attraction for children – each animal includes a giant slide each year so that children can play on it.

Asked why he felt his work was so popular, Eglund told The Local on Tuesday that it was because it was “both art and a playground”.

 The local tourist office was more enthusiastic about the artwork.

 “It’s such a nice tradition,” said Karin Åberg, communications manager for Visit Luleå.

 “The sculpture is something that helps people who are living in Luleå to appreciate winter time and every year it is attracting more and more visitors.”

My goodness! How much would you love THAT at the beaver festival! Sweden is awesome. That picture alone makes me weak in the knees. And the idea that it has a slide for children to play on is stunning! I’m sending this to Bob Rust and FRo right now. Maybe I can contaminate them with ideas,

Onto our own not-so-modest festival ideas. How much do you want one of these? I learned this technique from a youtube video. Did I mention the internet is amazing?

new tail
Keystone Species tail project: Wildlife Pins by Mark Poulin.


beaver guestsIf you missed our exciting CT debut you can check out the podcast  and learn about the guests here. The beginning of the program is a little excessively whimsical, but it’s a pretty awesome listen overall. I was so happy to learn Sherri was going to be on at the end, and thrilled when the host rightfully called her “the Bruce Springsteen of Beaver Trapping”. I’m not unhappy with my performance. I did an okay job of saying what I wanted to say regardless of whatever silly question was asked. (A trick politicians innately seem to have, but is hard for us compliant folks to learn.) It was very hard to hear on the phone, and I was straining ever muscle to make sure I followed what they were saying, even with the dog locked outside and the volume up.

I weirdly never feel stressed during the actual event, but I was a basket case the rest of the day, so I guess it does take something out of you. The amazingly well-spoken caller from East Haddam, CT, was echoed by almost the exact same comment on this website from Pennsylvania. Did you see? Telling people on the East coast that we can live with beaver has amazing results. I loved the genuine interest and education of the producer and the host, who contacted me after to say thanks and make sure they hadn’t posted nutria pictures.  And Sherri called me excited after the interview and wanted to kvetch about all the things we didn’t get to say. Not missing any opportunities, I then boldly wrote and thanked both authors, asking for copies of their books for the silent auction. It was quite the morning.

CaptureNo resting on our laurels, time marches on, and yesterday I noticed this photo leading an article about mink farming in Nova Scotia.  The article quotes our friends at Furbearer Defenders and criticizes mink farms for being unsanitary. But its righteous message is compromised by its inherent plagierism. Maybe the photo seems  familiar to you? Or maybe you didn’t recognize it without CREDIT to our own Cheryl Reynolds? I wrote the editor and the reporter so we’ll see if it gets credited soon.

In the meantime there’s this charming appreciation of beavers from an outdoor column in Illinois.

CaptureSince the early 1960s I have been amazed with beavers.

 Before that we had no giant rodents in our state so this was an all new animal. As they became more numerous, many farmers loved to see them and became very protective of any that built dams on their waterways. In fact many farms that contained beaver colonies became a sightseeing event for many folks.

Is that true that Illinois didn’t reintroduce beaver until the 60’s? That would be very surprising. But reading through his column I see that he is largely unburdened by facts or research of any kind. He emphatically states that beavers were easy to wipe out because they only have two kits every year. And that they fell trees and eat the entire thing, all the way to the top.

Well, okay then. Maybe not the 60’s.

Ice conditions make trapping very dangerous and hard work. After catching a large beaver, there is a lot of work to get them ready for market. The animal must be skinned, fleshed (all the fat removed) and placed on a round stretcher to dry. This results in several hours of hard work. The hourly rate doesn’t attract many trappers.

When I was at the beaver festival in Utah I had an interesting conversation with Mary about the Utah trapping association. She had invited them to the event and they brought furs for the children to touch. Mary was especially impressed by one trapper who explained that ‘beavers are really good for the creek! They make all this wildlife!’ and she admonished her students to spend more time talking to them. Because you can’t only talk to people who agree with you. And they could learn things.

Which is true. I agree 100% with the concept. Someone should have many conversations with trappers, wardens and invite their local technicians from APHIS for a beer.

Someone else.


Well, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of other opportunities, but this is an important one. Before we get down to work and roll up our sleeves, let’s have dessert first.

Searching for beavers on the Quabbin Reservoir’s restricted Prescott Peninsula

About 20 DCR biologists and volunteers stomped to shake off the cold Sunday morning, standing in a ring outside a small shack on the Prescott Peninsula as Clark set the plan for the annual beaver survey. Teams would split off, tramp through the woods to follow their respective streams, take down data on any active beaver lodges, then return to the shack for lunch.

Beavers were non-existent in Massachusetts for more than a century due to hunting and trapping, plus elimination of habitat. After the valley was flooded in the late 1930s, the beavers returned.

Clark said that after the beavers came to the reservoir, the population followed a pattern typical of reintroduction — explosive growth, followed by a crash as the habitat is oversaturated, then a steady leveling off.

No way, are you suggesting that the population actually regulated itself? Without trapping? Even when the Massachusetts voters imposed new restrictions on trapping in 96 and the population was supposed to explode? This is pretty outlandish stuff. Just how long have you been collecting this spurious data?

The first Prescott survey was held in 1952. The survey has been annual since the early 1970s, and some of Sunday’s searchers have returned every year for 30-40 years.

Holy Guacamole Batman. You mean they have 62 years of data on beaver population? And the effect of conibear restriction is somewhere in the middle? You know a statistician worth his pocket calculator could easily whip those numbers into a regression analysis that disproves the accepted lie about beaver population exploding after the new rules were applied? You do know that, right?

Well, maybe the reporter got that wrong. He seemed really distracted by the meat balls. He does say that people aren’t normally allowed in the area because it’s in the watershed. Ahem. (News flash:Every place on this planet is part of a watershed. Just so you know.)

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Everyone ready? It’s November 18th so that means you still have 12 days left to tell Wildlife Services that their rodent management plan is ridiculous, oblivious  of the environment or science, and barbaric in the extreme. But those are just my words. You’ll find your own. Here’s Mike Settel from Idaho talking about what’s needed.

In Wildlife Service’s newest justification for ridding us of beaver you can find that bit of humor and others in a recent request for public comment on Wildlife Service’s “Aquatic Rodent” EA for North Carolina.

Don’t attempt to e-mail your comments because, according to their deputy director for environmental compliance Alton Dunaway, receiving comments only by FAX and snail mail will “modernize” their public involvement process. I recommend Faxing comments to (919) 782-4159…However, an e-mail you may find useful is for that of the author, Barbara Schellinger. 

Even though it is a North Carolina document, the rationale proposed sets a precedent for mis-information and obfuscation regarding wildlife management. Please FAX your comments and request that WS includes non-lethal mitigation as beaver solutions, provide current data showing beaver harm salmonids, and prove that beaver dams increase sediment pollution (there are other spurious claims that are suspect or dated, but you should read those for yourselves). Regards, Mike

Thanks Mike for putting us on the right track. Remember, what they get away with in North Carolina will become precedent everywhere. I will share just a little bit of their ignorance, but you should really go read the report for yourself here:

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources guidelines for management of trout stream habitat stated that beaver dams are a major source of damage to trout streams (White and Brynildson 1967, Churchill 1980). Studies that are more recent have documented improvements to trout habitat upon removal of beaver dams. Avery (1992) found that wild brook trout populations improved significantly following the removal of beaver dams from tributaries of some streams. Species abundance, species distribution, and total biomass of non-salmonids also increased following the removal of beaver dams (Avery 1992).

Beaver dams may adversely affect stream ecosystems by increasing sedimentation in streams; thereby, affecting wildlife that depend on clear water such as certain species of fish and mussels. Stagnant water impounded by beaver dams can increase the temperature of water impounded upstream of the dam, which can negatively affect aquatic organisms. Beaver dams can also act as barriers that inhibit movement of aquatic organisms and prevent the migration of fish to spawning areas.

Wow. Give it up for the USDA and author Barbara Schelllinger who was willing to dig back through 47 years of research to find the  completely bogus paper she just knew to be true! This woman is no slacker when it comes to bravely lying about beavers. Good lord, the letter almost writes itself. Although I personally feel that Issue 7 deserves the lion’s share of our attention.

Therefore, the breaching or removal of a beaver dam could result in the degrading or removal of a wetland, if wetland characteristics exist at a location where a beaver dam occurs. The preexisting habitat (prior to the building of the dam) and the altered habitat (areas flooded by impounded water) have different ecological values to the fish and wildlife native to the area. Some species may benefit by the addition of a beaver dam that creates a wetland, while the presence of some species of wildlife may decline. For example, darters listed as federally endangered require fast moving waters over gravel or cobble beds, which beaver dams can eliminate; thus, reducing the availability of habitat. In areas where bottomland forests were flooded by beaver dams, a change in species composition could occur over time as trees die. Flooding often kills hardwood trees, especially when flooding persists for extended periods, as soils become saturated. Conversely, beaver dams could be beneficial to some wildlife, such as river otter, neotropical migratory birds, and waterfowl that require aquatic habitats.

beaver in barDingDingDing! I found the opening! (Well, one of many actually.)  See in their effort to say “it’s a wash, really” beaver dams HELP some species sure, but they HARM others. So getting rid of them is a zero sum game with totally justifiable consequences. Just take the darter for instance!

Darter!

Maybe we’re the only ones that remember there’s this famous case from Alabama in 2008 where the city of Birmingham was sued by The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (among others) for upwards of a million dollars over removing this beaver dam that was protecting  thousands of the rare endangered watercress darters. In the end the case cost the city some 4,000,000 dollars and dragged  out in court over 4 years. Am I ringing any bells, does this sound vaguely familiar?

The city “knew or should have known that removing a beaver dam and surrounding natural structures would potentially disrupt the water level of the Basin and its inhabitants,” the agency claims.

CaptureDam [sic],  this is gonna be fun. If you want to share your letters, send them to me and I’ll make sure they’re visible. I’m sure WS is hoping they can make it all the way to November 30th without hearing from you. Let’s disappoint them, shall we?

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