Category: Beavers or Social Ambasadors

Chasing our own Tale

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? January 7, 2016

I was doing some more research on the topic of urban beavers, and was really surprised to come across this bold sentence on a page called “What can beavers do for you?”:

TWC is collaborating with the guidebook authors to add a chapter focusing on urban beaver in the next version of the book to be released next summer.

Of course, all kinds of bells immediately sounded in my brain. Hurray! More people talking about urban beavers! And then: Exactly who ELSE was doing this topic and were they trying to release their chapter before we got around to ours and steal our thunder? Had I tipped our hand by writing about it here and been hoisted on my own petard? Then I put my speculations away and actually read a little more closely.

TWC stands for “The Wetlands Conservancy” and if that sounds vaguely familiar it should. Hmm, who’s the Urban Land Steward for the organization? Kaegan Scully-Englemeyer who just happens to be one of the co-authors of the chapter. Our chapter. That chapter I’m working on. Duh.

OHHHH, okay then.

Guess what I found next? A very lovely column from an old friend.Well not that old, but Simon Jackson of Ghostbear photography was kind enough to donate some of his remarkable images to the auction at the festival in 2014. And pleased when we noticed that his awesome photo was of a nursing female, which he hadn’t seen before. He was a great sp0rt so that makes him pretty friendly.

An Ode to Urban Beaver

The odd thing about this article featured in the Yellowstone Daily is that it allows me to copy the photos but not the text. Which is the opposite of what you’d expect for photos of this caliber. Of course I found a way to do it anyway, but still, it’s odd. It’s hard to see how Urban it is because it just looks beautifully snowy. But I trust Simon, don’t you? Here the beaver is surrounded on either side by photographers.

The amusing thing was that this cooperative beaver disliked Simon’s fiance for reasons known only by the beaver. And would get upset every time she tried to watch him. This bit of beaver quirkiness made me smile.

It’s a lovely article and a fine study of urban beavers. Go check out the whole thing here, and let’s keep our eyes peeled for when our own UB’s return, which I’m feeling right now that they will!

A Fountain of Good News

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Creative Solutions, Educational, History, Who's saving beavers now? January 6, 2016

Do you remember when I first referred to Napatopia? I shared a little fairytale about this celebrated land where beavers were honored guests. It was one of my more fanciful and favored posts, and everyone (including me) thought I was exaggerating I’m sure.

Not anymore. Look what Robin found on the fountain when she strolled in the other direction for a change.

*Beaver on fountain mural – photo by Robin Ellison*

It appears on a glorious huge fountain fashioned out of a 20th century grain silo for the Napa River Inn. Designed by artist and Napa resident Alan Shepp, famous for his large scale public art and multimedia sculpture, this was his first mosaic. The shapes are glass rather than tile – making for stunning lighting at night.The whole thing tells the glorious and sometimes dark history of Napa and was finalized in December 2005, two years before beavers came to Martinez. In addition to donating 2 years of his life to this project, Mr. Shepp is also an avid flyfisher who made sure to add the wildlife he wanted to see back in the river.

Something tells me he’s going to be particularly happy about the Tulocay Beavers.

City’s past — both good and bad — explored in downtown mural

Finally, downtown Napa has a significant piece of public art.

It’s not a statue or another clock tower, but a riotous mosaic mural that captures the history of the Napa Valley in brilliantly colored vignettes, with an equal tribute to the Napa River’s flora and fauna.

The mural is part of a tall fountain built around an early 20th century grain silo. At night, the cascading water amplifies thousands of points of reflected light, creating a dazzling panorama worth braving the winter cold to see.

Two years in the making, the large mosaic mural was unveiled three weeks ago at Napa Mill on Main Street, serving as the centerpiece to Riverbend Plaza behind the Napa River Inn.

Within a few years, the plaza will be a key stop on the Napa River trail from Trancas Street south to Kennedy Park. With the new art installation, hikers and cyclists will have more to look at than the tulles.

My my my. I’m enormously impressed with this artistic vision and execution. And the free reign the artist was given to dive into the darkness even if others would rather see it forgotten. Another stark contrast to Martinez I guess, where one particular artist was even forbidden from adding a beaver.

Now who will be the first to share a selfie in a Worth A Dam shirt posing in front of that fountain?

Kauitamishkuma: Married to the beaver

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver Chewing, Beavers, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Who's saving beavers now? December 24, 2015

Just in time for Christmas! I received several beaver gifts yesterday that deserve sharing. The first was a headline from Romania that ran Cheryl’s own photo. Who says Martinez is a small town? Even better the article is about an airport project that might end of being postponed because of protected beavers. Hohoho!

The building of the Ghimbav airport near Brasov, in central Romania, could be blocked again after the local environment authorities have discovered that a community of beavers lives in a perimeter near the future airport. It should be declared a protected area, according to the Brasov Environment Protection Agency. However, not all authorities agree.

Just for kicks, how far is it from Martinez to Romania? I’m curious. 6501 miles, a 15 hour flight takes you to the capital city of Bucharest. Hmm. I am sure they’ll eventually work around (or over) those beavers, but it’s always nice to see a speed bump along the way.

More cheer came with the delivery of our complimentary copy of the legend in english/innui-aimun by the Labrador Institute. “The man who married a beaver”. It was beautifully illustrated by Cynthia Colosimo and Jolene Ashini. It tells the fanciful tale of a man who considers marrying many other species but finally settles on the beaver (for obvious reasons). They have many children and are very happy until the man’s brother comes and decides to club the family memories (because beavers!) The hero struggles in vain to protect his family, but is eventually widowed and dragged back to live with the humans. In the end the man decides he likes being a beaver better, and has his clueless brother change him back to the aquatic furbearer by drinking some some broth made from a beaver.
You will, of course, understand right away why this is my favorite moment.

defending his beaver family — **Kauitamishkuma: Defending his beaver family.**

You can pick up your copy directly from Li or wait until summer and bid at the silent auction.

More Christmas eve cheer, yesterday I was sent this photo which is making its way on instagram for the season. I like his guilty little eye very much.But obviously thought it needed a few improvements.

Have a cozy day, pour your self some eggnog by the fire and remember to sing our favorite carol!

GO! Tell it on the mountain!

heidi08 Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? December 15, 2015

I thought this article deserved some seasonal celebration and this endeared itself to me. Especially the twirling little girl in red on the left who is certain it’s a ballet she’s been asked to conform. Ahh youth! Now read that upcoming headline and just SEE if this doesn’t make you want to add a little pirouette of your own!

Leaving it to beavers: Communities make room for natural engineers

Once valued as little more than pelts, beavers are back in vogue and rebuilding their reputation as habitat engineers.

It helps their cause that the dams they build as homes also create water quality-boosting wetlands and habitat for other species. In the process, the structures slow the flow of water and filter out sediment that would otherwise be on its way to the Chesapeake Bay.

John Griffin, director of urban wildlife programs at the U.S. Humane Society, said beavers are often embroiled in conflicts when their dams result in flooding or other impacts to the developments around them.

“When people are living in an urban area, they think that animals belong in a natural habitat — not here,” he said. “We’re not thinking about there being a functioning ecosystem here.”

The problems arise when both humans and beavers build their homes around natural water features, and each has impacts on the other. But, Griffin said, there are solutions that allow both to be good neighbors.

Residents can use tree guards to protect their expensive ornamentals from beavers’ teeth. Rather than destroying dams or trapping beavers, they can mitigate the impact of rising water tables with devices like the “beaver deceiver,” which uses pipes to channel water through the dam while giving the beaver the feeling of damming the stream.

Beavers and their dams also bring new habitats to urban and suburban environments, creating the wetlands known to be key to several species’ survival. Griffin said more people are warming to the idea that a beaver can bring benefits to the neighborhood.

Urban parks can be a great place for beavers to redefine the landscape, as they have at Bladensburg Waterfront Park along the District of Columbia’s stretch of the Anacostia River. Jorge Bogantes Montero, stewardship program specialist in natural resources for the Anacostia Watershed Society, said three beaver dams constructed in one stretch of the park demonstrate their ability to attract wildlife and clean the water even in the middle of the city.

Nice.

I always believed the day would come when I would read an entire article that said exactly what I would have said if I had written it, but I in fact didn’t write it and knew nothing at all about it – from the other half of the country. I believed the day would come, but I didn’t know for sure, because you never, ever know how these things will turn out. I worked so hard I had wanted to show you what I’ve written so far for the urban beaver chapter, but if you read this article very closely you will get the idea.

Just remember that before Martinez took the plunge in 2007 the phrase ‘Urban Beavers’ was on no one’s lips. And now its popping up on East Coast articles where beaver phobia is usually rampant. I’m so proud of us. We all deserve this to get us ready for what’s to come.

Blame it on the Rodent Again

heidi08 Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Creative Solutions, Who's saving beavers now? December 6, 2015

Last night, this was the headline on Iowa’s The Gazette:

Discerning readers will be scratching their head and saying, “hey that’s not a beaver”. And they’d be right. It’s actually a ground hog! The paper posted a mislabeled photo by mistake. I wrote the author, Michael Castranova, last night and he immediately wrote back. This morning there is no photo, only a very interesting article about the pilgrims and the fur trade.

The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World, a New History,” explains that, “In the 1620s, a single beaver pelt fetched the same amount of money required to rent nine acres of English farmland for a year.”

So to Weston and the Fellowship, this seemed liked a reasonable business risk: Put up the cash for a number determined folk who were in a rush to flee the country — King James I referred to the Puritans as “pestes,” and the 30-Years War was about to chase them out of the Netherlands where these one-time farmers had taken up clothing-factory jobs — and then, oh boy, just wait for those spiffy beaver pelts to come flowing back.

But as with many a business venture, several calculations came undone. One of the two hired ships sprung more leaks than a rusty colander and had to turn back. And, in their dash to get going, they’d shipped out in September 1620 rather than wait until spring. That meant by the time they reached North America, two months later, planting season — and one assumes, beaver-catching season — was well and truly past.

And, even worse, they landed 200 miles off course. What they found upon arrival was not other colonists but “a whole country of woods and thickets.” Almost half the colonists died that first winter, and the Mayflower was sent back to England in 1621 with no financial benefit for the investors.

Now I knew Canada was settled by folk looking for beaver pelts, but I had NO IDEA America was. The price of a pelt was worth a year’s rent for 9 acres of farmland? Think about that, nearly a decade in a prime live-work space that will provide your home and your income. For one lousy beaver. Who knew? I think when I made this graphic years ago I was just kidding. Apparently it was almost true, or would have been true if they knew how to find them. Considering that in 1620 when they left there hadn’t been beaver in England for nearly 200 years. Nobody knew what they looked like. And nobody’s grandfather could tell them how to catch one.

Onto a great article from Louise Ramsay about the issue of farmers shooting beavers, this time in the ecologist.

Scotland’s wild beaver ‘shoot to kill’ policy is illegal and wrong

The Tay Beavers began when three of the animals escaped from a wildlife park in 2001. Nine years later, having bred and dispersed and been added to by subsequent escapes from enclosures in the same catchment, they came under threat of official elimination in the autumn of 2010.

A campaign to save them led to a SNH study that estimated their numbers at 106-187 (midpoint 147) in 2012 and mapped their spread across hundreds of square miles of the linked catchments of the Earn and Tay, from Rannoch to Comrie, Blair Atholl, Forfar and Bridge of Earn.

The presence of beavers and the wetlands that they build also brings great improvements in biodiversity, and the mitigation of both flooding and drought by re-naturalisation of the waterways. Recent research by Dr Alan Law has shown how beaver dams reduce peak flow by an average of 18 hours. A fact he tweeted in reaction to a farmer who falsely accused the beavers of having made the flooding worse.

In California, beavers are also credited with restoring rivers, wetlands and watersheds, creating conditions for the return of Coho salmon and increases in their populations.

We are calling on SNH and the Scottish Government to immediately place a moratorium on the shooting of beavers as another breeding season approaches, and to afford the animals the legal protection they are due as soon as possible.

But above all the two bodies – and nature lovers everywhere – need to recognise that the return to Scotland of this wonderful keystone species is something to be enjoyed and celebrated.

Nicely done, Louise. There are grand videos on the article too, as well as a link to Maria Finn’s California beaver article, so go see for yourself. Probably more so than any woman on the planet I feel a deep kinship with Louise who’s mild-mannered life was completely transformed by some unsuspecting beavers. She’s done a valiant job trying to keep all the correct people talking to each other, and managing some pretty challenging personalities with a single goal. And now, after finally getting the reprieve from the government they worked so hard to achieve, she is dealing with farmers shooting the beavers she worked to save.