City Reports – Page 100

First a trick, then a treat…

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Who's Killing Beavers Now? September 10, 2011

This is a grisly look at the highway service in Johnsburg Illinois

JOHNSBURG — The town is weighing whether to crack down on private property owners who own regularly flooded areas that then damage public roads and bridges.Johnsburg Highway Superintendent Dan Hitchcock estimates Tropical Storm Irene caused $400,000 in damage to local infrastructure. Local highway crews had just completed some $370,000 worth of repairs from earlier spring and summer floods.

There really isn’t much worth mentioning in this article about the unique-and-never-before-faced-trauma-of-beaver-dams-flooding roads besides this pearl:

Hitchcock also fights an ongoing war against beavers and their dams. The local highway superintendent keeps a rifle handy and shoots problematic beavers.

That’s right. Highwaymen bring special rifles to shoot beavers. Protecting us all from rodents and the elements. Call me crazy but doesn’t any officer in this country already have a tool at his disposal for shooting beavers? Why does he need a special shotgun for that particular job? Oh maybe the other bullets are counted or something. Rifle shots are spare-time bullets?All this time I’ve been worrying about USDA, Fish & Game, Trappers, Public Works, Transportation Districts, City Councils, County supervisors and the like. It never occurred to me to worry about the Highway Patrol. I bet depending on the state they don’t even need to report it or get a permit. Just point and click and voila, a new set of orphans for the rehabbers.

Wow.

Given the circumstances, this was really unavoidable (unless your screen is alot bigger than mine you will need to click on the image to expand it…but do, this was a sweet project).

1906 ------------------------------------------------------------ 2011

Now enough dirty beaver tricks, how about that treat?

The 1936 half dollar

Gertrude Lathrop, designer of the 1936 Albany, N.Y., half dollar, kept a live beaver in her studio to serve as the model for the animal on the coin. The beaver is shown chewing on a maple branch. The beaver was instrumental in the founding and development of the city of Albany; the fur trade flourished there in the 1650s and 1660s. The town was once known as Beverwyck. To this day, the beaver is remembered.

Muralized

heidi08 Beavers, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Friends of Martinez Beavers September 9, 2011

Did you see a beaver kit was added to the Main street mural? I eagerly wrote delightful artist Mario Alfaro when I heard one was coming and suggested he look at the website for inspiration, or ask us if he needed more photos to work from

It’s nice to know he found what he needed!

beaver on mural.jpg — June 22, 2008 Cheryl Reynolds

Ohh, and here’s a great story to start your weekend early. This trailer by Don Bernier and Anna Fitch is just waiting for the right buyer. Interested?

TRAILER: Return of the Beaver from Don Bernier on Vimeo.

Dam Heroic!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions September 2, 2011

Meet Glenn S. Stillman. He’s 57, a farmer and a former selectman (which in massachusetts is like a member of city council). His farm was just voted to grow the best tomatoes in the region and his wife is the local conservation chair. Last week he was arrested for using his backhoe to repair the damage the city’s backhoe did to a beaver dam. Apparently the highway workers were afraid that the pond would flood the road. The pond is on Mr. Stillman’s property. The Dam is on Mr. Stillman’s property.

The road is not.

NEW BRAINTREE — A former selectman trying to save a beaver pond is facing assault charges.

Glenn S. Stillman, 57, was arrested on charges of assault and disorderly conduct after he allegedly had an angry confrontation with a highway worker who was removing part of a beaver dam in order to clear water off Barre Cutoff Road during the Sunday storm.

Mr. Stillman, of 1205 Barre Cutoff Road, allegedly shouted at the worker, then used a tractor to undo the work that the man had done to try to stop flooding on the road. Mr. Stillman, a well-known local farmer, was released on $250 bail at his arraignment yesterday in Western Worcester District Court in East Brookfield.

I love this story more than any I’ve read all year. I well remember how many citizens of Martinez (respectable and not-so-respectable) glowered (or worse) at city staff when they were taking out the dam or threatening to. I remember the man who sat on the dam and the police who dragged him off. Mr. Stillman is accused of threatening the highway hero inside the backhoe, but honestly I can only wonder. Once at a city council meeting our head of public works refused to stay in the room because he said my husband scowled at him from three rows away. (Having survived a quarter of a century with intermittent exposure to such scowls I can only imagine that road workers may be somewhat differently-skinned.)

But the law is the law. Mr. Stillman was arrested and released on bail and must tell his story to the judge next week. In the mean time I immediately wrote Mr. Stillman with praise for his courage and then wrote Beaver Solutions Mike Callahan to tell him to make friends as quickly as possible. He assured me he was already scheduled to meet with the Stillman’s next week and do some site assessments. I invited the former selectman to guest blog should he wish to tell his side of the story, but after his court date he may be tied up with book signings and movie deals.

Beaver support this week from Farmers AND Ranchers! What is the world coming to?

This morning I arrived WAY TOO EARLY to see our beavers and was greeted with a black feathered shadow on the dam. (Ohh so that’s why they’re called night herons!) Jon saw two yesterday morning, one on each dam. When the sun came up the night heron slipped away and was replaced by the usual green heron. I was able to film this.

How’s this for Product Placement?

heidi08 Beaver Rehabilitation, Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Friends of Martinez Beavers September 1, 2011

sherri worth a dam — Sherri Tippie & friend model our 2010 shirt

Lookee what I got yesterday when I helped Sherri start up a facebook page! (Go friend her so she gets practice.) She wants a beautiful website like ours and is looking for some hardy souls to help her. I told her I would put out the APB, but in the meantime she could make things work with FB. This article was just published about her involvement with Estes Valley and apparently another big one is on the way.

Stan Gengler, executive director of the Estes Valley Recreation and Parks District (EVRPD), told the gathered citizens at the town board room on Friday that he wanted to hear everyone’s thoughts and concerns and that the meeting provided a great opportunity to talk about the assets of the trails and the beaver ponds. He assured worried citizens that the EVRPD doesn’t want to get rid of the beaver dam and doesn’t want the beavers to move. They are an environmental asset, he said, to applause.

“I hope we (can) come together and find the best alternative for constructing a trail, as well as for preserving the beaver habitat,” he said. “We’re not bulldozing the beaver ponds.”

Now this sounds like a community that appreciates beavers! Everyone’s suggestions were heard at the meeting, including the one to make the trail into a catwalk and the one to make the whole path cantalever! Sherri of course offered real alternatives, and I’m sure they’ll get it all figured out soon.

Tippie said that the problem with removing the dam is that engineers would have to go deep — it’s not just a matter of “taking out the sticks at the top.” That would lead to draining the pond, which is not as easy for the beavers to build back. Beavers, themselves, act as flood-control engineers, she added. They shouldn’t be relocated and have had enough harassment already, she said.

“If people don’t like beavers, they don’t know anything about them,” she said. “They are a keystone species, providing habitat for wildlife and stimulating growth of trees. This is an incredible opportunity. It can be a win/win, with a plan to make as minimal impact on the dam as possible….People are coming here to enjoy the wildlife. We have to plan around them….You have to have a soft touch, anytime you do anything with the earth. Bulldozers scare the snot out of me.”

Just a final note, when I was chatting with the filmaker yesterday about who she had talked to and who should be next, I asked about Sherri. She laughed, “Are you kidding? She was amazing, girlfriend!”.(Sherri often expresses her affection for friends by calling them “girlfriend”). I guess this impersonation was proof that they had chatted!

(I wonder how she’ll imitate me?)

You can read the whole delightful article article here.

Update from Skip: Now we’re heard from all out beaver friends post-Irene

We’re fine. Thanks. On high ground. The state got devastated though.

All of our b-dams held, absorbing enormous amounts of water, and taking the edge off below. All flow devices are fine, and many acted as debris catches, protecting culverts from clogging, and hence the roads.

Cheers, Skip

4 Minutes for beavers…

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Friends of Martinez Beavers August 11, 2011

The big news this week is that beaver friend Brock Dolman of the OAEC has been included in a panel presenting at the capitol to discuss what is becoming of our coho, and about half way through the fantastic line-up will be a discussion of BEAVERS!!!!!

If you want to read the entire agenda – look here. I have a very narrow attention span so this is the part that interests me:

I can’t think of anyone better suited to the job of delivering the beaver gospel in 4 minutes than Brock. As my grandma would say “He could sell the pope a double bed”. Watch out Sacramento! Here come beavers!

And on a more local note, Cheryl snapped this lovely photo, (which I think is Dad), last night at the dam. She was releasing a rescued black rail at Granger’s Wharf. More news: rumor is Joe Cannon & Amanda Parish will be featured next week on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, and they happen to be visiting Martinez next week to meet the Worth A Dam family and our famous beavers. I think we’ll get it autographed! I’ll be sure to keep you posted.