Category: City Reports

Prometheus

heidi08 City Reports, Environmental November 21, 2010

I thought I’d pass along this story of self-interest surpassing nature. It has all the themes with which we have become familiar: scientists who are so eager to publish they miss the point, park rangers who abandon their mundane stewardship role in favor of a little excitement, consequences no one had the foresight to imagine, and a scrambling finger-pointing afterwards.

This is a bristlecone pine.

These trees grow on the Nevada border and are considered the oldest living things on earth. They are gnarled and windswept and battered by the ages. They stood during the Civil war, the War for Independence, the War of The Roses, and the Crusades. They were here for the birth of Christ, the Bronze Age and some of them have been here since the construction of the pyramids in Egypt.

They’ve been here a long time.

So in 1963 a plucky graduate student from North Carolina Chapel Hill University was interested in using the dendrochronological record of these trees to study climate conditions during the period known as the ‘little ice age’. (Just 600 years ago.) And he got a grant for a special tool to bore into trees and take a sample that would allow him to bring it back to the lab and count rings identifying dry years and wet years etc. Donald Rusk Currey, Ph.D. (1934 – June 6, 2004). He came across a particular stand of bristlecones in the snake range on Wheeler peak in particular. He thought these would be an ideal location to use his new tool (an 8 inch borer from Sweden) to begin his sampling. A particular specimen he had his eye on he called affectionately WPN-114

The story gets bifurcated here, but in most tellings he couldn’t get his sample (the core broke, the tree was too deep, etc) so he went to the local rangers and bemoaned his fate, and they said no problem! We’ll help you cut down the tree. (Read that again: No Problem! We’ll help you cut down that tree!!!) So they brought out the chain saw(s), cut and cut and eventually felled the tree. It was hard and took a long time to do. Then they gave him a nice slab to study.

(There is a stunning radio piece on this story by Radio Lab. The tree story starts around 14:30.)

So back at the lab, Currey patiently starts counting the rings: 2000, 3000, 4000, and when he gets to 4600 he starts counting again because he’s starting to realize something truly awful. Not only was this tree from the oldest trees in the world, it’s THE oldest tree. The oldest one that’s ever been counted. Not only the oldest tree. It’s older than any living thing on the entire planet. It’s THE oldest thing on earth. And he killed it.

It took a while for the story to percolate through the community, but eventually people were pretty shocked and furious by this. Fingers started pointing and Currey claimed that the rangers had offered and the rangers said that he had begged and no one knew who authorized it and everyone was upset. Currey spoke about the incident only once on camera, and then slipped quietly into the sunset in another field. It remains the thing in his life he was most (in)famous for.

When I hear a story like this, I like to play a little game, called “Who should have known better?” Certainly Currey, since the tree was obviously thousands of years older than the period he was trying to study in the first place. Definitely the Park Rangers, who should have had drilled into their head that the land they’re entrusted with protecting is more important than any researcher, politician or movie mogul. Of course no one could have known this was the oldest tree, but they knew it was OLD, and they all knew it was one of the reasons the park was there in the first place. From the highest rank who signed the paper to the lowest grunt that filled up the chainsaw, these folks knew better.

So when you wonder how the National parks and State parks can take such foolish action with beavers, just remember the story of Prometheus.

Prometheus (tree), a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) : The cut stump of the tree. Photo by James R Bouldin.

Beaver Jenga

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, City Reports November 18, 2010

Last night a cluster of Worth A Dam core members gathered at the waterside to watch all three kits show off. Two came from downstream and one came from upstream, but they were all happy to see eachother and getting along. When the upstream kit went over the dam he stopped at the close cove by where we sit and nuzzled under some branches downstream of the dam. He chewed experimentally at several and then carefully yanked one free and swam away with it. Beaver Jenga!

What about that exciting park naming issue on the City Council Agenda? Remember the unnamed park where the beaver festival is held every year? Where people come from far and wide to see our beavers and where news cameras from FOX, CBS, and ABC have filmed to document the controversy about keeping the beavers? Apparently until recently it was known by the affectionate name “The Pipe Yard”. Ahh, evocative! Well some whacky beaver supporters thought that maybe the name BEAVER PARK would be a fitting title for the venue. The Parks Department said “Send us formal suggestions” so we did.

Now the Parks Department is proposing a ‘how to name a park‘ resolution and it was on the city council calendar last night. The idea is that you would submit a formal recommendation indicating what notable features about the area were remembered in its naming, instituting a fair process that would allow the commission to decide based on goodness of fit. Here’s part of the application. Obviously the beavers would check every box.

Well last night the motion came before council and newly re-elected Menesini expressed a wish to slow down this runaway “naming train”, pointing out that it didn’t involve the council enough, and that they had always done this just fine by themselves in the past. The whole things on video tape here (1:01 and you can thank me for scanning through it so you don’t have to.) I believe Mike also said that the naming issue was fraught with “potholes”, (which, this being Martinez, I really, really believe). So he thought the item should be studied more and considered over time, and the mayor agreed and it was tabled.

Alas, Sheetpile Vista Plaza must wait for another day.

One has to hand it to our teflon-coated council. Great work Mike. It is SO hard to avoid doing the right thing in this instance that they are really all pitching in together and hauling their weight. I would file this under the velvet “Mislabing your nose to spite your face” binder. In the meantime, we’ll just keep inviting thousands of visitors to the park and letting them see its true name in person.

Highlight of last nights beaver viewing? (Other than the furtive game of Kerplunk!) A beaver chewing willow atop the pipe, which when illuminated with the spotlight produced a perfectly natural “Beaver Silhouette” on the sheetpile! (Shh don’t tell Paul Craig, but that one was better).

Our Beavers of Guadalupe?

heidi08 Beaver News, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Environmental November 11, 2010

The Guadelupe River takes its short jaunt from the headwaters in Santa Cruz to its outlet in the San Francisco Bay, winding its way through the heart of San Jose. It is surrounded by many parks, and trails, including Almaden winery. It was once important to the gold mining trade and like all such rivers is now burdened with more than its fair share of mercury from those days. The entire 3 mile downtown stretch, from Interstate 280 to Interstate 880, is part of the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens, one of the largest urban parks currently in development in the United States. Also, the Guadalupe River Trail runs along 11 miles (18 km) of the river bank.

What does this have to do with beavers you ask? Nothing yet.

Leslee Hamilton is the executive director of the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy. She attended Saturday’s creek conference and was very excited by the talks about beavers. She immediately wondered whether beavers could play a role in the Guadalupe system, augmenting water flows, restoring wildlife and serving as a teaching focus for children’s watershed education and stewardship.

Yesterday we scheduled a ‘chat’ about beavers, which turned into a conference call with Rangers and interested biologists. There are no beavers currently in the Guadalupe, they assured me. And relocation is illegal in California. Could they go about getting a scientific permit to do a specific project locally? What kind of habitat would support them best? What tools are useful for beaver management? How do beaver populations grow? How have we involved children’s education with our beavers? What have we noticed in our watershed since the beavers came?

Quite the conversation. Silicon Valley Beavers? It’s possibleReader JR points out that the Dell graphic must be a mistake since beavers are so fond of ‘apples’.

All’s Well that Begins Well…

heidi08 Beaver News, Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, City Reports, Creative Solutions November 9, 2010

One of the beavers is seen recently at Griff Creek munching on a branch.

North Tahoe officials: Human beings, beavers can peacefully co-exist

Matt Renda Sierra Sun

KINGS BEACH, Calif. — Human beings and beavers can peacefully co-exist, Tahoe wildlife advocates said during a recent community forum, and Placer County officials agreed, vowing to explore alternatives to hunting and killing the animals. Co-existence is especially practical since the recent advent of many Tahoe-based water flow control devices and techniques which successfully manage flooding hazards and damage to property associated with beavers and their dam building.

Now isn’t that a great beginning to an article? The news out of Kings Beach affirms the report of our own Lory Bruno who attended the meeting in person. Apparently there is broad support for humanely maintaining the beavers the ‘next time’ they come to town. Honestly if we keep having success stories like this I pledge to start a new section on the website called “Who’s saving beavers now?”.

The primary solution for the specific problem at Griff Creek consists of installing a Flexible Pond Leveler, Millham said, a water flow control device designed to ensure the water of the beaver-created pond will not reach flood levels that could potentially create a driving hazard on a nearby section of Highway 28.

The Flexible Pond Leveler — invented by Mike Callahan, owner of the Southampton, Mass.-based company Beaver Solutions — makes use of a pipe, with the outflow portion installed in the middle of a beaver dam allowing water to flow through the dam instead of over it. The intake portion of the pipe is protected by wire fence, to prevent beavers from clogging the pipe.

Okay now THAT’s some good press. Good for beavers, good for beaver friends, good for Kings Beach. A very interesting conversation is brewing in the community about how to respond to the new plan to deal with the situation humanely next time. There are some who are so upset about the shooting of those four beavers that they want to ask for the director of public works’ head on a plate. And then there are the more conciliatory ‘lets wait and see’ voices. My favorite was from a smart childcare worker who said ‘lets hope for the best and not burn bridges’ and ‘btw I’m having every child in the day care personally make a card for the director and the supervisor thanking them for keeping their promise’.

Ahhh now that’s a woman after my own heart! Miss Manners meets Machiavelli!

Representatives from Wylie Animal Rescue Foundation and Worth A Dam — a beaver advocacy organization — pledged $500 each to the project during the forum.

Oooh good press for us too! There are lots of great things in the article, go read for yourself, and only a few head scratchers (protect trees with cayenne pepper?) But the very best and smartest part from the reporter, (who we already know does his research), comes from the price comparison for the cost of shooting the beavers. Check it out:

By the numbers

Costs of Placer County beaver removal operation at Griff Creek

• Direct cost to Placer County for California Conservation Corps crew: $5,700

• Indirect cost to state of California to maintain that crew: $2,800

• Cost to Placer County Department of Public Works to plan and administer project: $500

• Cost of Placer County Wildlife Agents (which carried out the hunting and killing of the beavers): $500

• Costs of refuse disposal, erosion control materials: $500

• Total: $10,000

Costs of installing water flow control device:

• Materials: $1,500

• Permitting: $500

• Annual maintenance: $150

• Total (over a 10-year period): $3,500

-Source: Tahoe Truckee Wildlife Coalition

Now that’s what I like to see! Good luck Kings Beach. You have funds, friends and a promise from the powers that be. That’s all any city with beavers can hope for.

“We need to do all the preparation work so that once the device is built — it stays,” Placer county Supervisor Jennifer Montgomery said. “We can truly be an example to the rest of the lake, and I know Peter and I are committed to making sure what happened to the Griff Creek beavers doesn’t happen again.”

Give and ‘Take’

heidi08 City Reports, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Uncategorized November 7, 2010

Yesterday’s conference was a revelation on so many levels. I met powerful, persistent creek advocates who cheerfully personified Brock Evans phrase ‘endless pressure endlessly applied’. I saw the results of advances in political circles and environmental lawyers elected to water districts. I saw friendships and alliances that have endured across decades and watched as new important contacts were developed. And I sensed, rather than saw, the simmering impatience of the people who’ve done this constant, prodding stewardship – pushing, pulling and nudging their officials into more responsible treatment of water, fish and wildlife.

The story was excellently represented by the drama of the Searsville dam.

This attractive slab of concrete is in the Jasper Ridge preserve on San Francisquito creek. It is owned by Stanford University and the sight of one of the oldest field stations in the country. The dam was built over over 100 years ago and is part of the enormous water reserves for the university. Pesky steelhead-hugging types point out that its an old structure located directly on top of a major seismic fault and it prevents perfectly healthy steelhead from living their anadromous life. Stanford says the dam is essential because it traps tons of sediment that would otherwise be a problem for the residents of Palo Alto, is perfectly earthquake proof and note that its adjacent wetlands support the richest bird and bat habitat in the state.

So yesterday started out with a presentation by the suits – literally. Stanford sent its emissaries to explain how they needed the dam and they understood that some people didn’t like it but they were going to study the issue very carefully for the next ten years to see what were the alternatives might be. They had developed an HCP (Habitat Conservation Plan) to protect threatened species in the area. A woman explained the HCP carefully outlining the endangered species on the rare property and the definition of ‘Take“.

Are you familiar with this concept? concept

‘Take‘ is defined in the Fish & Wildlife regulations as

“Take means to pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect or to attempt the foregoing. 50 C.F.R. §10.12.

If you are building a shopping mall or digging a gas line or laying a new road and you kill 35 ground squirrels and crush some burrowing owls that’s considered ‘take‘. If an animal is listed under the endangered species act there is ZERO acceptable ‘take‘ without a plan to show how your activities are going to benefit that species eventually – hence the HCP. (Of course with beavers the acceptable ‘take’ is infinity.) So a hearty portion of the Stanford presentation was focused on ‘take‘ and what they are doing to make up for the rainbow trout they prevent from going out to sea and becoming steelhead. (Steelhead listing on the ESA was upheld recently in a major ruling from the ninth circuit)

So that’s the ‘take‘. What about the ‘give‘?

Meet Matt Stoecker: Steelhead Champion Extraordinare. He has been waging a David’s battle against the Stanford Goliath since the Clinton years, and has an endearing habit of donning his scuba gear or snorkel to photograph the steelhead he defends underwater. He is the force behind the group “Beyond Searsville Dam” and a remarkably cheerful, reasonable, and unassuming guy. His generous, inspiring speach was sprinkled with olive branches and toe-holds for the Stanford Folk, but he also didn’t hesitate to challenge their misstatements and point out where they were being less than genuine. He was, in short, the perfect advocate: passionate, cooperative, confrontational, and ready for a marathon.

Of course, I invited to come film our steelhead swimming with beavers and he was very keen to consider it. He said he got charged by a beaver once underwater for following the fish too close to the underwater entrance to the lodge. He was suddenly presented with a flash of fur and teeth! Matt backed off and the beaver, (who is more accustomed to charging than follow through), allowed him to leave unscathed. (Of course, he noted that beaver dams provide some of the best steelhead habitat, which came as no surprise to us!)

I can’t even begin, on the smallest ‘smolt’ of a scale, to imagine how much patience, courage and tenacity it takes to fight a battle like that. When I think of the many faces at the conference, the people who tirelessly protect their little stretches of creek from plastic bags and commercial runoff and grazing cattle; when I think of people like Jeff Miller working to overcome the Calaveras Dam on Alameda Creek and picking up steelhead on the way to work where they were trapped on one side of the bart station to drop them into the water on the other side; when I think of the conference organizer who pulled together all these unique creek powers and knew enough to include a few politicos who wanted credit-points; I realize how profoundly these people have ‘given’ of themselves. They give their time and their attention and their passion and their resolve. They give their funds and their friends and their energy day after day. They hold their tempers when the situation requires it and light fires when nothing else will work and learn from each other how on earth to tell the two circumstances apart.

I realize, in all this, that we are just infants.

Worth A Dam was very well received by the Santa Clara Creeks Coalition. Beavers were the unspoken elixir of the day for much of the time, a knowing wink or elbow. If we get rid of dams what will trap silt? (Beavers) If we get rid of dams what will slow winter flow? (Beavers) If we get rid of dams what will raise the water table? (Beavers) If we get rid of dams what will create wetlands? (Beavers) If we get rid of dams how can we possibly manage California’s ‘flash’ rain cycle where we get too much rain some years and nothing at all in others? (Beavers. Beavers. Beavers!) And by the end of the day, Rick’s presentation on historical prevalence and where beavers belong was the perfect lead-in for my talk about the effects of beavers in Martinez.

Suffice it to say there are some new believers out there tonight. Just another day in the endless ‘Give‘ and ‘Take‘ of advocacy.

Richard Tesore, Director of the marine fauna reserve ‘SOS Fauna Marina’ holds a baby doplhin in a pool in Punta Colorada, department of Maldonado 100 km east of Montevideo on November 5, 2010. The little dolphin of about 10 days, was found by tourists, apparently showing marks of a fishing net. (MIGUEL ROJO/AFP/Getty Images)