City Reports – Page 122

Take a Gander…

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports April 29, 2009

From our rapidly growing WTF beaver files, here’s a story from Newfoundland. Seems the Gander municipal works crew just knew that destroying the beaver dam was the right thing to do. The pond had flooded the boardwalk. Sure it was a big job, but you have to break eggs to make an omelette, right? How were they to know the dam thing would collapse in the middle of their excavation and flood water right through the subdivision?

The water from the pond rushed out and flooded backyards, streets and a couple of basements. “This flooded as far as that window sill right there,” said Herb Burton, who had just moved into his new house last month.”Inside the house, there’s about three inches [7.62 centimetres] of water on the floor there. The gyproc is all soused and everything, and a bit of furniture is wet…. It’s a bit of a mess down there.”

Yes beavers sure can be damaging. Beavers cause nothing but trouble for cities. Thank goodness municipal crews like this are on hand to help. Apparently the cities insurance will be taking care of damages. This was my favorite part of the story:

Horwood said the town managed to prevent further flooding by building a makeshift dam on the pond.

Oh you mean dams can help prevent flooding? No kidding! I sure wish there was just something that could make and repair them on a daily basis. Municipal works get so busy filling potholes…

Gander, flow devices work, and will keep your subdivision and your boardwalk dry. An hours flight could bring you experts from Vermont, Massachusetts or Connecticut to manage the install. Think about it?

We’re looking for a few good Trees…

heidi08 City Reports, Creative Solutions April 27, 2009

Linda informs me that there were two tree casualties this weekend, and Jon saw another midweek as well. The beavers are clearly doing some harvesting. I’m not sure whether the dams need new materials, or its just time to show the little ones some gnaw and order, but trees are definitely on the menu at the moment.

Timing couldn’t be better to remind the city that we have trees to replace and its worth while letting Worth A Dam organize the replacement. Our eagle scout meets with the director of public works today to talk about our planting plan. Felix Ratcliff of Condor Coutry Consulting is finishing his report and was seen measuring tree girth with a colleague in the park last week. Jeff Anhorn, owner of the Livermore Nursery that helped us last year, is ready with specimens and our enthusiastic Environmental Studies Academy students have already offered their help.

It’s a perfect storm of tree-planting, so I expect great things.

Speaking of ESA, they have their official parking lot lauch this weekend on May 3rd. Remember their good work creating the naturally water-treating lot downtown. They are finishing their fundraising to add a mural to the project, and planning to offer a fun event. Worth A Dam will be there to support them. Looks like we will also be offering our 2009 tshirts which might even nicer than last years. Come by, see the displays, and thank the kids for all their hard work.

Hard Work Raising Beavers

heidi08 Beavers or Social Ambasadors, City Reports, Educational, Environmental April 22, 2009

I’m still trying to recover from Saturday’s earthday extravaganza. I haven’t really had time to sift through the experiences and see what polishes up bright enough to post. I know my conversation with the enchanting girl who told me with quickened breath how they had actually seen an otter once while camping stands out big. Child encounters with wildlife are powerful and create a huge relationship to the natural world. Remember this photo?

The close encounter with wildlife opens something inside you, like a door to a world where we all used to be free to wander. It’s a door that all of us have, but I think it gets cluttered with hardships and conveniences without regular use. Getting it working right in childhood is the surest way to keep it working up through adulthood, and I see it as a primary benefit of the Beavers in Martinez. Worth a Dam was asked this week to do a presentation for the two sessions of John Muir Mountain Day Camp over the summer. How could we refuse?

On a related note, I got a panicked call last night to do a presentation wednesday morning at the Rotary club for an emergency replacement of their regular schedule. It’s “take your office administrator to the club day” and our own city manager is a member. I’m not as hopeful about opening those low rusty doors, but of course I said yes. Wouldn’t you?

Lovely family, shame if something were to happen to them…

heidi08 City Reports April 6, 2009

Defending our beavers has been a constant struggle against threat of one kind or another. We were warned that lives could be lost, that buildings would collapse, that supporters would be sued, and that the website would be come a target for hate-mail the world wide. With each subsequent challenge the threats would increase. Of course when you feel most threatened, you instinctively feel most vulnerable and unable to achieve your goals. However I have learned through painstaking observation that the reverse is usually true.

The closer you get to power the more ominous the response, and the surer your success. Threat comes when you are strong, not weak.

I mention this because this weekend one of our beaver loyals ran into a certain councilman who kindly wondered whether the “beaver people” were planning some kind of anti-Redevelopment campaign. He expressed concern that this could harm the beavers and bring “Stigma”, and he hoped that wasn’t true.

Are we both hearing the same theme song in the background here? “Nice Colony, shame if something were to happen to them”. (I mean other than lowering their dam by three feet, removing all their food and installing sheetpile through their lodge.) It would be a shame for the beavers to be tainted by a controversial issue that has been dramatically argued in this city since 1950. We wouldn’t want to bring controversy to these peaceful uncontroversial and uncritically accepted rodents, right?

For the record, Worth A Dam doesn’t have an “official” position on the Redevelopment issue. We’re beaver people, and we are committed to beavers. We are a heterogeneous group, and voted for Kennedy, Alford, McCain, Obama and Ron Paul. This is the way its supposed to be, where people set aside their differences to work on common goals, support each other’s shared interests and make space for things that they can’t agree on. I don’t expect readers of this website to agree with my opinion on everything, including RDA. You know how to contact me and express your thoughts as well. To be honest, if the city had ever sat me down and said, ‘if you will make sure beaver people don’t have any opposition for our RDA we’ll keep them safe and build the most beautiful habitat for them you’ve ever seen’, I’d have seriously thought twice. But of course the city didn’t do that. They didn’t ever view us as important enough to promise anything, or even vote on the issue. They just want to threaten that if we offer any opposition to an RDA they’ll support the beavers even less than they do already. (Get your nano-tools so we can measure the incremental shift.)

Honestly, their sheetpile-palooza was for me the single best indicator about whose interests they are likely to protect in this city, with or without an RDA. Warning a beaver loyalist that talking about RDA could harm the beavers is italian old school. Here’s the kindest version of what I think about that particular councilman’s concern for the possible stigma my having an opinion will bring the beavers…

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=0LnJskwydvM&feature]

You’re never too old…

heidi08 City Reports, Recent Sightings April 5, 2009

To ride on mom’s back in the beaver world, apparently. Last night a kit saw her approach and swam to hitch a lift. It was very sweet to see Mom and Junior together, sharing treats. All three kits made an appearance and only Dad was too sneaky to show his face. Some appreciative diners came down for the beaver show and were rewarded with a full stand in the water and a nice glimpse of orange teeth.

Photo: Cheryl Reynolds

Haven’t seen mom go for any fennel yet, but its about ten days before observed it last year. Mom is looking very round indeed, and we are fairly certain she’s pregant. Check out the video in the sidebar and pause a moment to remember that we are heading for the anniversary of the presentation of the beaver subcommittee report. You remember, the meeting where the council refused to vote and Mary Tappel said the beavers were leaving?