Category: City Reports

Some good news about Michigan waterways…

heidi08 Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Educational, Environmental, Urban beavers February 24, 2016

Yesterday two lovely copies of Gerry Wykes beautifully illustrated tale of the Detroit River beavers arrived in the mail. I can’t tell you how excited I was from the moment I opened and saw the striking frontspiece showing in part above. The first lines reminded me instantly of the Martinez Beaver story and the surprise with which people reacted to learn that beavers were lurking in their midst. But the tale continues with such a local sensibility to the particular meaning for this very urban river, that it was even more exciting.

The folks at the Conners Creek powerplant on the Detroit river were alarmed at first by some disappearing trees, which they attributed to vandalism, accident, or possibly Big Foot. The book makes a wonderful point of explaining that no one in their right mind would think the theft was the work of a beavers, since there had been no beavers in the Detroit river for 150 years! And just in case you’re wondering what America looked like then, Andrew Johnson was president (following Lincoln’s assassination) and in 1866 ‘negroes’ were officially recognized as American citizens.

Beavers came back to a very different Detroit river than the one they had been trapped out of.

The disappearing-tree mystery was solved with the help of a team of experts including Jason Cousino, who saw the remaining stumps and knew enough to install a night camera on one of the felled trees. Sure enough, a BEAVER was filmed returning to finish his hard night’s work. The city was elated, everyone merrily took credit for cleaning up the river. and it was even reported on Regis and Cathy Lee. Surely if the polluted Detroit river could make a comeback, anything was possible.

The hardworking beaver paid no attention to his fame, and set about making a massive lodge that from almost nowhere attracted a mate. To everyone’s surprise in the spring of 2009 kits were born. The author does a commendable job making the science of beavers, their adaptations, their life history, and even the fur trade exciting and accessible. Even though it’s written for a younger reader, I’d be fairly happy if every city official knew as much about beavers as they read in this book. Even the details of complex concepts like “coppicing” of trees are delightfully explained.

I adore this illustration in particular. (The colors are so vibrant and inviting I’m wishing it was the pattern on my bed sheets or kitchen towels.) In addition to the inviting animals, Wykes does a impressive job of showing the hardened urban skeleton they moved into, right down to the smokestacks and abandoned houses. His artwork beautiful captures the fragile resilience of “nature in the city”.

The representations of beavers are wonderfully accurate. He really captured all the parts of their lives in his illustrations. I’m not sure where the author gained such a fine familiarity with the beaver shape, shading and movements – but this gives me a little idea:

Compare - Copy — *Gerry Wykes Illustration: Cheryl Reynolds photograph*

There a few little mistakes we could have set him straight on if he had asked, like writing that beaver need Cottonwood or Willow to survive. Not true. Beavers LIKE those trees, but they can survive on a host of others including (but not limited to) Alder, Aspen, Maple, Oak, Elm and Fruit.There are even places like the Delta (the spot of historically the largest beaver population in California) where they survive without TREES – existing on Tule roots and cattails. He also mentions that folks came to America looking for the other kind of gold and were surprised to wind up with beaver gold. Which I suppose might be true for Columbus, but since we know even the pilgrims were hungry for cheap beaver fur, doesn’t sit right. It certainly doesn’t adequately describe the ruthless resource war that was taking place across this land for a century as folks sought out the ever-shrinking population of remaining beaver pelts. There, of course, could have been LOTS more information about the way that beavers help fish like salmon and trout, or wildlife like otter and mink, or herons, frogs, turtles and bats while helping rid streams of pollution. But, I’m picky. I admit it. Maybe I’m like the snobby wine connoisseur of beavers?

Regardless of those minor points, this is a beautiful book and worth holding in your hot little hands. It’s perfect as a gift for a curious youth or that nosy sister-in-law that was so interested in the sudden arrival of the curious Martinez Beavers. It goes on sale in March and is available from the publisher for 18.99. OR if you’re very lucky indeed, and no one gets there first, there will be a copy in the silent auction that you can claim for your very own.

Thanks Gerry and Wayne University Press for a truly delightful read!

What’s it like where you are?

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Educational, Environmental, Who's blaming beavers now? February 21, 2016

I spent yesterday working on the application for our mural grant, which I am fairly happy with. Then I was amused to see this headline out of Connecticut:

Canton Public Works Department Keeps An Eye On Beaver Dams

CANTON — The public works department has gotten permission to lower or even remove beaver dams in town as it keeps an eye on a few that could cause flooding and other problems.

Public Works Director Robert Martin said his staff regularly monitors beaver dams in town. In anticipation of having to work on a few of them, the department sought permission from the inland wetlands agency earlier this month. That permit was granted for five years with the condition that heavy machinery not be used.

“We have a pretty good idea of where these dams are and their impact on town and private property,” Martin said.

Chris Vann, a wildlife biologist for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said that agency routinely gets inquiries from municipalities on how best to deal with beaver dams.

“Beavers have been one of our most dealt-with species in the last 20 years,” Vann said. He said the state has a healthy population of beavers, estimated recently to be as many as 8,000.

Permission to lower and EVEN remove the dams? Um. I’m kind of loving Connecticut at the moment. Here in you-know-where the permission public works gets is a little more dire. I’m impressed the department of Energy and Enviornmental Protection has a population estimate though (Who on earth would combine those two departments? Someone who works for the power companies I guess.) Mr. Vann quotes a healthy population of 8000 – Gimme a sec and let me just do some math…

Wikipedia says CT is 5,543 square miles of which 12% are water – that makes around 698 square miles of water. A beaver population of 8000 spread around that would mean nearly 12 beavers per square mile. Which is a lot, if it’s true.

I’m not holding my breath.

Breaching a dam is one option but removing it entirely is often necessary and in some cases problem beavers have to be trapped and removed.

Vann said monitoring beaver activity is a continuous process for towns.

“They are persistent,” he said. “Beavers will use available habitat and towns repeatedly have to go back and remove dams.”

Martin said the town has worked on beaver dams before. One was removed near High Valley Drive that threatened to flood the road. He said he decided to seek a permit from the wetlands board after talking to Town Planner Neil Pade about the work that might have to be done.

“We knew this work would be in a regulated area,” Martin said. “We want to respect the wetlands board and for them to understand what we are doing.”

Oh those darned pesky ‘problem beavers’. Everyone seems to have a lot of those.

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One exciting part of the conversation on Friday was an invitation for me to come to Portland and present to the Wetlands Conservancy and the public about our work here in Martinez. They have the enviable problem where the scientists and officials all want urban beavers and the public aren’t so sure. They would have me present here on a friday evening and saturday morning do a meeting with the interested officials or science folk, which sounds really fun. I hadn’t heard of the Oregon Public House before (even though it made enough of a splash to be talked about in the NYT and Colbert report) but it has a big community ball room where I’d present and TWC will be one of their nonprofits in May so it might work out perfect.

So very Portland.

Speaking of generosity, the plates donation arrived yesterday from Sarah Melancon of the Thirdhalf Studios, Kitchen Beaver. They are so delightful. Thank you so much Sarah! I’m suddenly overwhelmed with an undeniable need for Sunday pancakes.

Do you think it would be too hard for Jon to make them in the shape of tails?

“She Sure Shot down the Sheet!”

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental February 20, 2016

So yesterday was another long meeting for the urban beaver paper that is squeezing past its deadline. We are mostly assembled with some tweaks and shuffles, and I am happy many Heidi remarks will remain, at least for consideration by the big wigs at NOAA. I was told that my section with painstaking references to news articles (and assembling those references was such a pain I cannot describe) may not survive as they are considered “Grey Literature” and unworthy in a scientific paper.

Grey Literature is written for the general public (Like this website) and not subject to peer review (Like this website). News articles are Grey Literature, even though if the thing you’re talking about is the fact that the issue was reported in the NEWS I don’t see how much more valid a reference could be.

Anyway, one exciting part of the conversation was about this reference from the Portugal et al 2015 article from the beaver management plan they prepared for Walmart. I loved SO MUCH of that article I never really got around to thinking about this part, which they had recommended cities try using in the strategy section.

Alright, I know not everybody took the time to read that so basically it advises that if you notch the dam to lower the water level and want to keep beavers from rebuilding it you can thwart them by hanging a sheet from fence posts so it flaps in the wind and scares the beavers sooo much they don’t rebuild the dam. Apparently it was recommended by a trapper who, oddly enough, happens to have family in Martinez, which is a strange coincidence but not part of the story.

I read it and felt a host of responses. First customary shame that I wasn’t informed about this wonderfully proven new technique, then wait-a-minute scrutiny as I narrowed my eyes and read it more closely, then doubt when I thought of our beavers getting used to trains and garbage trucks, then frank disbelief, as I picked up the phone and asked Mike Callahan what he thought.

Consider this an illustration of his response.Suffice it to say our opinions were well matched and I marched into the conference call and said for goodness sake, if my newspaper references were going to be thrown out as “grey literature” then the un-researched bed sheet notion should be hung out to dry too. Beavers habituate to noise, light, people and even linen. They would figure out how to get around it, or rip it down and use it in their dam. Eventually I succeeded in making it sound so ridiculous they were chagrined and agreed with me too.

So, just remember, out of all the many things I failed out and failed to do, change the world, change Martinez, implement a national beaver holiday, I at least bravely succeeded at shooting down the sheet.

And that’s something to be proud of.

The beaver study heard round the world

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? February 17, 2016

The news is quite catching, you see, like a cough
It just takes one news to start other news off
Right now on the covers of seven more papers
Great news are in blossom! They’re rising like vapors.

A paraphrase of Dr Seuss’ Sleep book.

The unhappy BBC did its job. Despite their mealy mouthed un-coverage of the quaint Stirling ‘study’ they set off a host of reports yesterday and today around the science-reporting world. I must have received 5 emails telling me that they were in “Science Daily“, or “The National” and finally our good friends at Phys.org. Or as we’ve come to think of them….

Beavers bring environmental benefits

A study into the ecology and habitat engineering of beavers reintroduced to a site on I fTayside in 2002 has found the creatures can improve biodiversity, minimise pollutants and reduce downstream flooding.

Examining head water streams which drain water from 13 hectares of Scottish countryside, scientists compared areas where beavers had been active with areas in which they were absent. The study formed part of a programme of research at this site by Stirling scientists that has been ongoing since 2003.

Leading the research Dr Nigel Willby of the School of Natural Sciences, said: “Our study found that beaver behaviours have several benefits for the environment. Their dam building skills help restore degraded streams and increase the complexity of the surrounding habitat, consequently increasing the number of species found by 28 per cent. The dams also help improve pollutant levels and store flood water.”

I for one, am shocked, SHOCKED! I tell you, to find that beavers perform a similar function in a narrow patch of southern England as they do in all of Europe and North America! I ask you, what’s next? Will you expect me to believe that gravity functions similarly around the globe? Or that light travels at the same speed no matter what country you’re in? Here’s a photo of that radical beaver conspiracy theorist and an interview from today’s “Good morning Scotland”.

Favorite question: Is biodiversity always a good thing?

Last night’s presentation was well received I think, and folks were positive about the mural. Just got word that the PRMCC voted to approve the project and send it for review by the city council. Hurray! Mario came with his updated painting including a chewed tree and a beautiful green heron. Really exciting to see how this comes together. If you want to watch the presentation (and happen to have powerpoints on your computer) click on the photo below. I tried embedding it on slideshare but it lost all my animation, so I’ve given up on that idea. The average ppt presentation uses about a pinky fingernail size of what the program is capable of – so folks looked pretty impressed last night.

B B Beavers!

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers and water, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Environmental, What's killing beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? February 16, 2016

That’s the BBC for you. Working hard to eventually report the news that other outlets have broken if the Guardian posts it first – adding a negative twist at the end that basically makes sure it will unsay everything it just said if the news is in any way controversial.

Beavers ‘help to prevent flooding’, says study

Scotland’s beaver population may help to prevent flooding, according to an academic study.

The rodents, which are living wild around the River Tay, were accused by some locals of contributing to flooding in the Perthshire village of Alyth. But Stirling University researchers said beaver dams helped to mitigate flooding by storing and then slowly releasing water.

And they said beaver dams also helped to improve local wildlife habitats.

The study was part of a 13-year programme of research by the university’s scientists, who studied streams which drained water from 13 hectares of surrounding countryside.Areas where beavers were known to have been active were compared with areas in which they were absent.Pools created by the dams had 20 times more aquatic plant life, and the number of species in the surrounding habitat was 28% higher.

Nicely said. Beavers improve biodiversity and reduce farming pollutants. Don’t think for one moment that they it’s a quirky accident of language that they called this a STUDY rather than RESEARCH. Because now it’s time for the UN-SAYING:

NFU Scotland deputy director of policy Andrew Bauer said: “Statistically, it was always likely that there would be small pockets of land where the environmental benefit might outweigh the considerable problems being caused.

“There is no indication where the 13 hectares mentioned in this case are, but any benefits seen in localised areas will need to be viewed by the environment minister against the damage being done to productive farmland, long standing flood banks and established woodland on large parts of Tayside.”

Anne Gray, policy officer at Scottish Land & Estates, said: “We are not opposed to official trials of beaver reintroductions but this process has to be properly managed, which did not happen with the illegal release in Tayside.

“As we know from the trial at Knapdale, there may be some environmental benefits from beavers but this must be balanced against the negative impacts on many farm and forestry businesses.”

Such commitment to science. Delivered with all the unbiased open-mindedness of Waldorf and Statler.

No matter. The research has been reported in the BBC now and that makes it much harder to ignore. I believe that places our beaver friends in the UK on step three of the Gandhi advice-for-winning-just-battles-over-improbable-odds hierarchy.