Category: City Reports

Sacrebleu!

heidi08 Beaver Anatomy, Beaver Behavior, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Who's Killing Beavers Now? June 21, 2013

Beavers have a friend in retired SUNY ESF professor

Dietland Muller-Schwarze, of Manlius, holds a piece of artwork of beavers given to him by the U.S. Department of Agriculture as part of a "Lifetime Achievement Award" he received for his 25 years of research and other work involving the animal (David Figura | dfigura@syracuse.com)

Dietland Muller-Schwarze, 78, a retired SUNY ESF professor in wildlife biology, studied the animal in parts of the Adirondacks and in the Alleghany State Park for more than 25 years. He wrote two books on them — the most recent, “The Beaver: Its Life and Impact,” was published in 2011.

They do a lot of good. Their dams create wetlands, which cleanse the water. The water percolates slowly through the area and gets purified, everything from bacteria to toxins get taken out. In addition, these wetlands create habitat for other large animals, birds, insects and plants. In the Adirondacks, beaver-made wetlands are assisting the comeback of moose. Finally, beaver-made, wetland/meadows were attractive to the early settlers of this country, who drained them and easily turned them into farm land because of the fertile soil.

Nowadays, we know there are many ways to design and regulate things like stream flows by doing things like putting pipes in beaver dams so that beavers and humans can live peacefully together. There are such things as “beaver deceivers’ that can be set up in front of culverts so that beavers can’t block them up.

Oh Dietland! I don’t think I’m ready for you to retire unless you use your free time to start a Worth A Dam Manlius chapter? What will all those forestry students do without you? I remember how firmly I clutched your book and scoured through its pages when I was on the beaver subcommittee. I gave a copy to the city council who must have at least read the jacket. One year you donated a copy for our silent auction and I remember your email praising Worth A Dam as one of my most prized possessions. Well, enjoy your retirement. And let us know if you feel inclined for a little volunteer work?

Sigh. Why do the good ones always retire? Here’s someone who’s NOT retiring.

Central Frontenac considers new beaver dam bylaw

EMC News – Out of necessity, Central Frontenac Public Works Manager Mike Richardson has become something of an expert on beaver dams. As such, he was at Central Frontenac Council’s regular meeting last week in Sharbot Lake with a draft bylaw to help his department deal with this ongoing problem.

“Section 1.1. says ‘no person shall permit a beaver dam or other obstruction on property.

If he’s an expert on beaver dams I will eat my labrador. Our old city manager called himself an expert on beaver dams once. Permit me to doubt. Here’s another one who’s apparently not retired…or arrested.

Sterile as a beaver

There’s a stat that Denis Fournier repeats often, both when he writes and during the course of our phone interview. The average beaver, he says, cuts down 200 trees per year. “A beaver colony can have nine to 12 beavers in it. So that’s 2000 trees per year,” says Fournier, who works as a wildlife management technician for the City of Montreal. “After humans, they’re the animal the most able to change their environment. They can cause a tremendous amount of damage.”

For people like Fournier, responsible for maintaining the ecosystems at Montreal’s nature parks, that was a huge cause for worry. So the City conducts its own struggle against the beavers, and in the case of Parc-nature du Bois-de-l’Île-Bizard, located just off of Pierrefonds, that means capturing them, tagging them, and finally vasectomizing them.

The vasectomy program, in place since 1995, came about after beavers were seen as being an increasing threat to ecosystems around Montreal. Thus far only six beavers have been sterilized, all of them in Île-Bizard. Fournier used to go out into the wetlands himself and set the traps, which would then have to be checked every day so as not to traumatize or endanger the beavers. Nowadays he’s too busy with other responsibilities, so the city hires a professional trapper to do the work. If they find any younger, unsterilized beavers that move into the park, they’re taken to the Biodome, sedated, sterilized, implanted with a microchip and then released 24 hours later into the wild. They continue to set traps in the fall so that they can monitor the beavers.

I am speechless. What is wrong with people? Have they lost their minds and all sense of human decency? Are there some kind of toxic spores in beaver scat that make people insane? I found this article cheerfully posted on the Beavers:Wetlands and Wildlife facebook page, but I’m assuming they hadn’t read through the vasectomy details. (Nope: Owen says vasectomy is better than trapping. I’m not so sure.) There is even a photo of the operation in process. I don’t see the word VET anywhere in its glossy pages, so I’m going to assume that someone from city staff performs these delicacies themselves. Maybe Mr. Fournier and his son. Just to be clear, it is true that in general vasectomies are far far more simple than hysterectomies to perform. But remember that all beaver sex organs are internal, so we’re not talking about a simple snip here.

The article says that the project was started in 1995. And since then 6 beavers were successfully treated. That’s barely one successfully surgery every two years. I guess if a few beavers are killed in the process, it’s time well spent.

Montreal is an island where the water recently was declared unsafe to drink. It is home to about 4,000.000 people who mostly speak French. Its 141 square miles boast an apparently uncounted square miles of water, because even though its surrounded by water, I can’t find the statistics for that anywhere on the Google. This is the only part of the article that came even close to making me laugh

There could be anywhere up to 100 beavers around Montreal, though not of all them in city parks, which makes containing them an ongoing process.

11 colonies of beavers in a city half the size of New Orleans? Must go, I have letters to write.

Game changer?

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions June 19, 2013

Beaver Fever

In Glen Ellen, a colony of beavers arrives—and this time, they’re a little more welcome

by James Knight

Brace yourselves. Here at Martinez beaver central we’ve been called a lot of names in our 6 years. But this just might be the best.

A HARDY TAIL Popular beavers in Martinez set a game-changing precedent for a new family of dam-builders in Glen Ellen. – Cheryl Reynolds – Worth a Dam

In the mid-1990s, a family of beavers found their way up Sonoma Creek and settled in Glen Ellen. Although they were the first beavers that had been seen here since the animals were extirpated decades earlier, they got the same welcome that is traditionally offered to beavers: they were trapped and killed.

Then in 2006, a mating pair wandered out of the Delta and constructed a dam on Alhambra Creek in the middle of Martinez. “You could sit at Starbucks and watch the kits play,” says resident Heidi Perryman. The city council, worried about flooding, first considered the quiet, business-as-usual approach. But with so many people watching and protesting, the beavers got a stay. Perryman formed the nationwide advocacy group Worth a Dam, to help people navigate similar situations. (Her next talk on the issue is Thursday, July 11, at San Francisco’s Randall Museum.)

This article by James Knight for the Bohemian is an excellent read, you should go check out the whole thing. This is what happens when you take a little time to get the story right. (I first connected with him way back on May 3!) I suggested he follow up with Brock Dolman of the OAEC and that really gave a regional back bone for the article. Now when wine country folks spot a beaver problem, they know just who to turn to for help.

In Martinez, it isn’t just about beavers anymore. When the pond filled with fish, river otters returned to the area. Mink also turned up, along with a host of waterfowl and songbirds.

That kind of result could improve habitat for the North Coast’s federally endangered coho salmon, says Dolman. “Having grown up in Idaho and back East, I loved to fish in beaver ponds because there were a lot of fish in there. So I got to thinking: Why aren’t we talking about beavers?” While state agencies and landowners are trying to slow down stream flow and erosion with costly projects, “beavers can do it better, faster and way cheaper.” Dolman’s organization was invited to contribute beaver language to the 2012 Coho Recovery Plan.

If beavers pop out of the creek into another vineyard, it may not play out the same as last time. In Siskiyou County, Dolman says, the Department of Water Resources had requested a trapping permit almost annually for 30 years, because beaver activity interfered with a data collection point. “Two years ago, they were doing the same thing, and the biologist said, ‘Wait a minute, we’ve got to talk about this.’ They had a community meeting, created a beaver technical group, and for the first time the DWR didn’t get that permit.”

I’d really like to think James was right, and that Martinez was a ‘game-changer’ for how we deal with beavers in northern California. Certainly some things were changed. But even in Martinez it is clear that everyone isn’t playing the same game, so changing the rules of that game just won’t effect them. If new beavers showed up in the city tomorrow do you think that they would ask Worth A Dam what to do? All we can hope is that enough folk read smart articles like this and know to hold their leaders feet to the fire long enough to nudge things in the right direction.

Speaking of nudging, the 6th beaver festival was approved last night and the game is definitely on. Also our lovely artist Amelia Hunter was kind enough to tinker with the flyer and make the adult a little bigger.

Speaking of which, it was very high tide last night, and both dams were totally flooded. An adult beaver filmed pulling a branch through the gap of the primary and down towards the secondary!

One kit was finally spotted last night around nine. He also swam through the gap and was totally spooked by the fact that the water was rushing the wrong way! (Can solstice come any faster? This extended daylight thing is starting to get out of hand.)

Up to date

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports June 18, 2013

Do you remember back in high school when the smartest kid in your class who everyone envied did that amazingly stupid thing that got talked about for weeks and still surprises you? Sometimes beautiful things come from unlikely places. And sometimes folks who should know better obviously don’t.

Take this recent report from Orondo, Washington, for instance. When I read this I practically got out the atlas and tape measure to make sure this was actually inside the state I frequently credit for having the highest beaver IQ in the country. I was stunned, though maybe I shouldn’t have been. I believe it was Hamlet who said “virtue cannot so innoculate our old stock but we shall relish of it.”

Beavers believed to have survived lodge fire

ORONDO — Fire officials say they think a fire in a beaver dam at Daroga State Park was human-caused. “There were no other sources of ignition in the area,” said Jim Oatey, chief of Douglas County Fire District 4 at Orondo. He said he thinks fire crews stopped the fire before it reached the beavers inside.

That’s right. There was a fire inside the DAM and they are hoping they put it out before the animals burned. Scouring this article where words are used like lego pieces (interchangeably), I see that the fire was actually in the lodge on the bank of the Columbia and not in the dam. Maybe the firemen knew the difference and the readers knew the difference and only the reporter is confused. I’m reasonably sure that even sleepy beavers slipped down their escape hatch and got to safety before anything happened. You have to wonder if someone lit it on purpose. Ugh. Two things to dislike about Washington.

Tonight is the “Official Permission for the Festival” at the Parks, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission where the city has their last chance to prevent it from happening. In the beginning when the festival was just starting out we were raked over the bureaucratic coals, but last year we were practically greeted as liberators, fingers crossed. Here’s the new family tree I worked on this weekend to show off our new additions.

What I hope will be the last word on the Belarus man-eating beaver story comes from Dietland Muller-Swarze (author of Beaver: The Natural History of a Wetlands Engineer) and reported by Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife in their upcoming summer newsletter.

“Really, the beaver did not “kill the man; it just defended itself,” states Dr. Muller-Schwarze. “In such a Perfect Storm, the man could have just as well suffered fatal injury from a dog, a snapping turtle, or for that matter, by barbed wire. Does barbed wire ‘kill a person’? The key is, you just don’t handle a wild (or even domestic) animal in that manner. You are asking for trouble. Especially in the wild, far from medical help, you don’t take unnecessary risks.”

You can read the rest of his letter and subscribe to their newsletter here.

A river runs through it – (now)

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports June 16, 2013

Broken beaver dam may have caused West Warren flooding

WARREN, Mass. (WWLP) – Mass DOT is repairing Route 67, Main Street, in West Warren after flood waters damaged part of the road Friday morning. Warren Police Sgt. Joe Laflower says he thinks a nearby beaver dam may have broken due to all the rain we’ve had lately. He says its expensive to continue repairing the road, and they hope the state can come up with a more permanent fix.

Quaboag is the name of the river that flows through town, and the historic plantation for which it was founded. In the 19th century it was a hard-working river with multiple dams to support industry along it. The decayed dams are still visible along its path, but it’s a beaver dam we’re interested in today. 40 miles away from Mike Callahan of Beaver Solutions a beaver dam MAY have caused flooding twice this year and once in 2005 and they aren’t sure what to do to solve the problem? Really?

Obviously the answer is more concrete. And trapping. Don’t forget the trapping.

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And Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there, including the human variety.

Since it’s my first year without one I thought I’d better post this.

Friday is full of beaver friends!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers June 14, 2013

Great news from Montana where a pilot project for beaver deceivers is being launched and Skip Lisle and Amy Chadwick are at the helm.

Non-lethal beaver techniques for creek

In response to high annual maintenance costs at culverts plugged by beaver, the City-County of Butte-Silver Bow and Mile High Conservation District are sponsoring a pilot project to demonstrate non-lethal beaver management techniques for preventing culvert plugging and flooding of the pedestrian walkway along Blacktail Creek.

Amy Chadwick of Great West Engineering and Skip Lisle of Beaver Deceivers International will lead installation of the flow devices, which allow beaver and the wetlands they create to remain as important components of the stream system.

This is excellent news for Montana. I couldn’t be more certain that they will find they’re saving money installing flow devices instead of unclogging culverts and I couldn’t be happier that Amy Chadwick will be working along with him. We need a new generation of young women working on beaver issues and I want Amy to lead the wave. Unfortunately I can’t find a photo of her but we did meet at the conference and exchange emails. Trust me when I say we want her on our team! And if the name Skip doesn’t ring a bell, why not listen to the podcast interview we did?

Interview with Skip Lisle, inventor of the “Beaver Deceiver”. If he looks familar he should since he was the hero that saved the Martinez Beavers about 4 years ago! (Certain ladies may not recognize him with his shirt “on”.) I apologize in advance for the static on the line, but assure you he’s worth listening to

Podcast Powered By Podbean

Subscribe to all episodes in iTunes here.

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And another friendly face from this letter to the editor, also from Montana

Trapping: Protection theory doesn’t ring true

Scare tactics are the first resort for folks who have run out of arguments, which is likely why trappers often say that recreational trapping on public lands is necessary to protect us from disease, predators and pests.

The most commonly trapped “pest” species is the beaver. Beaver trapping is generally a private lands issue, so a block management model and trapping by trained authorities are more appropriate solutions than recreational trapping on public lands. More importantly, beaver provide vital services in an arid state like Montana. It makes a lot more sense to employ beaver deceivers (non-lethal devices that prevent beaver from damming sites like culverts), to relocate beaver or to find other creative ways to coexist with them, because they improve retention and filtration of water, soil conservation and riparian habitat.

Filip Panusz, Missoula

Filip! A fine letter like that deserves a thank you and a google search. Felip is the executive director of Footloose Montana, a nonprofit dedicated to trap free public lands.

Get it? Foot ”loose”. Hmm, smart about beavers and executive director of a nonprofit with a cleverly sassy name, might be a match made in heaven? Must go, I have a letter to write.