Category: City Reports

‘Too many notes — er, beavers’

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Who's Killing Beavers Now? August 27, 2012

Beavers source of pride as well as concern for Plzeň region

Plzen, West Bohemia, Aug 26 (CTK) – The rising population of strictly protected beavers, the highest in the Czech Republic, is a source of pride but also concern for the Czech westernmost Plzen region, in view of the damage they cause to local field and forest owners, it ensued from a recent debate of experts.

Jiri Vlcek, from the regional office’s environmental department, said he hopes that the region will keep its impressive strong beaver population.

“Nevertheless, their high number is problematic in agricultural areas, where we permit beaver dams to be removed. By no means has the removal of beaver lodges or even shooting of beavers been permitted. I don’t rule out selective shooting [of beavers] in the future, however,” Vlcek said.

Yes, we reintroduced beavers to our country a few years back but we didn’t think they’d cause any PROBLEMS! We thought we were reintroducing the helpy beavers! Not the floody-dammy-blocky beavers! Now we might have to shoot some of them because lord knows we can’t actually SOLVE problems in Prague. I mean, its not like we can look at the internet or pick up a book or drive a few hours south to attend the international beaver symposium next month and learn how to solve these pesky problems from the experts.

Skip Lisle & Alex Hiller at the International Beaver Symposium in Lituania

“Fields, gardens, trees get inundated. Beavers also like to block water canals crossing beneath railway tracks and roads. In these cases we have to react immediately, because people’s safety is endangered,” Jan Kroupar, head of the regional office’s environmental department, said.

Beavers have also damaged buildings, and even paralysed a few water treatment plants’ operation, he said. The Regional Office permits the removal of beaver dams on special request. It also offers financial compensation to owners for the damage caused by beavers. “More and more owners have applied for compensation for the damage beavers caused by inundating or cutting trees,” Kroupar said. The compensation sums paid out in the Plzen region are the highest in the Czech Republic, said Vlcek.

Well. There it is!

No evil fishermen last night and lots of people came down to catch a glimpse of our hero in action. He came from upstream again, and mom emerged from there as well. A kingfisher was busy from his perch under the bridge and Moses was experimenting with a new pole to lower his camera down to water level.

Victory in Amherst

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Educational August 21, 2012

Amherst no longer killing pesky beavers

This weekend I received a phone call from Amherst New York where they were getting ready for their own city council meeting about the plan to trap beavers gnawing memorial trees. She wanted advice for how to present their opposition and how to offer reasonable solutions. Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife was on the case as well and had been talking to the council and reporters. Well today there’s good news:

Amherst to stop trapping, drowning beavers

The Town of Amherst will no longer trap and drown nuisance beavers in response to the public outcry against what one animal rights organization called “tax-funded torture.”

At the board’s meeting Monday, representatives with the Animal Advocates of Western New York and Animal Allies of Western New York criticized the town’s “inhumane” treatment of beavers and said they would be glad to work with the town to find non-lethal methods for dealing with the tree-taking dam builders.

Whoohoo! Great work all! I was told the meeting was a 3:00 pm and hard for anyone employed to attend, but obviously they made it work. I remember how excited we all felt after the November 7th meeting, lo these many years ago, and I’m a little jealous of the enthusiasm they must be enjoying right now! They even had their own nay-sayers to play the comic villain of the melodrama:

Some Amherst residents who live along the water, however, say they didn’t have any issue with beaver trapping. Lenora Canna, a North Forest Road resident whose property backs up to Ellicott Creek, said she had three trees worth hundreds of dollars taken down by beavers since she moved into her home 17 years ago.

She asked the town for help last year in getting rid of the beavers damaging her private property and the town refused, she said. So she began wrapping her trees in barbed wire and hired a trapper with her own money. He placed a trap out in her backyard and caught a large 55-pound beaver within a couple weeks, she said. Damage has been mitigated since then.

Canna said she’s sorry the town is ending its own trapping practices. Beavers are active all year long, and have damaged both her trees and bushes, she said.

“They are a nuisance,” she said. “They are a glorified rat as far as I can see.”

Boo! Hiss! Throw popcorn! I love the scene where the villian ties the beaver to the railroad tracks and then it gets rescued just in time! Ohhhh wait, wrong movie! Still, what a great end to a fantastic tale (tail?) and it all started because of a very interesting verbal slip from the DNR employee who went on camera accidentally mentioned that trapping was humane because the beavers ‘drown’.

Obviously he never got the memo that said in bold letters “Always lie to animal rights groups by saying that conibear traps INSTANTLY CRUSH the beavers so they feel no pain’. Maybe he was sick that day. Maybe he had just stepped out. Maybe he is a Worth A Dam secret supporter. Whatever the reason once he said ‘drown’ – for an animal that can hold its breath for 15 minutes – the jig (as they say) was up!

With these changes, she said, “people can come to the park and think of the beauty and peace of the park and not think of the beavers struggling to get to the surface and drowning.”

Once again, a thundering round of applause and a very deep bow for Amherst and for Beavers: Wetlands and Wildlife! Congratulations from all your friends in Martinez!

“Night of the Living Beaver”

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Who's Killing Beavers Now? August 20, 2012

Beaver dam has Medfield neighborhood warily eyeing rising water

Sigh. Massachusetts again. Complaining about humane trapping restrictions again. Shorter answer to the city of Medfield that has been robustly resisting information and all offers of help on the mysterious subject of beaver dams in late summer:

“It’s like a horror movie.” That’s how one Stagecoach Road resident described the stinking, algae-covered lake threatening to engulf her property, thanks to a beaver dam on the Stop River near South Street.

Yes, exactly like a horror movie. Screaming, helpless victims scattering everywhere. Sawdust and felled trees strewing the streets. Ignorant people run screaming from nature to persuade the authorities to use ray guns to exterminate their last hope for survival. I’m not hopeful about Medfield, since I already wrote everyone involved and they’re about an hour away from Beaver Solutions and they still don’t know better. Still, this handy fact sheet might help with the endless repetition necessary to change a few calcified minds. Click on the picture for the full pdf with references.

Late-Breaking Beaver News….

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Educational, Environmental, Festival, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Who's Killing Beavers Now? July 26, 2012

Beavers saved by mayor now homeless thanks to city, says community

Neighbours Daniel Burns, Anita Utas and Anne Sturgeon spoke out for the mother beaver and her kits. They said the city needs to think up better ways to handle animals in a new Wildlife Strategy.

Lucky the beaver is missing and presumed dead by Stittsville residents who are looking to the city for a new Wildlife Strategy after workers destroyed a lodge he and his partner made for their two kits.

“I find it very odd that Lucky has disappeared,” said Anita Utas who lives near the storm water pond in a Stittsville suburb where the beavers make their home. “They are monogamous and the adults stay with the kits for two years.”

The beavers named Lucky and Lily have two five-week old kits and became a cause celebre in late 2011 when Mayor Jim Watson said the animals would not be trapped and killed as per city policy.

Well the media has finally come lumbering onto the scene, almost a week after the city ripped out the protection of 4 beavers who reportedly weren’t there at all. The Mayor keeps writing me back as if he were reasonable and interested in actual information, but I know he is making this decision with as much thought as you put into having your knee move when the Dr. taps it with that rubber mallet. Maybe less.

“You can’t come down this path with out finding someone who cares about the beaver,” said Anne Sturgeon, who lives near the site. “I don’t think it’s right they destroyed the home of a Canadian icon on Canada Day weekend.”

Nice! I’m glad to see Anita has some companions in this campaign, its hard work worrying about beavers when a city is determined to pretend they don’t matter. Anita is a beautiful artist who donated a lovely encaustic painting of a beaver to the silent auction, a painstaking process in which

Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments are added.

See? Anita paints with hot wax. That must mean managing crazy lying city council members is child’s play to her. Keep up the good work Anita!

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In other news, I did an interview with Glynnis Hood Sunday who resurfaced after her relaxing sebattical and it will air on Sunday. It’s a great story and a behind the scenes look at her new book which we’ll also be offering at the festival. We were approached by the National Humane Society of the US who said that Stephanie Boyles sent them our way and they wondered if they could use photos from the website! Janet Snyder wondered if all these images of beavers were from free, wild beavers since they were so close? Ha. Yes, indeed, I told her. I’ll let you know what they chose. And if you’re interested in browsing more about next weekend’s festival, check this out! Didn’t Amelia Hunter do an amazing job? Maybe you’ll consider hiring her for your next graphic job!

Oh and speaking of amazing artists have you seen this? By our own FROgard Butler, who, as usual, will be helping children do amazing art at the festival,? Guess what her middle name is?

Excitements

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Burrowing Owls, City Reports, Environmental, Festival, History July 24, 2012

Beaver concerns boil over in London at city hall meeting

By Angela Mullins Metro London

Call it a battle for the beavers.

Animal activists, including those on the city’s Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, want to see councillors pass new rules for how the woodland creatures — and their dams — are handled in the city.

“Typically in London, trapping is used. That’s the archaic method,” said Deb Harris, who until last month sat on the committee and is continuing to work on the issue. “Other municipalities have employed non-lethal alternatives successfully.”

No no no, you haven’t gone back in time 5 years and history is not repeating itself. This story is from Guelph Canada. (And I just met someone who explained that this doesn’t rhyme with ‘elf’ just so you know) Ahh it brings back memories though doesn’t it?

Tempers flared in the beaver debate Monday when city staff asked council’s planning and environment committee for permission to continue trapping the animals if they pose harm to infrastructure, like drains.

That, members of the animal welfare committee, flies in the face of a June council decision requiring that administrators trap no more beavers until a report on other means of warding off the creatures is heard.

Coun. Bud Polhill, chair of the planning committee, pulled administrators’ request off the consent agenda, asking that a report come back at a later date with more information.

Members of the animal welfare group, who said they didn’t know about the staff request until late Sunday, hope that means they’ll get a chance to state their case. They’re prepared to make a report, recommending the city consider using tools to ward off the wildlife instead of removing those that pose a threat.

Oh how exciting! Tempers flaring! City staff pontificating! Passionate pedestrians protesting! Are these meetings video taped? I’d love to watch with some popcorn and a nice bottle of this…

Need more good news? The proofs came this weekend for our historic beaver prevalence articles…we are really being published – which means a century of misunderstanding is really about to be overturned!