Category: Educational

Listen to your Elders

heidi08 Beaver Rehabilitation, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? February 1, 2017

I was surprised to come across this yesterday in my search for donations. I hadn’t seen this site before and knew nothing about it, which is rare for beaver news so close to home. Thinking about the Tuleyome website from yesterday, I suspect similarities. The two names aren’t actually linked anywhere I can find, but their location is, and the websites are very similar. Either they have the same technician or they are staffed by a handful of similar people.

Either way, I like them.

The Elder Creek Oak Woodland Preserve is a private preserve soon to be protected by conservation easement that encompasses 233 acres of primarily steep hills of blue oak woodland containing dozens of old-growth manzanitas. This preserve is located in the Elder Creek Watershed, which covers about 150 square miles and ranges in elevation from over 8000 feet to about 250 feet above sea level. Over 72 miles of streams and creeks make up the watershed, making it one of the longer ones on the west side of the northern Sacramento Valley

What we do to encourage beavers on Elder Creek:

• Never kill beavers and encourage others to join us in protecting them.
• Regularly comment to California Fish and Wildlife to prioritize restoration of beaver populations.
• Build small, beaver-like check dams and baffles in the creek in mid- to late spring (depending on flow).
• Leave cottonwood and willow along the creek, occasionally removing dead wood and coppicing some of the willow.

Imagine stumbling across a website like this by accident! I can assure you it made my afternoon.

According to Westbrook, 85 percent of all watercourses in the United States — and a comparable, though unquantified, percentage in Canada — are headwater streams and, therefore, small enough to be dammed by beavers. This continent-wide network of fine blue lines represents a wealth of potential beaver habitat. “We’re talking about beaver in nearly every headwater stream across North America prior to European colonization,” says Westbrook. (from Canadian Geographic)

Beaver streams resulted in:

Reduced stream sedimentation and erosion
Stream temperature moderation
Higher dissolved oxygen levels
Overall improved water quality
Increased natural water storage capabilities within watersheds, including recharge of ground water aquifers
Reduced stream velocities, which means a decreased number of extreme floods
Removal of many pollutants from surface and ground water
Drought protection through increased year-round stream flow
Improved food/habitat for fish and other animals, including 43% (according to one source) of the endangered species that the US Department of Fish and Wildlife is mandated to protect

All these benefits from one little rodent! (Or several million, actually) Beavers are proudly promoted by our new BFF’s at Elder Creek Preserve. Thank you for doing this important work sharing the beaver gospel. Let’s hope is saturates Woodland and begins to sink into Sacramento. (And I mean both the region and the governing bodies it houses.)

On monday we were contacted by a beaver supporter who wanted to donate her grand mother’s old beaver fur coat for us to use in education or rehab. Certainly it’s nothing we have ever considered for ourselves. I have always mocked a very widely used and un-admirable activity folks practice in schools of allowing one student to ‘dress up like a beaver, with a fur coat, goggles and flippers’ to teach them about their adaptions. We would never do that as it seems way more stunt-y than teach-y. And why not teach kids the amazing things about beavers while you have their attention?

But it occurred to me maybe we could teach about the fur trade and the toll it extracted on our streams and wildlife? We never really tried to do that kind of education at a festival, but why not? And maybe while we’re at it teach the martinez story and our creek response with series of display panels folks can look at their own pace. I have been working on a graphic we could use for a poster with the display. I will say, that Jon and I were both very surprised how soft the coat was. I always imagined beaver as more wiry. And you can definitely see how protective and thick it is. You can’t even see where the individual hairs separate. It also occurred to me that orphan beavers in rehab might like to snuggle up to beaver fur, so I’ve asked our beaver rehabber friend if that’s true and we will consider donating it to Sonoma where they do most of the beaver rehab work.

We like fur coats best of course ON the beaver, but it might be okay to put it to good use now.

Woodland Wilds and Wonders

heidi08 Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? January 31, 2017

I am tempted to tease the headline of this article as winning the prize for the single most consonance B’s ever in a beaver story, or mention that Capybara aren’t from Australia, but it’s a dam good article from a region where we have been short beaver support in the past. And authors don’t always get to pick the titles, and the paper is in Davis of all places. So I’ll politely refrain and just celebrate a wonderful article from our new best friend.

Tuleyome Tales: Big, burly beavers can be a boon

By Mary K. Hanson

Although some people consider them a pest species that causes temporary flooding of areas adjacent area to their home, the ever-active North American beavers (Castor canadensis) have actually been proved over and over again to be a boon to humankind in many ways.

In the past two or three years, projects and studies have been conducted throughout several Western states that conclusively prove that the beavers are actually 80 percent more effective (and less costly) at repairing and improving degraded stream systems than humans. And part of the reason for that is because the beavers instinctively know where the best places are to build their dams and lodges.

Beavers don’t kill the trees they harvest. Rather, they cut the trees down with their sharp incisor teeth to just above ground-level, leaving the root system entirely intact. In wildlife habitat restoration and management done by humans, this exact same process is call “coppicing.” The majority of coppiced trees don’t die; they instead grow new healthier shoots from the severed stump, providing for long-term regrowth and reforestation.

This is part of the reason why beavers are considered to be a “keystone species” in the environment: Their creation of new growth and water pathways and ponds actually increases the biodiversity in the areas in which they live.

What a great start! (Although I’m confused about the ‘past two or three years’ and think it’s been more like 2-3 decade.) But still. The article refers to Ms. Hanson as a ‘certified naturalist’ which I believe must mean that she completed the UCB program that our volunteers Deidre and Leslie did. Where means she studied with beaver guru Brock Dolman, which means she got an and unmitigated earful about the good work that Beavers do for us. Thank goodness. I love the idea of this article being printed in a paper from a region that depredates the second highest number of beavers in the state!

Studies have proved that where beaver dams are allowed to exist naturally, waterfowl and fish populations increase and become healthier and more diverse. In Washington state, for example, studies proved that beavers — which do not eat fish — were a benefit to local trout and salmon populations, increasing smolt production from about 15 individuals per range to 1,170 fish.

A similar effect on waterfowl diversity was seen in Wyoming, where it was shown that waterways where beavers were present resulted in a 75-percent increase in the number and diversity of ducks.

Other benefits afforded by beavers and their construction sites include:

* An increase in the variety of vegetation that enhances bird habitat;

* The removal of toxins from local waterways by filtering out sediments, phosphates and heavy nitrogen concentrations;

* A reduction in soil erosion, which can decrease flood dangers for people in surrounding areas;

* Helping to re-establish and increase riparian habitat, which also aids in the interception of runoff, increasing soil nutrients and providing habitat for a wide variety of plants and trees. Increased plant life has the added benefit of improving air quality as trees and plants naturally remove toxin form the air; and

* Because the dams slow down the flow of water near them they help to recharged spent aquifers (raising the level of water stored underground for use during drought conditions).

Be still my heart! Ms. Hanson is a friend of ours even if we never met! I’m thinking the nonprofit she works with (TULEYOME) might want to come to the beaver festival! They have a shiny new website and obviously have lots to share. I think they’d enjoy themselves at the festival, don’t you?

Vote Beaver Vote!

heidi08 Educational, Environmental January 24, 2017

There are some things we try to do to help beavers that take a great deal of work. Throwing a festival that celebrates them, or convincing a city to save them are both examples that spring to mind. But sometimes simple things can help a lot and require very little effort on our part. Case in point?

Devon Wildlife Trust beavers up for BBC Countryfile award

The Trust has been jointly nominated with a project in Scotland in the ‘Wildlife Success of the Year’ category of the BBC Countryfile Magazine Awards. Public voting for the winner is now open.

The nomination is in recognition of DWT’s work with beavers living on the River Otter in East Devon. The beavers are thought to be the first wild population in England for more than 400 years.

Steve Hussey, of DWT, said: ‘We’re delighted to hear the good news of the nomination. Now public voting has opened we’re urging all beaver supporters to get their votes in either on-line or via a copy of BBC Countryfile magazine. If we can win it will show public support for these important and fascinating animals.’

Other nominated projects in the ‘Wildlife Success of the Year’ category include conservation work with dormice, cirl buntings, bumblebees and bitterns.

‘All the projects nominated would be worthy winners,’ said Steve. ‘But there is something about beavers, the fact they’ve been lost for so long and now are back which we feel gives them the edge.

‘Being involved in the project, seeing the animals swimming in a Devon river has been such a thrill – it has meant being a part of an amazing chapter in our country’s natural history. Surely that must be worth peoples’ votes.’

Vote for the beavers online at “Wildlife Success of the year”.

Countryfile is a kind of walking shoe-wearing, scrubbed and healthy TV show and magazine that follows all the best foot travel destinations in the UK. It won’t mean automatic nobels if beavers win, but it will help convince folks that they are being watched and supported. So your vote matters.

If you click on THIS LINK it will take you to the wildlife entries and from there you can cast your very important vote. You do not need to register or live in the UK. The only thing asked of you is an email address, and they promise not to send you things. The letter (ABCD or E) assigned to the beaver vote changes, so don’t automatically just press C. Look for the photo!

It is truly the simplest of elections. The hardest part is averting your eyes from that little dormouse which is damned cute – like a muskrat dressed in an elf costume. But remember your civic duty and support our flat tailed friends. The dormouse can win some other year.

EURASIAN BEAVER

These riparian architects were hunted to extinction in Britain 400-500 years ago. Now, thanks to the success of a trial on the Knapdale Estate in Argyll, they’ve been given leave to stay and Government protection, making them the first mammals to be officially reintroduced to the UK landscape. In Devon, a wild breeding population is living on the River Otter and is being monitored by the Devon Wildlife Trust.

Beaver Fan Club still has Openings

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, featured, Who's saving beavers now? January 19, 2017

Ooh how nice to see the upcoming beaver conference get some positive press! I hope that gets many more curious people in the door.

Seven Feathers to host conference on beaver restoration

CANYONVILLE — Oregon’s official state animal, the beaver, plays an important role in the state’s wetland ecosystems. Those advocating for the beaver plan to convene next month for a series of presentations focusing on beaver ecology as a crucial part of threatened species recovery.

The fifth State of the Beaver Conference, slated for Feb. 22-24 at the Seven Feathers Convention Center in Canyonville, is meant “to provide an international venue for academia, agency and stakeholders together to disseminate information pertinent to beaver ecology,” according to Leonard Houston, conference coordinator and co-chair of the Beaver Advocacy Committee (BAC) of the South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership.

“We chose the theme of ‘agents of regeneration’ largely to highlight the role that beavers play both in natural regeneration, which is ecological succession, and designed regeneration, which is restoration ecology,” Houston said.

The nicest part about this conference, and there are many, is that the famous names you have been reading about for years here or elsewhere are walking or sitting right next to you. Or coming up to say ‘hi’ and ask

about your presentation. The truth is that it is both a blessing and unfortunate that the science of beaver ecology isn’t yet so advanced that names like Woodruff, Obrien or Pollock can send

their undergrads to do the presenting for them and report back if they find anything interesting. As renowned as they are, they have to do their reporting in person and are eager to share ideas and learn from each other. They’re even happy to hear what you have to say.

Admittedly,they are probably even happier if you invite them out for a beer to say it. (And happier still if you offer to pay for it. Government salaries being what they are.)

santa barbara dinner — Michael Pollock, Mary Obrien, Sherri Guzzi, Mike Callahan and Me!

The point is, I think this is a golden moment in time where beaver science hasn’t become dominated and controlled by lofty minds and big research institutions. You can contribute, you can interact. They need you! But already the world is starting to shift. More and more folk are interested in taking charge of the beaver meme, and it won’t be easy and collegial forever.

Beavers are getting so famous, you better come this year. Just to be on the safe side.

‘Dome Sweet Dome’

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beavers, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? February 7, 2018

The inside of a beaver lodge has captured the fancies of folks from Lewis Carol to Ian Timothy! I have been interested in art describing this because we’re thinking about doing some over/under art for our activity this festival. I thought I would show you some of my favorites so far.

Art by Greg Newbold- www.gregnewbold.com -Used by permission

Greg Newbold is an illustrator in Salt Lake City Utah who created this wonderful glimpse of the inside of a beaver lodge. The colors are amazing, but even his sketch for the finished piece is pretty great. I particularly like the adorable young inhabitants inside. On his website “Life needs Art” he says about this,

I just finished up this one for an educational publisher. It’s fun to dig into details on something like this and create a feeling of reality even though this view is impossible to see in nature. I enjoyed the challenge of making the submerged portion of the beaver abode look like it was underwater which I achieved by shifting colors and values to reflect the effects of the water. Once again this is rendered in Photoshop over a graphite drawing. Size is 16″ x 11″ at 400 dpi. This one will print in the student edition as well as an oversize teacher edition to be used in group reading.

Fantastic job, Greg. I love watching the family members swim home. Let’s just hope the book says in HUGE red LETTERS This is NOT a beaver dam. Because some people really need help telling them apart, apparently.

I did find a couple illustrations that shows the lodge, the dam, and the important food cache. This is from Miles Kelly publishing.

Or this nice peek from M.H. Peterson, although I’m not sure what that hole is at the base of the lodge. A place to turn around?

And that fun one in the snow from the Adirondack book I posted earlier this week by Mike Storey:

And of course there are a few fanciful ones that just grab our imagination. I came across this last year from an illustrator who’s name escapes me. I know it was a female and I didn’t find it with the usual suspects looking for ‘interiors’ or ‘inside’ lodge. I will keep trying, because she deserves credit for this wonderful work. Aren’t the colors lovely?