Category: Educational

Words with Beaver Friends

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, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, History, Urban beavers, Who's saving beavers now? April 3, 2016

Alexandria Costello is a masters student st Portland University studying the geomorphic influences of beavers in urban streams. She just came to the geology conference in San Francisco to present a poster session. Then went to Napa to meet Robin and Rusty and walk the beaver habitat. She posted this on Facebook and I asked for a closer look to share. Can I just say how much I love the idea that folks are talking about “urban beavers” at a conference?

Oh my goodness. I’m intrigued already. Aren’t you? It’s a funny thing to think about the educated, generous, ecologically-minded city of Portland learning anything at all from a stubborn ol’ refinery town like Martinez, isn’t it?

Recognize those puppets? I am so proud of us sometimes. I especially like the part where she says cities in Oregon should invest in similar programs around the state to help people learn about the benefits of beaver. You know like the city of Martinez invested in us with all the funding and sponsoring they did of our message and effort. Haaaaaaaaaa Ha Ha Ha.

Sorry, I just suddenly thought of this comic for some reason and needed to post. I’ll allow Alex to continue.

I’m so impressed with this presentation, and with Alex for putting it together. Everyone had a grand time in Napa, and I am so pleased they connected. Apparently even WS is the best behaved it will EVER be in Oregon, under the steadying hand of Jimmy Taylor. I’m so grateful to have contributed to the story with our playful puppets.

While we’re on the topic of the successes of friends, I heard the other day that Wyoming beaver believer Amy Cummings, and Washington advocate Joe Cannon of the Lands Council are headed for an Idaho event sponsored by our beaver friends at Watershed Guardians. The event is cleverly called A Reverse Rendezvous, and is held on the day the trapping season ends. (History lesson: The original rendezvous were gatherings of trappers where massive furs and goods changed hands, and where you could connect with a new company or glean some insights of areas that were trapped out. There was lots of bragging, drinking and whoring too, I’ll wager. Probably more than a few fights or fatalities, as minimally socialized loners found themselves in a sudden crowd where impulse control was required.)

Anyway, this reverse one is going to be way better.

In the summer of 1826, the American Fur Company set up a small camp in the Powder River basin in western Wyoming to buy furs from various trapping companies and free trappers. There were gifts, story telling, contests and music. All to celebrate beaver that had been killed. We’re going to do something similar but opposite at the Reverse Rendezvous. On April 15th, 2016, we’ll be doing something similar, but with a twist. We’ll be celebrating the beaver that WEREN’T killed. Come join us!

Our story tellers are Amy Chadwick and Joe Cannon. Amy is an environmental consultant specializing in rehabilitating damaged ecosystems. Joe Cannon is part of the most successful beaver re-introduction program in history. We are excited and pleased to have them both.

I’m so jealous I won’t be on hand to hear all the stories. Maybe someone will be taping? Worth A Dam wishes you the hardiest of successes.

Meanwhile, I’m hard at work with an idea for this years festival. Over the years I’ve probably gathered every wonderful graphic, historical image or photo of beavers, now I just need to find some old scrabble games!

Ohh, Did the widdle beaver dam make it hard for your canoe?

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and water, Educational, Environmental, Who's blaming beavers now? March 27, 2016

Yes I know I typed ‘widdle’ instead of little. I did it to communicate a certain infantile whining that this article reminded me of. You know the sort, people who rip out a beaver dam and then complain that it slowed them down, even though it was the only thing keeping the water there in the first place.

Paddlers overcome low water, beaver dam at St. George River Race

SEARSMONT, Maine — In their years of paddling together, Barry and Lori Dana of Solon have overcome plenty of obstacles, and have established themselves as perennial favorites on the local whitewater racing scene.

But the veteran canoeists were in for a surprise shortly after beginning the 37th annual St. George River Race — the first of the racing season — on Saturday.

“We found a beaver dam, and we got quite hung up on it and we wasted about a minute and a half trying to paddle backward into the current,” Lori Dana explained. “We got out of it by grabbing the beaver sticks and alders along the side and pushing off the bottom to get backwards enough to get our bow around it.”

Barry Dana said he’d heard some chatter about the beaver dam just before the start, but didn’t realize how much of an obstacle it would present.

“[Nobody said] that right around the next corner, a 90-degree corner, you’re going to be facing a 3-foot opening [in a beaver dam], but all of the current’s going hard right,” Barry Dana said.

“I’ve been working against the beaver all week, but the beaver, I think, won,” Cross said. “We try not to disturb the river too much. We try to make it so you can get down through. But this beaver, … is working very hard. Harder than I was.”

Those pesky beaver dams! Not even the three foot hole they cut in it helped enough. I can’t tell you how many times I stood at the dam and watched in horror as kayaks or canoes tried to pass thru the dam by ramming the sticks out of the way. Now that Martinez has no dams (and no water to speak of) I bet they don’t even come. That’s called irony I guess.

This part of the article also interested me;

“I grew up on Indian Island, Penobscot Nation, and canoeing was life, Barry Dana said.

Guess who else got his start in the Penobscot Nation? That would be Skip Lisle, it was where he invented the beaver deceiver and started his important beaver work. It was ages before he trained Mike Callahan of Beaver Solutions. Decades before he came to Martinez to install our castor master. Small world eh?

Those pesky beavers change so many lives.

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Ascending Beaver Stars

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? March 26, 2016

Today is full of inspiration. I couldn’t be happier. We can start with this fantastic story.

After Muskrats Damaged Pond, Beaver Moves In to Make Repairs

Noelker’s parents, the late Walter and Evelyn Noelker, had built the pond some 80 years ago, and the family used to fish in it.

Then a few years back, muskrats showed up and began burrowing holes into the pond bank, damaging it to the point where it was too weak to hold up anymore, said Noelker. A section of the bank gave way and the pond was drained down to just 3 feet or so of water.

Then about six months ago, Noelker — who can see the pond from his house in neighboring Forest Hills subdivision — noticed the pond looked deeper again, back to its original 8- or 9- foot depth.

When he showed up to investigate he found his answer in a row of tree stumps with pointy tips surrounding the pond and a water-tight dam made from those felled tree trunks, other sticks and mud.

A beaver or a family of them had moved in and repaired the hole in the bank that had been created by muskrats.

How much do you LOVE this story? Not only does Mr. Noelker let nature take its course, he also has the good sense to recognize the help the beaver is providing. If I told you to close your eyes and guess what state this is from you’d be right. The beaver IQ capital of the world: Washington.

“We don’t care that the beaver is here. He’s our buddy now,” Leon Noelker said, smiling.

He rents a cottage on the property and wishes he could see them. We wanna stay! Trust me, they will be amply visible in the coming fine summer days that seem to stretch forever. Those hungry kits will wake up before the sun goes down and then he’ll be in for a real treat. Muskrats AND beavers!

Every beaver’s great friend Glynnis Hood is back in the news, this time international.

Beaver Hills area named UNESCO biosphere reserve

*Glynnis Hood, professor of environmental science at Augustana Campus, lives near Lake Miquelon and guides students’ research in the wetlands of the Beaver Hills area.*

An ecologically rich area of Alberta that is home to a University of Alberta research station and fertile ground for dozens of researchers over the years has won international recognition.

Home to a mix of preserved wetlands, green rolling hills and dense boreal forests, the Beaver Hills area east of Edmonton has been designated as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserve, under its Man and the Biosphere Programme. The area joins a network of 669 sites in 120 countries that foster ecologically sustainable human and economic development. Researchers from various faculties at the U of A have conducted dozens of studies there over the last 30 years, focused on work ranging from wildlife and outdoor recreation to wetlands and land management.

“It’s a hidden gem,” added Glynnis Hood, an associate professor of environmental science based at the U of A’s Augustana Campus. “Beaver Hills is spectacular because of its subtle beauty. There are ecological surprises around every corner, because you’re not looking for the big features like mountains, but for the small surprises.” One of those surprises is the fisher, a weasel thought to be gone from the area that seems to have a healthy population and is now the subject of a collaborative University of Victoria study involving Augustana Campus.

“The Beaver Hills biosphere offers a rich opportunity to keep exploring questions that are right in our own backyard,” said Hood, who lives near Miquelon Lake and has for years guided students in researching area wetlands. She’s also studied human-wildlife conflicts and is currently researching low-impact wetland management practices.

Okay, I’ll let you guess what habitat-restoring engineer has been working hard to keep beaver hills so biodiverse. I’ll even give you a hint: they named the hills after them. We are always thrilled to see the way Glynnis continues to demonstrate their effect on habitat, and our need for wetlands. Now we have UNESCO appreciating her good work as well. This sentence intrigued me.

Last year she and colleague Glen Hvenegaard led the first field course in environmental science and ecology at the Miquelon Lake Research Station, which opened in 2015.

If that name sounds really familiar it should. Dr. Hvenegaard is the author of this paper on the importance of wildlife festivals which is very near to my heart.

Potential Conservation Benefits of Wildlife Festivals

Wildlife festivals promote a variety of social, educational, economic, recreational, and community development goals. As ecotourism activities, wildlife festivals should also promote conservationgoals. This article examines five potential conservation benefits of wildlife festivals which can be generated by providing: 1) incentives to establish protected areas; 2) revenue for wildlife and habitat management; 3) economic impact to nearby areas, encouraging residents to conserve wildlife; 4) alternatives to other uses that cause more environmental damage; and 5) support for conservation by educating local and nonlocal participants.

Truly a kindred spirit of ours. I’m glad they’re working together to teach the importance of interconnected ecosystems and getting out in them!

A final stunning moment comes this morning from Rusty Cohn of Napa. He used his drone to aerial film the creek and beaver lodge. Yesterday he and Robin Ellison met with the Geography Masters student I met at the State of the beaver conference last year. Alexandra Costello. She interviewed me for an urban beaver paper she’ll be doing a poster session for this year at the upcoming Geography conference in SF. While she’s in the area she wanted to see some urban dams. Robin and Rusty were only two happy to assist. The three had a fantastic visit and really surprised her, because even it’s ‘under construction’ spring state, the Napa dam was still bigger than the urban ones she’d seen in Portland. Those are made entirely of grass and mud, she said, with no sticks.

Beaver wanderings

heidi08 Beavers, Educational, Environmental, Who's Killing Beavers Now?, Who's saving beavers now? March 25, 2016

Yesterday was the Pinole Rotary event. They gave us a tasty lunch at Pear Street Bistro while I talked Martinez beavers to them and tried to prepare them for the inevitable beaver visit coming their way. They were very positive and receptive, so I’m hopeful that solutions will cross their minds when beavers tentatively set their paws in Pinole Creek. One cheerful listener even sang the beaver fight song from his alma mater.

Then I came home and found out that Queequeg wears a beaver hat!

Allow me to explain. My youthful self did lots of reading things like Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky, but I never got around to reading more American classics like that famous impossible quest tale of Moby Dick. Probably because whaling was ‘icky’ or some other such reason.

Just by chance on facebook the other day I noticed that they had just finished the complete audio of Melvil’s seminal work, with every chapter read in its entirety by people like Stephen Fry and Tilda Swinton, so I thought, that would be a fun way to fill the gap, and tried it out.

I’m up to chapter for when the narrator unwillingly finds himself sharing a bed at the Spouter Inn with a terrifying painted ‘savage’ who turns out to be not so scary. This is Queequeg, a Mowry kind of tattoed harpoonist who has earned enough at sea to have a few prized civilized possessions. Chief among them is his BEAVER HAT which in the morning he puts on first, long before his actual pants, to show he is fully committed to American life.

Now Moby Dick was written in 1851, when the fur trade had begun to tank. The beaver hat was out of fashion in Europe, and the silk hat was becoming all the rage. Perfect timing because they had killed all the beavers everywhere in Europe centuries ago, and now even Canada and America (including California, the last hold out). Silk ascended, or was adopted, just in time. The same way in which you pretend you like something better when you know you’re never getting the original back. Queequeg proudly wears his top hat in the same way that we might proudly display a rotary phone or one of those a deep square TV sets. Progress has moved on. Even when he catches on he’s already behind.
In case you want to enjoy your own rediscovery, the chapters are here:

What if concerned citizens themselves are the wildlife corridors?

heidi08 Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? March 20, 2016

*Writer Mary Ellen Hannibal, author of Spine of the Continent. Photo: Richard Morganstein*

Do you recognize this face? You really should as it belongs to one of the most brilliant nature writers of the day. Mary Ellen Hanibal is the author of the well-embraced “Spine of the Continent”, and a major subject this month at the Bay Nature website. She is currently working on a book on the subject of citizen science and wildlife corridors. A lecture series is promoting it and it’s not due for release until the end of August. I know you’ll recognize some of it though.

Searching for Heroes and Hope in an Age of Extinction

Noted environmental author and Bay Nature contributing writer Mary Ellen Hannibal was moved to write about large-scale efforts to protect the planet after watching conservation scientists weep as they shared their fears that the species they were studying wouldn’t be able to keep up with the rapid pace of environmental change. Out of that experience came The Spine of the Continent, a description of the large-scale effort to promote biodiversity along the chain of mountain ranges from Canada to Mexico. Her next book hones in on a new hope for preserving biodiversity: groups of concerned citizens who faithfully count and study the animals and plants in their local parks, in the wild, and even virtually.

It’s a great interview, and you really should go read the whole thing. In the mean time, I think we should play a game. Let’s pretend that you were a bay area writer tackling the subject of citizen science for an important book. Who would you be sure to interview? Who are the major players in Bay Area wildlife? And before you even start suggesting those river otter people you keep hearing so much about, read this.

Hi Heidi — I’m a journalist and the author of The Spine of the Continent: The Race to Save America’s Last, Best Wilderness. I’ll paste a short review of it below.

I actually wrote quite a bit about beaver in the book — two chapters. One chapter is about Mary O’Brien and her work with the Grand Canyon Trust to bring beaver back to Utah. Just this month Mary has put out a notice to the hundreds of volunteers who over the years have helped her collect data with which to get the Forest Service to change their grazing rules so that beaver habitat can be maintained. It was working with Mary that I conceived the idea of the book I’m writing now, about citizen science, since this is such a fantastic way to get people galvanized and making change.

I’m focusing on California in my book and would love to feature Worth a Dam. I can’t find a list of volunteer activities on your website but I bet you have them. Any other citizen-related engagement, where people actually help gather data and/or restore habitat? Do you know of other volunteer or citizen science related work around beaver in California?

There’s a cool beaver dam app also in Utah and I’m going to write an update about Mary but would love to have a California connection. In any case I’m writing about how beaver were here historically and that in some cases the agencies persist in looking at them as invasive — I’m going to suggest, hopefully in a tactful way, that this is an outdated way of looking at things purely through the lens of agriculture, ranching, and business in general, and that we have to look beyond those interests to the functioning ecosystem.

Thank you for doing your wonderful work — did you write the “beaver pledge” on your site? I’d love to include it in the book.

best,

Mary Ellen September 2014

p.s. I’d ask to come meet you but my deadline is crazily close and I really can’t leave my desk.

I’m sure part of what she was hoping our volunteers did was take fur samples or gather scat. Because that would be ‘science-y’. Just watching the beavers and observing what they do for 9 years apparently isn’t that science-y. Citizen science according to much of the world involves using cell phones to collect data that actual scientists would have gotten themselves if they had enough funding. It is not about observing a father beaver care for his kits when widowed or seeing him get remarried a 18 months later. It is not about noticing that one kit always used reeds when he built dams and his father tried on at least one occasion to show him that trees were more useful, and he ignored him.

That’s not ‘citizen science’. That’s ‘colorful science’.

But regardless, Mary wanted to include Worth A Dam in her book, and specifically asked to include this, which I’m dearly hoping made it past the final edits. I’m asking for an early copy for the silent auction, but you’ll have to come see for yourself whether its available.