Category: Educational

Friendly protection

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver Rehabilitation, Beavers, Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Who's saving beavers now? September 15, 2017

Here’s two very nice ways to get a jump start on the weekend. The first is news that our good friend Camilla Fox of Project Coyote is now working with the Center for Biological Diversity to sue Fish and Game. Here she is with a volunteer working at the beaver festival in 2012. We always like days that start out like this.

State wildlife agencies sued over commercial trapping program

Two national nonprofit advocacy groups sued the California Fish and Game Commission and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife this week, claiming the two agencies have improperly managed and illegally subsidized the state’s commercial trapping program.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Project Coyote claim thousands of coyotes, foxes, badgers and other fur-bearing animals are trapped in California every year so their pelts can be sold overseas.

The advocate groups claim in their lawsuit that the California Fish and Game Commission and state Department of Fish and Wildlife have illegally diverted up to $500,000 since 2013 to subsidize commercial fur trapping in the Golden State.

The California Fish and Game Commission and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are two separate entities. Established in 1870, the California Fish and Game Commission is billed as the first and oldest wildlife conservation agency in the United States, predating even the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries.

I didn’t even know that there was a State Fish and Game Commission. They are the folks at the county level that gave us our grant last year. In fact they’re hosting a bbq this weekend that Cheryl is attending to show off what we did with their money. I can’t tell from the article how they’re saying the agencies subsidized trapping but I’m very interested in this idea. Wait, there’s a clearer article in the LA Times yesterday. They say the taxpayers end up subsidizing because the fees for trapping licences are so low. They’re saying if they charged trappers what it actually cost the system, the fur trade would die in California. Hmmm that’s interesting.

Lawsuit aims to end commercial fur trapping in California

“We hope the filing of this lawsuit will be remembered as the moment California said goodbye to the handful of people who still kill mammals so that their pelts can be auctioned off in foreign markets and then made into slippers and fur-trimmed coats,” she said.

It may be unpopular, but I’m not going to invest a lot of energy in fur trapping. That is not the cause of the overwhelming number of beaver deaths. Depredation is the BIG killer in California. I would spend money suing the the state over that.

(I’m having a fantasy right now about what it would be like to have enough money to sue CDFG in a drought year after counting all the beaver depredation permits and calculating how much water they would have saved if they had been allowed to live!)

Of course my favorite lawsuit against CDFG involved beavers, was won at the appellate level and happened 18 years ago with our friend Mitch Wagoner in Riverside county. Ahh Memories!

Meet the Baby Beavers, Squirrels and Ducklings Saved During Harvey

The second treat to start the weekend is this from the Wildlife Center of Texas, who has its share of rescues after hurricane Harvey. The article is definite eye candy and you should check it out, but I thought this was particularly wonderful.

The good volunteers at WCT are working hard at the moment so go here to donate.

beaver-duo — *Kits dislocated by Hurricane Harvey: Wildlife Center of Texas*

Sticking Place

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beaver-themed merchandise, Beavers, 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, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? September 14, 2017

Lovely letter this morning from Caitlin Adair of Vermont about how property owners can help save water and mitigate storm damage. When I looked her up I saw that she was friend and neighbor of Patti Smith, which makes a lot of sense. (Patti is the wonderful artist and writer behind ‘the beavers of popple’s pond.) Caitlin’s letter is full of great suggestions that you should read and implement, but obviously the last one is my favorite.

Individuals can help make area more flood-resistant

What can we do, as individuals, to turn all the rain that a big storm brings into an asset rather than a disaster? You can look at your property or backyard and see what you might do to stop or slow the flow of water into nearby rivers. A few sandbags placed along a natural pathway for water runoff could prevent erosion and slow flooding. A more permanent solution might include building earth berms in these places or directing roof or driveway runoff into a rain garden.

Finally, beaver dams and beaver ponds also help rainwater to stay where it falls, soak in slowly, and restore aquifers. Beavers are the original wetlands engineers. Let’s support their work for the benefit of all.

Well said, Caitlin! And a great time to say it when folks are thinking about the effect of storms. From now on you are officially a friend of Worth A Dam.

Yesterday I was asked by Michael Howie of Fur Bearer Defenders to do a webinar presentation of our story for their Compassionate Conservation Week at the end of next month.

This unique event replaced our traditional Living With Wildlife conference by utilizing webinar technology that can bring together speakers from around the world, with audiences from around the world. Anyone with a computer and an internet connection can attend or participate as a speaker (though speakers will need a microphone, which is quite inexpensive). Each day we will showcase two to three webinars from a variety of speakers, all of which help wildlife advocates, researchers, students, and animal lovers get their communities on track with the concept of compassionate conservation.

We talked about my doing it last year but the timing was a problem. This year things look better so I agreed. I haven’t done a powerpoint presentation since my early days on the subcommittee, so I will need to do a little work to get ready, but I’m happy to help. We are heading for a vacation at the coast next week and I’m hopeful that some ideas can come together along the way. If it all works out, I’ll give you the specifics so you can attend or listen later. Stay tuned!

Every now and then some new gadget or technology catches my eye and I can just see how this could be incorporated into a wonderful activity. Two weeks ago it was the sticker books from Moo printing, which I must have seen on another website looking for information about children’s crafts. Each book contains 90 stickers printed according to your instructions. Everyone could be different if you like. And the entire set costs just 10 dollars.

I thought I’d try one out just to see if I liked it.

How remarkably cute is this little book? The stickers are the size of postage stamps. I know what you’re thinking. How does this relate to beaver education? I’ll tell you how. Suppose each sticker book is a different species, birds, fish, dragonflies, frogs etc. And suppose kids had to ‘earn’ each sticker from the exhibitors by learning how beavers helped that animal. And suppose kids were given a card printed with an inviting keystone image on which to place their gathered stickers. A ‘Keystone Keepsake’ let’s call it. Like this for instance.

The physicality of placing that sticker on the card does a lot to really make the ecosystem connection. As you can see the possibilities are practically endless. I talked with Mark Poulin last week about reusing his very fun images he did as buttons one year. He gave permission and thought it was a great idea. Then I pulled together a keystone image with the fun illustration of Jane Grant Tentas, and it all came together. We could do 15 species for 150 dollars for 90 children, and I bet if I poke Moo a little bit I might get a bit of a donation because look how I’m plugging their adorable product!

Unusual for Utah

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Ice, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Do beavers live in the dam?, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? September 6, 2017

This is footage of the hard working Utah DWR group installing BDA’s in the higher elevations of Utah. They make little beaver dams to save water and hope it will help out the wildlife and lure beavers to move in. Up until this VERY moment I always thought Utah was smarter than us about beavers. Not anymore.

Updates from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources

At first glance, it appears the wrong species has been building dams in Miller Creek. DWR habitat crews have taken on the beaver’s usual role, dropping in support poles, weaving in tree branches and packing mud on the structures they’re building. The goal of this unusual project is to re-flood the floodplain and create pools for the river’s sensitive and endangered fish. Having more water in the area will also benefit the mammals and birds that use the stream corridor.

So far so good. But now comes the CRASH! Feet of clay indeed!

Biologists hope that beavers will eventually move into the structures and continue the effort.

For just a moment I’m going to amuse myself with the absurd thought that all the biologists of Utah (and not a few confused reports) really believe that beavers live in dams. In my fantasy they are truly standing by with clipboards and befuddled looks on their faces wondering why the animals don’t move IN to these lovely solid walls they built. Heh heh. Do they also wonder why bird nests have those ridiculous holes in them, and aren’t just solid twig bricks too?

Okay, I’m done. I do not for a moment believe this comment is the work of a biologist. Once again Heidi will explain kindly to reporters that beavers don’t live IN the dam. The dam is solid. Like a wall built to hold back water. It doesn’t have an inside. Think of it like a mattress. You don’t sleep inside your mattress do you? Beavers live in the lodge. I realize this requires you to learn two words instead of one, but I truly think you’re up to it. (Most of you.)

Honestly, Utah is too good for rookie mistakes like this.

Projects like these help raise the water table and restore natural floodplains, improving habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife. A special thanks to ConocoPhillips and Trout Unlimited, who have been great partners on this and many other projects!

I received the grant application for 2018 from the Fish and Wildlife Commission and have been thinking a little about possible projects when I came across this lovely drawing by Jane Grant Tentas of New Hampshire. I love the inviting curiosity of the girl, the crisp vibrancy of the colors and the rich duality of the world. My goodness if this were only a freshwater habitat it would be so valuable to teach kids about ecosystems above and below water.

ca663334f7be916f5b55533b0bcd908e — *Beneath: Jane Grant Tentas*

As it happens, Jane teaches high school art about 20 minutes away from our beaver friend Art Wolinsky. So I’m hoping he puts in a good word for beavers, and maybe we can persuade her to go fresh?

Beavers International

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Educational, Environmental August 25, 2017

Another wonderful beaver film from our friend Willy de Koning of the Netherlands. She also wrote me a note about the different origins of the brown and black beavers. Looks like we have some fruits of diversity growing in the beaver tree too!

I’d like to sent you a new film of the beavers in Limburg, the south part of The Netherlands where I live. There also live a lot of beavers, more and more during the years. It’s not difficult to see them. In this part of the country live brown and black beavers. De black beavers were reintroduced in the Eifel in Germany and came originally from Poland. In Poland they were in earliyer years held fot their fur and specially selected for that
From the German Eifel they came to he south part of The Netherlands by small rivers. Now we have beaver families with brown, darkbrown and black beavers.

Wow, thanks Willy. That is really fun to see. I assume on smaller rivers these guys are still building dams every now and then? It’s wonderful to see the population recovering. Although maybe everyone doesn’t share our excitement.

Now from Canada we have the most polite article I have ever seen about a beaver dam washing out the road. Considering how much damage it caused, it’s amazingly good hearted. I guess it’s true what they say about those nice Canadians?

Builder beavers can obliterate roads when dams collapse

Two cars on Highway 141 in Muskoka, Ont. plunge into a submerged crevasse drivers believed was simply a flooded roadway. Though each road was damaged by a mad rush of water, the flood could be traced to a single cause — the collapse of a dam built by beavers.

No foul to the beavers. Their diligent dam building helps create beneficial wetlands and encourages bio-diversity. However, like all real estate, the location of dams is critical.

“Beavers are very industrious and love to stop the flow of water,” says John Potts, maintenance superintendent at the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s (MTO) Bancroft office. “We often have beavers working alongside our highways.”

Potts says he admires the industriousness of beavers and respects the impressive force of water and sediment released when a dam bursts.

“Typically we experience one dam break per year and some of them are not very significant,” he says. “But I wouldn’t want to be driving through the area at the moment a big dam lets loose.”

I’m sure we all wish we had beaver-wisdom in our road crews but seriously? You can’t blame the beavers for trying? I think I need to sit down. I’m feeling a little weak around the knees. Usually transportation crews are not friends to the beaver, but this is one for the history books.Thanks for the eye opener, Ontario!

Nothing succeeds like beaver succession

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Educational, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? August 21, 2017

Pond succession is something you hear discussed a fair amount as pond bottoms become more rich with plant material and ultimately turn into forests – but it all happens better with beavers of course. Apparently Ducks unlimited is teaming up with USFS and Fish and Game to look at how it all plays out. Because studying something nine million times always produces different results, right?

Pacific Northwest – More Information

Background information on DU’s Pacific Northwest conservation priority area

Importance to waterbirds

These systems have traditionally been used as spring staging areas. Cook Inlet and the Copper River Delta are among the most important wetlands to the world’s populations of western sandpiper and dunlin. The Stikine is also a traditional fall staging area for Wrangel Island snow geese. Common wintering shorebirds include black oystercatchers, rock sandpipers, black turnstones, and surfbirds. Seabirds (murres, murrelets, auklets) are common breeders throughout Prince William Sound. Southeastern Alaska has over 2,800 important anadromous fish streams, and over 15,000 bald eagles use this habitat.

Goals

Complete successional vegetation modeling for the Copper River Delta and analyze pond succession related to beaver activity.

Now we both know that there are a lot of places where Ducks Unlimited does a lot of good in the world. Buying up habitat for duck hunters is useful in populated areas or areas that have been degraded by industry. But buying hunting grounds in Alaska is probably not high on the list of good deeds for the environment. And you can tell they’re clutching at any research straws hoping to justify it their presence – installing pit tags on salmon and measuring where molting is most likely to occur in geese.

But looking at the role beavers play in pond succession is soooo soooo reinventing the wheel the Alaska Parks department even has a unit on it for 4th graders. Hear that? Nine year olds know more than DU. Because it’s old news, baby.

4-6, Unit Four, Activity 5<br>”Beaver Succession Mural”

Students will discuss the concept of succession and describe beaver pond succession as one example of the process of change in natural environments. They will apply an understanding of the concept of succession by drawing a mural showing stages of beaver pond succession.

Grades: 4 – 6
Time: 1 – 2 hours
Life science, visual arts

When beavers dam a stream, they set in motion a form of succession. The resulting backwater floods lowland near the creek. Trees are soon killed, creating an opening in the forest canopy. Water-associated plants and shrubs quickly invade the pond and shoreline, creating favorable habitat for waterfowl, moose, blackbirds, amphibians, fish, insects, muskrats, wading birds, warblers, marsh hawks, and a score of other animals. After many years the water becomes shallow, filling in with silt and plant debris.

Stimulated by the nutrient-rich mud, grasses, sedges, and shrubs begin to choke the water with their accumulating debris. The ground begins to firm as more silt is trapped.

As years pass, the trees near the lodge are cut down by the beavers for use as food and shelter. The beavers must move on and find a new spot to support themselves. Without the beavers to keep it strong, the old dam collapses, draining the pond. The area becomes meadow, supporting grasses, sedges, and other flowering plants. Trees begin to re-invade the drier ground and eventually the meadow reverts to forest. Centuries may be required to see this process completed.

What can we expect next for the exciting research teams at Ducks Unlimited? One can only speculate they’ll be looking into what bears do in the woods and why ducks float instead of sink on water. The curious scientific community will have to be patient.

In the meanwhile we can respect the work that really teaches us about beavers habitat, mostly coming out of NOAA fisheries. This morning there is another lecture on beavers and salmon offered by the Alaska Public Radio station. KTNA. I promise if you listen to the easy three minutes you’ll soon know more than any duck hunter.