Category: featured

No Solutions for You!

heidi08 Beavers or Social Ambasadors, City Reports, Educational, featured March 7, 2012

I was very sad to learn that the trapping-nazis at the four seasons had refused to try non-lethal solutions (even if someone else paid for it) (even if there was no danger from flooding) (even if it made their facility look bad) and had already hired a trapper to place 5 traps underwater. The Sierra Wildlife coalition fought valiantly to get even a temporary stay of execution, and Dick Parsons who had started the petition to save the beavers actually drove to Martinez with his wife, had lunch downtown and called me for a tour of our beaver habitat and flow device. Since I was at work Jon met the very nice couple and walked the dams with them. They saw a green heron and a muskrat and several mallards, and expressed their sadness that apparently problem-solving skills just aren’t what they used to be.

Later Jerry posted on facebook that he believes the beavers are dead and I could feel his heavy-hearted resignation. I tried to imagine what it would feel like to face that in a community with people you had to see every day – where you had to look across the creek in your own backyard and see the backyard of the very neighbor who wanted the beaver eliminated. Back in the drama days we had fierce opponents living nearby too, but mostly they were not voices accustomed to public scrutiny – preferring to make their influence in the background, slinking from the darkness to cast their spells and disappearing again from public view. Different from the fallout that comes from violently disagreeing with the neighbor you see every sunday in the coffee shop or at church.

The closest I could come to imagining what their loss might feel like was the horrific days after the sheet pile decision was made. I remember those days tasting like ashes and I remember the lost, falling, bereft feeling I had every waking moment. Within a day or two I managed to move into combat mode, and I found new goals to move forward, but that horrible night where the city council voted to put metal through the beaver lodge, and told me I could be on the citizen oversight committee as long as I didn’t try to alter or affect the work in any way – (and I tearfully declined) – that night was the blackest beaver advocacy moment I have ever faced.

Now on the other side, I can be somewhat grateful for the severity of that night, because the beavers weren’t killed by the decision, (although mom’s eye condition was never seen before its effects) because it released me from the need to “behave” and “make nice” and freed me to use every possible skill at my disposal to push without worrying about looking ‘pushy’ – more so because it showed me that the rules I had been playing by weren’t in fact the actual rules at all, and that the real contract driving the city had nothing to do with the one on paper. Of course, the fact that it was all for a big lie helped a great deal of course and in a way I will always be grateful for the clarity.

So Jerry and Dick and Helen and all beaver supporters at Four Seasons, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for your beavers and sorry for your hearts, which probably feel a little bruised today. You did something good and compassionate and even though you couldn’t stop the outcome you made an incredible difference. It may not feel like that right now, but you should know that you did. People will remember this story the next time beavers come to Four Seasons, or to your neighbors in El Dorado Hills, or even Elk Grove. You introduced a new way to think, and a new way to solve problems and it will make a difference. I’m going to reprint this letter which made us feel so much better so many years ago – because you deserve it. Thank you for your good effort.

This is a letter from Mike Callahan of Beaver Solutions to Heidi, but we really think it applies to everyone who has supported the beavers:Dear “Beaverlady”, 😉

Your efforts are Herculean. It is so difficult to promote coexistence with beavers in an urban setting, especially one that is prone to flooding without beavers. Nevertheless, your efforts have given these beavers a fighting chance at survival.

Irregardless of the City’s final decision with the M. beavers I hope you can see that your efforts have had huge positive effects for not only the Martinez beavers, but also for beavers everywhere. Along with others, you personally have raised beaver awareness in the California masses. Not an easy task, and extremely important if our society is to evolve a better culture of coexistence with the animals on this planet.

I thought you should know how impressive your efforts and results have already been, because I know when a person is in the middle of a fight it is hard to see the entire battleground. I’m glad you are involved. Thanks.

All the Best,

Mike Callahan Beaver Solutions

I’m thinking a trip to Martinez, a cold beer and a nice bout of beaver watching would be just the thing for your spirits right now! Don’t worry, it’s on us!

From the Sierra Wildlife Coalition:

We are so very sorry, and know how awful it feels to lose a friendly beaver that you had enjoyed watching…. and for no reason. Jim is following through with DFG to see if the permit was given properly, and thought perhaps KCRA or the Sacramento Bee might be willing to do a follow-up….

You all did a great job of raising awareness of inhumane and unnecessary trapping, which as Heidi says, is not easy when your own neighbors are on the other side…. thank you. We will all work to make sure it does not happen again.

Best wishes, Mary, Sherry & Ted, and Jim

Cubby Beaver

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) — Cubby the beaver was carried out of an El Dorado Hills neighborhood on a pitchfork Wednesday morning.

Trappers caught the animal and removed it from the area.

Several traps remain, just in case there are more beavers in the Four Seasons community.

“Mock tombstones and beaver signs draped in black cloth are being erected in memory of Cubby,” said Jim Sajdak, of the Sierra Wildlife Coalition, in an email to KCRA 3. “The (coalition) has sent documentation to the California Department of Fish & Game showing that removing beavers by a depredation process has proven to be an ineffective long-term solution, as well as a degradation to a wetland area.”

The decision on what to do with the beaver had previously split the community.\

KILLING FIELDS IN EL DORADO HILLS (Letter to the Editor by Resident)

Cubby, the Beaver and family, are being trapped and drowned in the quiet, pristine community of Four Seasons in El Dorado Hills, just off White Rock Road. This morning at 8:07 I witnessed an employee of Dept. of Fish & Game carrying Cubby’s dead body! What’s worse is that my husband and I, along with other members of our community, had staged an effort to get our Homeowners Association Board to slow down, to study, to educate themselves about beavers and their habitats. But, they voted three to one to kill the beaver. That was one week ago to the day!!! And now, looking out that same window I see a vulture poised on a rock, eyeing the open space. He smells death and so do I. The killing fields of El Dorado Hills. And here I am living in it.

Sandra Parsons

Once begun is half done…

heidi08 Beaver News, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, featured January 24, 2012

Some day, when California’s beaver policy is so well crafted and skillfully implemented that even the state of Washington looks at our borders with envy, when our rivers and streams are meandering with desilted channels and lovingly restored from Fresno to Truckee, when our bumper crops rely securely on higher watertables and our delta-drainage battles are a distant memory, when even our toxins and mercury from past mistakes are trapped and sequestered in millions of dams across the state – when that day comes, remember this meeting, where it all started – or rather where it all finished starting and actually “began“.

And these are the folk who helped make it happen.

Inconceivable!!!

heidi08 Beaver Anatomy, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, featured, Who's Killing Beavers Now? December 28, 2011

N.Y. man traps 70-pound beaver

How many surprisingly-heavy dead beavers does the media have to report on before we cease being surprised?

APALACHIN, N.Y., Dec. 27 (UPI) — A New York man says he got a surprise when he retrieved his animal trap from the Susquehanna River to find a record catch — a 70-pound beaver. Bryan Lockman of Apalachin said the monster beaver was in one of several traps he set last week.

“This was only the second day I’d ever gone trapping,” Lockman, 18, told the (Binghamton, N.Y.) Press Bulletin. “When I saw how big it was, wow, it was unbelievable.”

My goodness, such success on only your second day of killing! You must be very proud. Enjoy the champagne. In the meantime I would like to have a conversation with the Department of Natural Resources out your way.

The average adult beaver weighs 35 to 60 pounds, with most coming in at around 40 to 45 pounds, the state Department of Environmental Conservation said.

I’m just curious, but how exactly do you determine the average weight of an adult beaver? I mean, how would you know they were an adult in the first place? You obviously weren’t there when they were born. You probably aren’t testing their reproductive organs. Why wouldn’t you call a 35 lb beaver a yearling or a sub-adult?

Apparently people are very surprised that big animals are big. Who knew?

Oh, and guess whose parents are driving him to Martinez on his way to the Wild and Scenic Film festival where he will be the youngest filmmaker entered? He just had to see the home of the Martinez Beavers! Here’s his recent beta test for ipad and just in case you think this is easy a behind the scenes look at how he made it!

Three Good Things!

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, featured, Friends of Martinez Beavers, History December 18, 2011

Sometimes it is slow news here at beaver central and sometimes it is fast, thick and icky, but this weekend has been a flurry of delightful stories I can hardly wait to share. First up is a grand new discovery about our friend Castoroides Ohioensis. Remember the very large beaver that was the size of a bear and went extinct at the last ice age? Seems they just ran one through a CTscan (don’t ask why no one thought of this before) and discovered a very long chamber behind his noise that they are speculating was used for resonance. Now every archeologist is busy trying to figure out the giant beaver call that echoed through the forests of paleo-history!

LAS VEGAS – Blessed with a hidden chamber in their over sized skulls, extinct giant beavers may have created a unique Ice Age call of the wild. Detailed CT scans reveal a dead-end passageway leading from the back of the animal’s skull toward its face. That chamber connects via a long, narrow slit to another passage going straight through the beaver’s skull from throat to nose, vertebrate paleontologist Caroline Rinaldi reported November 2 at a meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

“I don’t know of any other animal that has this,” said Rinaldi, of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine.

Our second grand story comes from the Oregon town of Five-Rivers (which is incidentally, very near where the State of the Beaver Conference was held this February). Seems they had a meet and greet with the locals, served hot cider and Christmas cookies, and asked landowners to open their heart to beavers. “Do it for the sake of the salmon” they encouraged!

FIVE RIVERS – The sparsely settled Coast Range valleys of Lincoln County’s Five Rivers country ought to be a highly productive breeding ground for coho salmon, but logging, road-building and other human activities have altered the landscape in far-reaching ways, leaving threatened fish runs in a precarious state.

Beaver populations also have declined throughout the basin, in part because of those same human impacts. Now the MidCoast Watersheds Council is working to enlist the aid of area residents in shoring up salmon numbers by reintroducing beaver colonies in some of the places where they’ve disappeared – even if that means some inconvenience for rural property owners.

Don’t even THINK that any of this would be happening without the day-in day-out hard work of Leonard and Lois Houston who have made beaver friends out of more folks than anyone can know. When I spoke to him recently about their good relationship with ODFW (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife – note that they don’t call just care about GAME in Oregon!) he said that one thing he had learned is that it is easier to get enthusiastic support from the fisheries biologists than from the fur-bearer folks. Hmmm. Now that was a revelation!

“Beaver and coho salmon are just inextricably linked,” said Steve Trask, a fish biologist working with the council. “We’ve noticed over time that as beaver populations have declined, there’s been a real loss of production in coho salmon habitats.”Representatives of the Siuslaw National Forest, the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Alsea Watershed Council, all potential partners in the restoration effort, also were on hand.

Coho salmon fry emerge from the gravel of their spawning beds in the spring, then spend a year dodging predators and bulking up before venturing out to sea, where they spend another year or two before returning to their native streams to spawn as adults. Beaver ponds, Trask said, provide ideal rearing habitat for young coho and other salmonids, such as cutthroat and steelhead trout. The ponds capture nutrients from falling leaves and rotting wood, forming the base for a thriving food chain.

They also perform a number of other functions, from moderating flash floods to restoring old floodplain connections and re-establishing a more natural, complex channel structure that provides a variety of habitats for aquatic life. Bringing beavers back to Five Rivers, he said, could accomplish a lot of the watershed council’s restoration goals for the basin.

“We’re talking about somehow restoring beaver to the landscape so they can be a tool for salmonid restoration,” Trask said. “If we can get it going, it’s a pretty cheap way to do it.”

Wow. Just wow. Steve, do you happen to have any relatives that work for DFG in California? Just asking. And excellent job by the reporter, Bennett Hall, who clearly gets the whole relationship very well. My guess would be this isn’t his first time reporting on the beaver-salmon relationship. All we can do here in plod-along California is plod along. Sigh. Go read the whole thing.

Which brings us to our THIRD good story, and that’s the announcement that starting NEXT WEEK an interview with a beaver expert will air here every Sunday on a podcast series that I’m calling “Agents of Change”. For the past few months I’ve been trotting about wooing the beaver world and trying to get them to talk to me about why they do what they do and how beavers changed their lives. The first interview will be with Sherri Tippie and the second with Skip Lisle. You won’t want to miss these short, remarkable glimpses into the lives of people who make a difference on behalf of the animals who make a difference.!I think you’ll enjoy it, click for a sample.

*Much thanks to David Bowie and poet Mark Seth Lender for their valued contributions!

And because man does not live by beaver alone, I’m passing along this AMAZING look at the 4 night festival of lights popular winner from Lyon, France. Mind you this just has to be the very best blending of history, pop culture and modern technology that I have ever seen.

Happy Anniversary!

heidi08 Beavers, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Environmental, featured, Friends of Martinez Beavers, History, In the News November 9, 2011

I have been very remiss in not wishing you all a very happy anniversary! November 7, 2007 was the night the Martinez Beaver meeting happened at the high school and 200 people stopped an impossible train. Remember? How has your life changed in four years? There were 11 police officers and an array of city staff as well as someone from Fish and Game. Don Blubaugh was the city manager and Janet Kennedy was in China. Other than that the council looked remarkably the same.

Their team held all the cards. The had the big money support. The backroom deals. The power and most of the media. A ten page glossy hydrology report with aerial photos. We were just an uncoalesced, shuffling group of strangers who hardly knew each other. And one after one we got up and walked up to that rickety microphone in front of everyone and challenged their thinking. There were 51 speakers. One at the beginning and one at the end recommended getting rid of the beavers. The 49 in the middle had other ideas. Some of you were creative, some polite, some pleading, some brusque, some confrontational. Here’s how the city clerk summarized your comments but you can always watch the original here again.

Captain David Frey commented on the natural tourist attraction of the beaver colony. He expressed appreciation for the engineering abilities of the beavers and recommended building a viaduct around the dam.
Charles Martin suggested changing the high school mascot from bulldogs to beavers.
Douglas Van Raam noted there are ways to build walls that beavers cannot penetrate. He expressed support for letting the beavers stay, agreeing they are a good tourist attraction.
Donna Mahoney commented on the wonderful amenities in Martinez and businesses. She discussed the history and studies of beavers in the natural habitat. She suggested sterilizing the beavers but letting them stay.
Jack Feldman said there was flooding even before the beavers came. He asked Mr. Krause whether a concrete culvert would prevent them from building. Mr. Krause said nature has a way of surprising people, and the beavers would likely prevail. Mr. Feldman suggested a new industry for Martinez – beaver hats.
Curt Ransom, Humane Society of the United States, said they were prepared to work with the City on various solutions. He presented a report to the Council, and he noted that other municipalities are finding solutions other than removal. He urged a win-win-win solution to the problem.
Janet Andronis discussed research she has done on flow devices that can control the height and size of dams. She urged the hometown of John Muir to come up with a better solution.
Katherine Myskowski agreed with solutions proposed by Mr.Ransom, and she also agreed the beavers were a good tourist attraction.
Linda Kozlowski commented on the positive effect the beavers have had on the community -including greater involvement. She asked the Council to slow down the process and find a better solution.
Jon Ridler also asked that the beavers be allowed to stay. He thought that the dam could be removed in minutes if heavy rains come.
Heidi Perryman mentioned she was the one who put beaver video on the internet. She also commented on information lacking in the staff analysis and report, especially the need for environmental impact analysis. She asked the City to contact a relocation expert who is willing to come. She suggested the Council agendize the item and form a committee to study the issue further.
Linda Aguirre said beavers have succeeded in bringing people to the downtown. She mentioned several ways the City can capitalize on the beavers’ presence. She said if the Council insists the beavers must go, perhaps the voters will insist that Council must go in the next election.
Nancy Berrkowitz gave the City information on a tribal association that would like to take the beavers and give them a home, if they must be relocated.
Bob Ryan disputed information given in the staff presentation, noting that a 2nd generation of beavers will go downstream to make their homes. He presented a petition to the Council from residents who just want the beavers to be left alone.
Jennifer Brennan expressed appreciation for the natural habitat in Martinez, and she said the beavers coming is a tribute to the habitat restoration. She expressed that removal would send a bad message to the children of the community as to how to solve a problem.
Maryetta Falk discussed natural abilities of the beavers; she also mentioned people impacted by flooding in the downtown in 2005 and how few people turned out to help them. She asked them to consider the health and welfare of its citizens.
Rich Verrilli asked whether it would be possible to move the beavers to a steeper portion of the creek with fewer impacts. He was opposed to removal of the beavers.
Students of the Environmental Studies Academy commented on the need for restoration and respect for the natural environment. They also said the school district has offered to finance whatever measures were necessary to keep the beavers and to incorporate them into their study program.
Moses Silva said his observations of the beaver habitat disagree with information presented by staff – the dam is not as high as reported, and there was no flooding of the habitat on October 12th. He also commented on the increase in wildlife in the area as a result of the beaver dam. He urged the Council to allow co-existence between the species. He also asked why the creek restoration project has not been well-maintained. He said he had removed some trees that were a hazard, not to help the beavers but to remove the hazard.
Ken King disputed the conclusions of the hydrology report and the impacts of the dam. He said the beavers would create a better downtown destination than redevelopment.
Michele Sohl thanked supporters of the beavers for her t-shirt sales, noting that if the Council removed or killed the beavers, she would order t-shirts that reflect that action as well.
Guy Jett also disagreed with the hydrology report and its conclusions, since it never addresses what happens if the dam is lowered. He questioned whether the size increase is really likely. He felt that the Council should consider the financial impact from people coming downtown to see the beavers. He also indicated that the community will have long memory at election time if the beavers are removed.
Deborah Jett read a letter from the United Nations Director of the World Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals regarding possible ways to preserve the habitat and promise to donate funds for the formation of an oversight board. She asked the Council to reconsider their options.
Joey Piscitelli thanked Council for removing the “death threat”. He asked them to listen to the people and keep the beavers. He agreed a committee should be formed to study the matter.
Michele Mattson commented on the heart of Martinez, noting that the beavers have brought more people to the downtown. She asked the Council to consider some of the options presented.
Virginia Pursley discussed the community’s reception of the animals and the necessity for citizens to show responsibility for taking care of the beaver habitat etc.
Tim Platt said the beavers have been the best thing to help the downtown in years, focusing on nature, history, and recreation. He asked that the beavers not be removed. He also suggested improvements to the creek to allow below-water viewing. He thought this issue was a good opportunity to bring the community together.
Sara Carter commented on the community spirit generated by the beaver habitat, noting that “beavers bring business.” She expressed willingness to work for the beavers, and she corrected the Contra Costa Times article that said “defiance” was present at the rally last night. She also noted that the beavers have a positive effect on the habitat that should be considered also.
Julian Frazer discussed information he had provided the City about the beaver issue. He expressed that Martinez is a park, and the Park and Recreation Commission should be the primary decision-maker on development issues, with decisions based on park impacts. He commented on the need to wait and see whether the dam will hold, and he discussed ways it could be removed quickly if necessary.
Rona Zollinger, teacher at the Environmental Studies Academy, echoed comments by her students that the school district superintendent will fund research and maintenance by and for the students.
Luigi Daberdak commented on the improvement in downtown business from beaver watchers.
Sheri-ann Hasenfus agreed the beaver colony has brought the human community together. She agreed it would be a bad lesson to teach children that if there is a problem you get rid of it rather than try to solve it.
Bill Wainwright expressed appreciation for the community spirit that has developed, and he cautioned the Council about the spiritual void that will result if the beavers are removed. He also said the flooding is caused by development upstream with improper drainage.
Hope Savage expressed concern that the Council is so out of touch with the constituency that they would recommend euthanasia of the beavers. She urged the Council to represent all of their citizens.
Mayor Schroder read a card from Richard Smith – volunteering to buy beaver birth control.
Beth Rainsford expressed appreciation for the support shown for the beavers. She urged the Council to decide tonight to keep the beavers.
Mike Alford agreed that the beavers have brought the community together. He noted that only Councilmember Ross attended the support rally last night. He agreed that the beavers have done more for the City than the Council, Chamber of Commerce and developers.
Kent Strom agreed it was good to see that unification of the citizenry can occur. He offered $20 to contribute towards building community and preserving nature.
Julie Willson asked why not install a 24-hour video feed to the internet – “a dam cam”.
Carol Baier asked the Council to consider widening the creek and restoring the marshlands, which are unsuitable for development.
Robert Shelley was impressed with the sense of community demonstrated on behalf of the beavers.
Anne McEntorffer, Sierra Club, said the local chapters are asking the Council to wait for at least 30 days to allow them to analyze and make recommendations. She offered to email the information to the City Manager.
Christian Frederickson commented on the world movement toward green, noting that the beavers coming to an industrial town makes a positive statement.
Roberta Alford said she was ashamed of the message that has gone out nationally and internationally on this matter. She asked that the Council rule in favor of the people rather than developers.
Paul Wilson asked what happens with the next set of beavers if these are removed. He commented on the dumping into the Alhambra Creek that comes from City streets. He also indicated that the hydrology report should mention the likelihood of flooding on Alhambra Ave with any significant rain.
Gay Gerlack said there are viable alternatives and many people willing to help. She felt the Council has really only one option – keep the beavers.\
Fiji Walker asked staff if they had considered all the alternatives; if so, why they weren’t presented to the public?
An unidentified speaker mentioned improvements to the ecology, including the beavers. Michael (last name inaudible) said students of the district are willing to help with creek cleanups, if the beavers are saved.
Mayor Schroder read a speaker card from Natalie, 9 yrs old, who was sad about the beavers’ future.

One comment is missing and I have no idea who said it. He was visiting family in Concord I believe and was from out of state. A youngish man very clean cut and polite. He spoke towards the end and I will never forget what he said:

“I hear a lot of talk tonight about worrying what will happen to the bridge if the water rises. But if I were sitting on that stage I’d be worried about a different bridge. I’d be worried about the bridge between you people (and he pointed to the city council) and all these people (and he pointed to the audience) because that’s the bridge that’s in trouble here if you aren’t able to listen.”