Category: In the News

Listen Live

heidi08 In the News September 21, 2009

If you are interested in green living and sustainability this show will give you practical ideas and ways to live and be green while helping the planet…

Speak to Dave: Call in between 8-9 am PT, 3rd Monday every month at 800-555-5453 or 310-371-5444 or Twitter or Email Dave at dave@daveegbert.com during his show.

The archived show will be available later as well.

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Hope that was okay. I could barely hear the questions due to some audio weirdness. The best part was in the breaks when Dave asked me about the woodpeckers and said he had invited Rossmoor on. They said, are you kidding me? I think I said everything I meant to say, but forgive me for omissions. That was clearly the longest interview I’ve done on beavers…

Beaver Inspirations…

heidi08 Friends of Martinez Beavers, In the News September 7, 2009

I got an email a while back from a Dean Wilson in Santa Rosa. He said he had written a song about our beavers and wanted to share. I wasn’t expecting such a professional recording and snappy tune, but it turns out he’s the guitar player for “Laughing Gravy” and recorded the tune at Jackalope Records. I like the music very much, but honestly was a little uneasy with a message that reflected only the fear of Martinez and none of the benefits of the beavers.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=l5P_T3qbrJk]

So of course, being the shameless beaver advocate that I am, I decided to write him some additional verses and see if I might persuade him either to play these or write his own. In the meantime, here’s my suggestions using the same basic meter and rhyme scheme of his song. I told him when he moves firmly in the supporter camp we can make sure his song gets heard by beaver lovers everywhere!

My cousin Jake’s a fisherman

And salmon is his trade

Ain’t worked a single goddamn day

Since the salmon ban was made

We need more salmon in our creeks

More salmon in our sea

NOAA analysts

Says beavers are the key.

Well beaver dams hold water back

Trap silt and filter too

insects start to multiply

So fishes all renew

A lot of birds and animals

Come out to hunt and play

And beavers make this possible

If you can let them stay

So let the damn dam stand, boys

Lets let the damn dam stand

Those furry eager beaver dams

Will give our creeks a hand

A simple pipe and cage can keep

The dam from getting tall

And in the mean time beavers

Give new habitat to all

Thanks Dean for your hard work and cheerful inspiration! Maybe LG wants to do a special performance at the beaver festival next summer?

Martinez Beavers Accepted At Cornell…

heidi08 Environmental, In the News May 22, 2009

Well in spirit. Check out who is featuring our Heron footage two days after it was filmed? While you’re there visit their inspiring website and consider any entries you might have for the amazing nest photo contest. Everything we can do to link Beavers and Birds in people’s minds is hugely important. Thanks SO much for the help!

Heron Update

From Skip Lisle:

Great video! It’s amazing all the wildlife that uses that little habitat. Of course, any wetland is incredibly valuable ecologically, but this high-use also hints at how terribly rare similar habitats are in the greater landscape. All of these species evolved in a veritable beaver-created Garden of Eden. They “miss” these habitats; it is little wonder that when one does occur, no matter how small, it is very popular. Do California’s wildlife managers understand what a greater tolerance for beavers would mean in terms of species and ecosystem restoration? Cheers,
Skip

From Robert Leida, WTR-8 EPA

Thanks for sharing the wonderful video! Well, it is difficult to tell
for sure. The fish is very silvery and torpedo shaped so my first
thought is a small Sacramento pikeminnow (Ptychocheilus grandis). I
didn’t notice an adipose fin (the video is blurry), but it is possible
that the fish is a steelhead smolt as they lose their parr marks when
they migrate out and steelhead would be expected to be moving downstream
to the bay at this time of year. The size fit’s a smolt as well. Are
you sure that the heron caught the fish in this pool and didn’t fly in
from somewhere else where it caught the fish?!

Rob
______________________________________
Robert A. Leidy, Ph.D.
Wetlands Regulatory Office (WTR-8)

From Pete Alexander of EBRPD

Thanks for sending the video!

I’ve looked at the video with a couple of biologists here at EBRPD.We concur that what happened to the Black Crown Night Heron was this.The heron regurgitated a 4-6 inch fish that was dead or near dead. It appears that the heron had no intention of losing the fish as it tried to grab it after it regurgitated it. Perhaps the heron already had a crop full of fish or the fish in some way was irritating the heron. But the fish appears to be dead and had no signs of life or of escaping at that point. We couldn’t determine what the species of the fish was. It was long and narrow, similar to Sacramento suckers, Sacramento Pikeminnows or possibly salmonids that are found in Alhambra Creek. Hope this helps!

Pete J. Alexander EBRPD

Please to See the Queen

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, In the News March 19, 2009

This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,—
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

William Shakespeare, King Richard II. Act ii. Sc. 1.

Guess whose been feeling left out of the beaver benefit bagatelle? No sibling is happy when their brother gets something they don’t. Apparently the English are looking anxiously over their shoulders at the plaid reintroduction in Scotland and thinking, “why shouldn’t we have beavers too?” Why indeed. A just released study by Natural England addressed this very question, and last night its findings were released on national news.

From the BBC

Beavers could be successfully reintroduced in many parts of England, a conservation body has argued. Natural England says a study has shown beavers, already set for reintroduction in Scotland, could boost wildlife and reduce flooding, among other benefits.

The creatures have already been successfully reintroduced in parts of Europe and the feasibility study for Natural England, which advises the government on conservation issues, and the People’s Trust for Endangered Species said reintroduction could be possible in many parts of England.

Professor John Gurnell, one of the report’s authors, said beavers acted as “ecosystem engineers” and could provide many benefits. They sometimes build dams to stabilise the water levels around their burrows and channels for foraging, which can slow rivers and control flooding, purify water and increase the number of plant and animal species in the habitat.

The entire 119 page report is downloadable here. It has amazing references, including a list of all the beaver reintroductions done in europe over the last 100 years. I’m still enjoying it slowly, but here’s a lovely introduction:

Why reintroduce beavers?^₁

1.8. Why reintroduce beavers to Britain? The reasons put forward include (e.g. see Macdonald & Tattersall 1999, Coles 2006):

Beavers are part of Britain’s native fauna;
Beavers have been lost entirely by the activity of humans;
As a member of the European Community, Britain has a responsibility to carry out studies on the desirability of reintroducing species that have become extinct (Beavers are listed on Annex III of the Bern Convention, and on Annexes II and IV of the EC `Habitats and Species’ Directive in 1992. The Directive aspires to achieve a favourable conservation status of the priority habitats and species listed in its annexes.);
Beavers are a keystone species they are frequently called ecosystem engineers and act as „natural managers of riparian, wetland and forest ecosystems;
Beavers are inherently interesting to humans and could be a flagship species for raising awareness about nature conservation
Beavers fulfil philosophical and aesthetic ideals associated with returning native species to the wild.

The highlight is mine, but that has sure proven true for lots of us. The entire study is a fantastic scholarly treatise to argue against beaver-nay-sayers. I’m a little troubled by the BBC farm representative who argues that any beaver introduction plan “has to have an exit strategy”.

Exit strategy?!? It’s not like you’re invading another country and trying to establish a democratic government, for goodness sake. You’re inviting back a guest to your home that you previously annihilated. Do you think you forgot how to kill beavers in the interim? Or do you think that public opinion has changed so that your old weapons will no longer be acceptable? I have an exit strategy for you. It’s called education. Learn about the benefit that beavers bring, learn how to deal with any problems they cause, and learn how the land is changed without them. Then your old ideas and fears can “exit” quietly.

(Exeunt Pursued by a Bear. My favorite Shakespeare stage direction. Oh that’s right, you have no bears left in England either)

The report concludes its time to move forward to Phase II of beaver reintroduction:

What next?

12.10. The way seems clear to move to a second phase of consultation and actions concerning beaver reintroductions to England, focusing on education of the wider public about beavers, investigating specific candidate sites for releasing beavers, drawing up detailed management plans and costings, and, if agreed by all interested parties, releasing beavers within the umbrella of pilot studies.

I’m ready for phase two. The entire report is thrilling read and I can’t wait to get back to it. Thanks beaver friend MG in the UK for sending it my way.

Oh and beaver spotting last night: Dad and two kits. I think I’ve figured out their devious scheme to repair the primary dam. “Don’t repair it” They are letting the secondary dam raise the water level until the primary dam stops leaking and doesn’t matter anymore. Brilliant. The Hay Fairy came too, and brought potential bedding for all, thank you very much!

¹The Feasibility and Acceptability of Reintroducing European Beaver in England: Natural England, March 17, 2009

The Internet’s Broken

heidi08 Beaver News, City Reports, In the News March 2, 2009

Weekends are usually slow traffic here at the Worth A Dam Cafe. We usually get about 150 hits on saturday, less than half of our weekday traffic. Its possible that’s because on the weekend people have time to go look at beavers for themselves and don’t need to read my writing about them. It’s possible that beaver fans have such rich and exciting lives there’s no time to look at the webpage. Or its possible that beavers are really only interesting enough to read about at work, where the competition is less stiff and distracting.

(Which isn’t a complaint, because sometimes I appreciate the break.) But yesterday we had more like 600 visits with 2800 page views. Think about that for a minute. That’s a lot of readers on a rainy Saturday. Why the sudden bump? Were the children of California all suddenly writing reports on beavers at the same time? Is the economy depressing people so badly that only beavers can cheer them up? Or is it news of our Mom sighting that got passed from person to person and merited a visit?

I’m going to guess the latter. Mom’s got star power. She’s recognizable and central to the action. Heck, she even has a beauty mark.

Whatever the reason let me take this opportunity to greet new readers, and welcome back old ones. As we’re heading into Spring there’s going to be a lot more beaver activity to see and participate in, and the beavers need your support more than ever. In addition to the Worth A Dam Sierra Club presentation, we’ll be working with the city engineer, the ESA students and an interested eagle-scout candidate to work on tree planting. Next Month there’s Earth Day to look forward to, and after that the environmental fair, the creek seeker’s express and our beaver seminar.Your interest and enthusiasm continue to make all the difference.

Still, since there’s high traffic at the moment, I’m going to re-post my sheetpile comments to the council, because Martinez foot the bill for this, and its now a prominent feature of the beavers lives and our lives when we go watch them. The photos researched for this presentation inspired a UC Professor to contact me about using it to teach a course in Historic Photographs, but only 213 people from Martinez have seen it. Even though it was discussed in the LA Times, the Gazette never kept its promise to write about it. None of our fair-weather beaver media friends came to do a story on it, and there was never a sense of shock or outrage that the city spent vast sums of money on a project that improved the life of a single property owner.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=rQefxDQemaA]

The moral of the story is that your city lied about the need for this sheetpile, and rumor is now that the restaurant Bertola’s will be closing because the rent was raised unreasonably high to force them out. Steadier minds than mine have suspected that there were plans all along for that property.

The Sheetpile secured them.