THE WORTH A DAM STORY

Friends in Need

heidi08 New Species September 16, 2009

UPDATE: PATHOLOGY REPORT

Susan just wrote to let me know that the necropsy confirmed the young badger had canine distemper, a commonly occurring disease for these animals.

The preliminary pathology report returned today and Wildlife Rescue passed on the information to us. The female badger, estimated age 1-3, who was very underweight, had canine distemper. Wildlife Rescue says that is fairly common in raccoons and foxes, etc.

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Is this the saddest badger picture ever taken? Look at that droopy head and those listless eyes. This badger was picked up weak and sick at the edge of Paula Lane, and it’s a testimony to the hard work of the local wildlife workers that it made it as long as it did. The article describes it as a male but our badger friend Susan Kirks of the Paula Lane Action Network, who was there and should know, insists it was a youngish female. It was found the day the local article ran in response to the chronicle and some wonder whether there might be human causes.

The latest badger was spotted not far from a known badger colony on Paula Lane. Neighbors are trying to preserve the 100-year-old den in a grassy field and have secured a $1 million grant from the Sonoma County open space agency to help buy the land.

Wildlife biologist Kim Fitts said the 11-acre piece is a core breeding area. The badger found Wednesday likely was born there earlier this year and wandered off in search of food, she said.

“A lot of people look at it and say it’s just an open field,” Fitts said. “But to a badger, it’s a lot more than that. It’s extremely important for the survival of the population.”

Susan writes that there has been a flutter of attention to the issue since the article, but that this a sad turn of events.

“A female badger was taken in by Wildlife Rescue about 10 days ago (the second badger in 6 weeks after 16 years of our Wildlife Rescue Center never having any…) and it was at the south end of the Paula Lane corridor. She was very undernourished, had a small wound on hindquarters, looked like puncture, and weighed about half of the normal adult weight. Estimated at 1-3 years of age. Over the weekend she went into seizures and the vet euthanized her. Wildlife Rescue sent her body to UC Davis for necropsy and the pathology report is awaited. I and our biologist and the local news photographer had the opportunity to see her out at Wildlife Rescue. She was of course a beautiful wild creature, but very unnatural behavior, no growling, lethargic, etc.”

Waiting for the pathology report from Davis is sadly familiar for beaver lovers. I’m sorry the badger wasn’t able to make it in her big world, but I hope everyone sees this picture and decides these beautiful creatures are worth saving.

Keep up the good work, Susan. Remember the quote from Brock Evans, “Endless Pressure, Endlessly Applied“. Oh and in case that’s not inspirational enough for you, can you guess what the word Brock means in england?

Salmon Serenade

heidi08 Creative Solutions, Environmental, New Species September 8, 2009

Yesterday’s chronicle had an alarming article about our unfortunate salmon whose dwindling numbers got the year off from fishing on the California Coast. Turns out that even though the governor took the fishermen away, mother nature took away their water too, so while we’re waiting for their numbers to recover their wondering where the streams went.

California’s drought has increased wildfires, caused an economic crisis in the state’s agriculture industry and a shrinking water supply. But experts say three years of arid weather may also be the final blow for coho, already reeling from pollution and population growth.

Federal fisheries regulators say the disappearance of coho salmon in Marin County is not an isolated incident, and that studies find they are vanishing along the state’s central and northern coast. Coho live in coastal streams where they mature before moving to the ocean, and then back to freshwater to reproduce.

“There are definitely alarmingly low numbers of adult returns and spawning decreases,” National Marine Fisheries Service fishery biologist Jeffrey Jahn said. “And the fish that are produced by the few coho who do make it back have to deal with these drought conditions, which is affecting the status of the species.”

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record or anything, but hey you know what’s good at trapping water to control for drought conditions? Um, beaver dams! And guess what gives fantastic habitat for juvenile salmon to winter? Um, beaver dams! And guess what NOAA says is the number one factor that determines whether you have enough salmon in your creek? Um, beaver dams!

And guess how many times beavers are mentioned in this article? (I’ll give you a hint: its a round number).

Mind you this is an AP writer, so maybe our local reporters would be more educated. I promptly wrote the biologist Chris Pincetich who works with the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) (now that’s a smart name…I can respect that name!) I suggested maybe he check out Pollock’s research on beavers and salmon and consider using our high-profile vegetarians to help salmon around the state.

Let’s see what happens.

Antioch Burrowing Owls

heidi08 New Species September 1, 2009

Photograph: Cheryl Reynolds

Beaver friend Scott from the birdblog JournOwl has spotted several families of burrowing owls on a semi-abandoned RDA site in Antioch. Just like the pond turtle they are a species of Special Concern and their numbers are carefully watched around the state. He is working with city officials to get them protected but has had better luck getting the abandoned project to lock up than he is likely to have setting asside habitat for these feathered cuties. An update from Scott follows.

August 28 I am a bit overdue for a burrowing owl update so here’s the latest scoop… YAY! An email to the Director of Community Development , Police Chief, and Project Manager/Property Owner resulted in an immediate response. In the letter I outlined all of the issues that have befallen this semi-developed property and my concern for the safety of the surrounding neighbors, including myself. Shielded from prying eyes during day and evening hours, the area has become the perfect place for drug deals, graffiti, drinking, off-roading, garbage dumping, etc. I received a response within 10 minutes from the Chief of Police indicating that he will look into the matter and have someone contact me for further details. Within a day I received a separate note from the Director of Community Development letting me know the owner will be contacted to barricade the property. And while I was away my wife informed me that a number of Patrol Officers called and left messages confirming my observations. They also indicated the owner will be contacted by their department to erect temporary fencing. And wrapped within this mess are burrowing owls, California Species of Special Concern, that returned to the area after building was put on hold. With fencing scheduled to return to the area and temporary protections in place, I will be able to move to step 2 and push for the owls’ ultimate protection. Taking it one step at a time…

Friday Night At the Dam…

heidi08 New Species August 22, 2009

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=ELGZCww0ikI]

Beaver friend GTK let me know this was accidentally classified as “private” which has now been changed. Sorry about that! Last night we sat in unbeavered silence until nearly eight O’Clock, when all at once this little muskrat made an appearance, immediately followed by the low over-the-dam flight of two green herons and then voila! A beaver! I was interested in how he’d greet his muskrat neighbor, so I had the camera pointing to the right place! That’s us giggling in the background.

Cuteness Competition

heidi08 New Species, pictures August 20, 2009

The beavers have been number one in dam-side cuteness for so long it must come as a shock to them that other creatures are giving them a run for their money. Remember when they were the only show in town, and a trip to the dam was entirely focused on them?

Victims of their own success, the beavers built the lovely habitat and now everyone wants a piece of it. First the squaking green heron with the telltale band, then the adorable procession of baby muskrats, followed by those hollywood mink super-starlets with their sunglasses and trailing furs… and now this! The pesky bandit family of 6,7,8 (?) are seen here showing off the very skill beavers lack (climbing) in the very place that beavers most value (willow trees)!

Faced with such an uneven playing field, the beavers have decided to fight fire with fire. Drawing from the teenage-girl-getting-attention playbook they settled in to demonstrate rarely seen behaviors in prominent trademark places to keep audience interest. You think I exaggerate? See for yourself.