WILTON – Trail clearing and “beaver wrangling” are all in a day’s work for the land stewards with the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
Land stewards, considered “the eyes and ears of the forest society,” are the volunteers out there in the woods watching over the properties owned by the SPNHF, keeping an eye on who’s out there, noting how they treat the land and maintaining miles of trails.
Bart Hunter has been one of those watchers for 14 years, and was recently recognized by the society as its Volunteer of the Year, in part for his work in restoring the trails in the Heald Tract in southwest Wilton after the 2008 ice storm.
Right now on the tract, he said, “We are beaver wrangling. Beavers have moved into King Brook Reservoir (a flood control dam), and they keep blocking the stand pipe that regulates the water. We were given a choice of trapping out the beaver,” he said of the state Fish and Game Department.
Instead, Hunter visits the site once a week to clear out what the beaver had put in.
“It’s getting cold,” he said. “They’ll stop pretty soon.”
Great stewardship, Hunter. Maybe you might be interested in Mike’s DVD about beaver management, so you can save yourself a little time?
Not enough good news for one morning? This willcheer you immeasurably…
And by the way, what boss have you EVER worked for that would chose to be the last one out of the mine? You know all the CEO’s and CFO’s and VP’s in the US would have needed to get out first “to start the paperwork” or some such excuse…
it’s been a busy weekend with lots beaver troubles from other lands and website distractions.The upgrade was almost entirely a success mostly because it doesn’t look much different…sort of like how putting a new engine in your car doesn’t change the color. Speaking of which we will probably change the color and trim in the next few days, but the most difficult job is done and I’m sooooo grateful.
It was great to spend familiar time last night with our three kits who put on a grand show which included the usual swimming, chewing, and exploring along with some very cute pausing. I’ve never seen anything ‘pause’ with as much regard and determination as a beaver. It’s as if you can see their minds at work but you have no idea what they’re thinking. In my day, the moments where I pause are the moments when I forgot what I was going to do, or why I came into that room in the first place. People pause when their minds are in neutral. I think beavers pause when they’re firmly in gear.
There were a host of new visitors to the dam last night, from as far away as Oakland and San Francisco. They came for the first time because of the Bay Nature issue. The beavers did not disappoint and I’m sure Martinez has more friends today than it did yesterday. There has been a slimy green pollen in the water in the beaver pond for the past week, which leaves a trail where the beavers have passed. It is starting to clear a little, the turtles can poke their noses through, and that is a welcome sight.
Have you made your reservation for the Santa Clara Creeks Conference? I know you’re thinking, what on earth does that have to do with beavers? But I can assure you that this year’s topic will be the first ever in California to contrast the benefits of beaver dams and the hardships of concrete dams. If the topic gets the traction it deserves there will be twenty more next year and beavers will be welcomed in cities all over California. Check out the speakers list and you’ll see why I’m already starting to get nervous.
And just in case you need more joy to your Monday, I saw this and had to share. What I love about is that you see the wild foxes ‘discover’ that the ground feels different, and experiment with it. Which means, when you think about it, that foxes know about gravity and how the ground is ‘supposed’ to feel. Who knew?
Lets revisit our salad days and remember something about how we got here…Back in these early times, Bruce ran the website and I just sent him articles to post. When this article was written I actually believed (HA) the war had been won and we were all staying firmly on the same team. Wow…
Martinez Beavers in A Whole New Light
Heidi Perryman
Tuesday’s first subcommittee meeting demonstrated a city staff and council that has come to think of the beavers as an asset to be protected. There was frank discussion of their benefits and challenges, and a firm readiness demonstrated by the city that it is ready to deal with both.
City staff outlined their plan for urgent response to rising water by moving equipment into place when the water approaches two feet from the bridge, and beginning to chip away at the dam if it rose more than one foot below the bridge. There was firm indication that water flow management expert Skip Lisle will attend next weeks meeting and begin work on leveler devices.
In the mean time the city may notch the dam to drain water, although there is every inidcation that the beavers will quickly repair that. Issues of water quality, fish, and wildlife were discussed, as well as possible volunteer coordination including a beaver docent program, a willow restocking project, and a kayakers clean-up club.
The subcommittee plans to conclude its goals in 90 days, with an immediate response to the water control issue. All in all, it was a good night for beavers.
Despite her previous expressed interest Ms. Tappel indicated the same day to Mr. Ross that she would not be available and did not attend the meeting.
Yesterday two otters were spied at the dam, a little one who made the regular jaunt through the flow device pipe, and a larger one who had to go over the top of the dam in the customary fashion. They hung around to lower the fish population in both ponds, before being chased off by dad who followed the big one over the secondary dam while the little one was still being cornered by the two year old.
Since were in fall it’s likely we are seeing mother and child. Otters might venture on their own once they’re weaned at ten weeks, but they are more likely to hang with the parent until just before the new brood comes along. Here’s a weird fact about the otter you won’t read on just ANY website. Otter droppings are called “spraints“. Apparently they often smell so uniquely of fish they get their own name. The spraints we see often in the beavers section of creek are red with shells of broken crayfish.
It’s not all good news this morning, as we read about what I would call an “Epic Nature Fail” yesterday. This from the state of Ohio, who brought us the alarming tale of the woman who beat the fawn to death with a shovel. (There is clearly a lot about nature residents need to learn.) Don’t worry, the Lowe-Volk Park nature center in Crestline is doing its part! They’re offering a presentation on beavers Tuesday night. That sounds promising! Learning about beavers is important. Whose doing the lecture?
Join Crawford Park District naturalist Josh Dyer for a program about beavers at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Lowe-Volk Park Nature Center, 2401 Ohio 598. Dyer will discuss the life history, past and current status of beavers in Ohio and Crawford County, and the beaver dominated fur trade. Sharing from his 15 years of trapping experience, Dyer will give some trapping how-to’s and funny anecdotes.
Trapping how-to’s and funny anecdotes? From a ‘naturalist/trapper’? At a nature center? Are you kidding me? The mind reels. The jaw drops. Funny anecdotes? “Yeah one time this beaver got his foot stuck in the conibear trap and was thrashing all around trying to get free until his lungs exploded. It was a hilarious!” Will there be other lectures from the comical assassination of diverse wildlife? Tales of the skunk killer? The raccoon remover? The dog catcher? I am fairly sure that whatever anecdotes a man gleans in 15 years of trapping should not be the subject of lecture in a Nature Park, unless there’s been a road-to-Damascus moment somewhere in there.
It’s not just that the abysmally named Lowe-Volk Nature Center invited the trapper to discuss his experiences. I’m sure they’re colorful. Remember the trapper who told the media that he was only killing the ‘soldier’ beavers? That was in your next door neighbor state of Pennsylvania. (Apparently a unique ‘beaver ignorance belt’ girdles much of the middle of our united states.) No its not just that they invited the trapper in. Or that some one on staff at the nature center (maybe Josh himself!) actually sat down at the computer and typed the press release that included a sentence like ‘trapping how-to’s and funny anecdotes’. Its not that that the obliging local paper, the Bucyrus Forum, assigned the story to some reporter who thought it was a good idea to actually print. All this is common enough, in the daily horrors of beaver chronicles. It’s that somewhere, at some kitchen table or living room, there are actually men and women who will see this column and think amiably to themselves, ooh lets have the hamburgers early so we can bring the kids down to the nature center tuesday and hear some of those hilarious trapping stories!
Is there no PETA in Ohio?
Gosh I wish I could be there. I would sit in the front row and take a notebook to write down every single fact Mr. Dyer relays about beavers so I can see if even three of them are accurate. Of course I wrote the nature center. Maybe you should too.
I was so excited to read that you were having a talk next week about beavers, the often misunderstood keystone species that improves water quality, increases fish population density and diversity, makes essential habitat for wildlife and stimulates new tree growth to allow increased nesting of migrating birds. I imagined you would educate the interested public on how to resolve beaver issues by controlling dam height with flow devices and successfully preventing beavers from blocking culverts. Maybe you would even talk about the fact that in addition to being an ecosystem engineer, the beaver is also considered a “charismatic species” and is an excellent tool for teaching children about the natural world
Instead I see you are having a ‘meet the trapper’ night with fun-loving furry death hijinks of a knowledgeable beaver trapper! Will he bring pictures? I can’t imagine a more dramatic example of a missed opportunity than to misuse your nature center in this way.
If you are ever interested in an actual beaver lecture, let us know.
See this pretty fish? Its called the watercress darter, which is a pretty delightful sounding name. It’s endangered in the only state where it occurs: Alabama. There is in fact only one parish where it occurs: Jefferson. Even in Jeffersen Fish & Game lists only four streams where it is known to survive! The largest of these is Roebuck Springs Basin. which is dubiously located between the Youth correctional facility and the municipal golf course.
They are found only at mid-depths in dense accumulations of aquatic vegetation including watercress, in springs and spring runs.
Guess what the city of Birmingham did? I’ll give you a hint. It’s what the City of Martinez tried to do. It’s what many many cities do routinely. Its what the left hand corner of this website outlines on a daily basis.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (CN) – The removal of a beaver dam from the Roebuck Springs Basin killed “thousands of endangered watercress darters and around two million snails,” and destroyed half their habitat, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources claims in Shelby County Court. The agency says Birmingham employees did not consult state or federal authorities about the “consequences or wisdom of removal of the dam.”
The city “knew or should have known that removing a beaver dam and surrounding natural structures would potentially disrupt the water level of the Basin and its inhabitants,” the agency claims.It says the destruction of the dam caused a “serious dewatering event” that not only killed fish and snails, but also drained 80 to 90 percent of their habitat.
Watercress darters are protected fish that live in only four springs, all in Jefferson County, Ala. About 11,760 darters were killed when workers for the Birmingham Parks and Recreation Department removed the beaver dam on Sept. 19. 2008, according to the lawsuit.
The action charges them with five counts including negligence, wantonness, nuisance and tresspass to chattel. There aren’t very many of these fish left, and what remains of their numbers belong to the state. So doing something that destroys the largest population of them in the state is a big deal. The lawsuite demands that the court award damages equal to the cost of replacing every one of those 11,760 darters for starters. The action itself is a fun read, go here to see the complaint.
I’ll make sure I include this story in my next “it’s unwise to kill beavers because…” letter. Its been a while since we had a good beaver lawsuit. Whatever happens, lets hope the story makes the city of Birmingham a little cautious about removing a beaver dam next time and becomes a cautionary tale that makes every city think twice.
When I went to check out footage of the darters on youtube I found this, which brought me to the reporting of Glynn Wilson. Turns out Fish and Game has been trying to get some satisfaction and answers on this story for a long time before involving the courts. In fact, Fish & Game was so alarmed they asked the city to rebuild the dam out of sandbags!
It’s a fascinating tale that made the evening news many times. There were claims that the tennis courts were being flooded by the dams, and countering observations that the courts were the highest point on the property and never ever flooded. There are photos of the area before the beavers were killed and the area after the dams were taken out and concrete sink holes placed in. The whole story is such a hardy collection of lies and more lies that you can see how it got to the level of a lawsuit.
Remember this is Alabama, people. No offense, but these aren’t crazy liberals from Berkeley protesting damage of mottled newt habitat. These are hunters and fishers and people who know how to kill a beaver or two. That just makes the story much more fun, in my opinion. Sorry about your pretty fish. I hope you scare the wrasse outta the city and lots of cities near by.
