Isn’t this a photo for the ages? I like the thought of the grubby photographer crouching his way through the culvert to get this shot. As you can see it was taken in 2009 in chicago, but its such a beautiful bit of beaver proganda (SEE WHAT BAD PROBLEMS THEY CAUSE! THEY CAN”T BE STOPPED!) that other papers buy it for display.
Take for example Cate Gable’s stunning article in the Chinook Observer tuesday. It offers an upclose profile of a rugged beaver trapper, Glenn McCully and his corresponding good works. It vividly describes the damage beavers do to trees and roads, and promotes Glenn’s valuable services as the only real solution for this hardworking menace Under Washington law Glenn is a live-trapper, but don’t be fooled by the term. He uses the same big suitcase trap as Sherri does, then comes back in the morning and shoots them nearly through the head. At the end of the article Glenn even points out how some useless PETA-type homeowners tried to wrap their trees with chikenwire to protect them without killing and even THAT failed.
(No one anywhere bothers to mention that this measure would be successful only if beavers were the same size as chickens.)
This industrious but controversial rodent has played a key role in the historical development of the mouth of the Columbia fur trade. Despite heavy trapping during the 1800s and early 1900s, beavers continue to confound landowners and county officials. Glenn McCully, who works for Pacific County in facilities maintenance but also has has his own “nuisance wildlife contracts,” has been trapping beavers for more than 20 years.
McCully live-traps the beavers and attempts to relocate them if he can. “Beavers are very territorial and they have about a 20-mile range. So when I relocate a beaver, I have to make sure I don’t place it inside another colony’s territory or they will fight.”His own “nuisance wildlife contracts,” has been trapping beavers for more than 20 years.
Thank goodness we have the benefit of Glenn’s extensive biological knowledge. You don’t get to be a nuisance wildife hitman for nothing you know. Is this the fourth trapper-worshipping article I’ve reviewed here about beavers? They’re all starting to blur together. Tell me again why reporters get all starry-eyed when talking to men who kill things for a living?
“And it’s not just a matter of putting in a larger culvert to accommodate beavers. They will just fill it up,” he said. “Beavers also create scent mounds all around their territories so that other beavers will stay away. They even kick their kids out every two years — so they’ve got to find their own territory.”
Beavers as white trash? Good thing you didn’t mention trapezoidal fencing to protect culverts. Never mind that some of the top knowledge about culvert protection is 100 miles away with Kings County public works. It’s much better to make the problem sound hopeless, and justify your pitiful and temporarily ‘live’ trapping. The merciful nuisance-remover gets the better part of the article, and then its time for some brief ecology.
Most environmentalists do not count beavers as pests. From the point of view of waterway health, beavers are helpers, according to Liane Davis, forest ecologist with The Nature Conservancy. Davis affirms that beavers create the kind of stream and effluent diversity that provides specific salmon habitat.
“Beavers create habitat that favors particular fish but it depends on the species and their requirements. Beavers are good for juvenile chum when the smolts are trying to out-migrate [to the sea]. What they do is also good for juvenile coho.”
The article pauses briefly to mention Coho salmon and Melinda Daniels Kansas research about river restoration. Then its back to beaver bashing, without hesitation.
Patten continued, “Beavers are not a black and white issue. Because they do backup the water, it allows the [salmon] smolts that stay around for a longer time to have a great place to feed. Fish can go under and around and through a beaver back-water, so there is a value to them.” “But I hear grumblings and rumblings about beavers, along Tarlatt Slough [on the south end of Willapa Bay], even along Pioneer Road. If Long Beach floods or a cranberry bed won’t drain, then it’s a significant issue. It’s just a matter of balance.”
Not a black and white issue? (Umm…no they’re a brown issue.) The article ends with a truly breath taking discussion of the hidden benefits of beavers being good to eat, and not one but TWO recipes about how to prepare the delicacy of beaver tail. That wins a letter. I have a zero beaver-recipe tolerance policy. Here’s the letter I sent and some addresses in case you want to add your own.
To: Cate Gable and the Editor of the Chinook Observer
Recipes for distate.
I was very disappointed to read your ambivalent article about beavers in Pacific County. At no point do you discuss successful tools for managing problematic beaver behavior – such as the use of flow devices and culvert fences which have been proven effective in research and practice. You mention the failed attempt to wrap trees with chicken wire without pointing out this would only be successful if beavers were the same size as chickens. Trees can be successfully wrapped. Culverts can be protected and flooding can be prevented all without trapping. Mr. McCully should follow the model set by other successful trappers who have broadened their skills to include the use of properly designed flow devices. Here are two places to start learning.
http://www.beaversolutions.com/self_help_dvd.asp http://grandcanyontrust.org/documents/ut_workingBeaver2010.pdfBeavers are a keystone species that make essential wetlands that benefit fish, birds and wildlife. They recharge the water table, improve water quality, augment biodiversity and restore soil richness. They do this work entirely for free and the engineers are onsite 24/7 to make repairs. Here in Martinez, CA we allowed a local beaver colony to remain by installing a successful flow device that has worked well for four years. In turn the beaver dam has improved the watershed, increased fish and wildlife, and enriched the community. I recently returned from presenting at the State of the beaver Conference in Oregon and was thrilled to hear the good restorative work being done as beavers are reintroduced around the country.
It might surprise you to learn that as unimpressed as I was with this article, your state has the most advanced and progressive beaver policy in the country. The Lands Council in eastern Washington would be a good resource for future articles.
Any city smarter than a beaver can keep a beaver and any city interested in water, fish or wildlife should know why to do so.
Heidi Perryman, Ph.D. President & Founder Worth A Dam www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress
