Well, we survived yesterday’s smoke bomb and thunder threat. The inside of my house doesn’t smell quite as bad this morning. That’s a kind of progress, right? And I learned how to backup my ipad. That’s something. And this happened at the Winnepeg humane society:

Your Phone Call Can Help Save Winnipeg’s Beavers

Can you help us save beavers from being cruelly killed within our city?

Beavers are an integral part of Canada’s waterways, and are commonly associated with our country. However, when beavers choose to reside in populated areas, they can damage property, or pose a risk for flooding to occur. Currently, the City of Winnipeg is using lethal methods as a form of urban beaver management. Problem beavers are killed with firearms, or through trapping via conibear trap systems. The Winnipeg Humane Society opposes this type of wildlife animal management and we need YOU to help us get the City to use alternative approaches for this issue.

Well you got my attention, yes. Why is killing beavers a problem?

Though relocation is not a viable solution, research shows that lethal methods only make way for neighbouring beavers to move into the killed animal’s territory. In fact, removing beavers increases population growth, by stimulating beavers to become sexually mature earlier in life. Beavers are not only a wilderness staple, they are also crucial for keeping ecosystems running smoothly. Beavers play a critical role in keeping wetland ecosystems symbiotic, by improving water quality and availability, ultimately resulting in large levels of local biodiversity.

Now that’s a new one. I never heard that. I don’t even think it can be true. It’s probably one of those facts that has been applied from other species, like rabbits, to beavers without thinking. Doesn’t that mean that every beaver in rehab raised alone would be ‘triggered’ to mature earlier? I really hate efforts to save beavers with the wrong science. Then when it fails we ALL pay the price. But that’s what happens when your whole point is not to kill things, you get a little careless with the facts.

For these reasons, the Winnipeg Humane Society is urging supporters to phone their city councilors, and ask that the City of Winnipeg stop killing beavers. And yes, we need you to CALL, not email or message on social media, because a phone call is the most powerful way to show our elected officials that this issue matters. Join the Winnipeg Humane Society in asking the City of Winnipeg to adopt a beaver management plan similar to countless other municipalities, where humane pond leveler systems, wire mesh, and culvert protectors are utilized, which allow for beavers and humans to co-exist peacefully. We are providing a list of phone numbers for you to call in support of our request to start using humane methods to manage beavers in Winnipeg.

Here’s the thing. If you don’t know what your talking about and you call the city who also doesn’t know what they’re talking about then they just make things up and hope you’ll go away. One of things I really respected about Martinez is that enough of the people really paid attention and did their homework. Not all, but enough.

If there are a handful of you the city just tells you to go away or waits it out. But if there are enough to scare them with volume they might give you something like this. A bizarre mechanical engineering that makes everyone feel better, is not based on any science, but just looks like effort. Then wait a while for it to fail and then kill the beavers anyway. Next time they can say “We tried your humane solution and it failed, now we need to do it our way.”

Believe us in Martinez when we say, saving beavers is really serious business. Pottery Barn “you break it you buy it” stuff. The rewards are enormous, but the costs are pretty enormous too. The mistakes you make will last decades. But the success can dissolve in a heartbeat and has to be carefully guarded every day.

Just remember what playwright Tom Stoppard said;