So tomorrow I’m presenting to the Alameda Creek Fisheries Group and hoping that everything works according to plan and a squirrel doesn’t decide to chew my internet cable again. This dropped last night and it’s very good, especially considering it’s from North Carolina. But you just have to ignore the thumbnail image of a Nutria which is sooooo obviously not a beaver you can even see its tail!!!!

But I shouldn’t be too regionalist in my appraisal of beaver IQ because this letter to the editor was just published in WASHINGTON which should remind us all that it ain’t over til it’s over.

Wasted money on salmon runs unless beavers are addressed

The Dickerson Creek salmon run (usually last 2 weeks of October or first 2 weeks of November) did not happen this year. The salmon were blocked under the Taylor Road bridge by a beaver dam. The entire Dickerson Creek watershed, one of the most productive salmon runs in Kitsap County, is sterile due to this beaver dam. Chico Creek almost shared the same fate. Persons unknown removed the dam on the golf course, allowing a run to proceed. Otherwise, the Chico Creek watershed in its entirety would also be sterile.

Beavers are not threatened or endangered in this state. Salmon are. Beaver may be taken alive in an appropriate trap and relocated. Also, any licensed trapper may take this animal for fur and meat. 

Tens of millions of dollars have been spent salvaging the Chico watershed. The work on Highway 3 is an ongoing example. A beaver dam on the golf course would stop all salmon migration, possibly into the “salmon park” also. I am told by the conservation district that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife refused to do anything about the beaver problem. 

So hey, don’t come crying to me about Wisconsin or Minnesota blowing up beaver dams. People in the smartest fricken state in the entire NATION about beavers and why they matter – with the likes of NOAA fisheries and the PSMFC can still be dirt stupid about beavers and salmon. Even though they should know better. Thanks Bernie for setting us straight.