B.R.A.V.O. FOR BEAVERS

heidi08 Beaver relocation September 24, 2019

You know how it is, You work and work every day at a worthy task, like changing the beaver relocation laws in California or hey maybe impeaching a corrupt president who made deals with a foreign government to thwart our democracy, and it seems like you are getting NO WHERE, You’ve followed all the rules. You’ve done this all by the book, and you can measure the dramatic noneffect in nanometers.

It’s not working.

Then one day, everything changes. I mean everything.

Meet Eric Robinson a fairly recent beaver believer from Southern California who wants those reintroduction laws changed and fast for his very dry part of the state. He tried talking to fish and wildlife, tried working with Kate Lundquist from OAEC who has been at the frontlines on this issue, working to get the law changed, And got impatient with all the nothing that was happening.

So he stepped out of line. Got a crowbar. And found the rusted gears most likely to move.

Eric spoke with the head of USDA who said they would be happy to give him some beavers. And with the members of several tribes who want beavers back on their land. And with Molly Alves from the tulalip tribe whose been doing this work in Washington for years. Then he talked with Doris at Sonoma Wildlife and got her to agree to house some beavers during transition.

It went from impossible to it’s all happening. Molly is coming to do a training for Doris and her staff in October, and rusty wheels are in motion. Yesterday he was on the local news regarding the beavers at Camp Pendleton which they have been routinely trapping for years. Now he’s talking to SeaWorld about possibly being a Southern California stopover site. It couldn’t hurt their reputation. And they already have a beaver in their education program.

Oh and he has an acronym for the program. It’s called B.R.A.V.O.

Project BRAVO – Beaver Restoration Aquifer Vitalization Opportunities

Now the operation has a GOFUNDME campaign and you can help. Sometimes when the wheels of progress turn too slowly you just have to make your own.

Rescue Camp Pendleton Beavers

Currently Beaver are coming down the Santa Margarita River into Camp Pendleton every Spring where they are lethally trapped. This year we finally discovered a way to save them. We are partnering with California Tribes to restore beaver to their native lands. We will use the money to buy Hancock Live traps $450, Game Cameras to record our process $90, Food and Lodging for them while we collect the whole family $300, Veterinarian bill for health check up $360. Transportation to the release site at Tule River Reservation $300.

GO TEAM BRAVO! Eric and his merry volunteers could use your support. This is pretty exciting to watch unfold. Now we just have to do that other thing too, Stay tuned.

NOAA WATERSHED OPEN HOUSE

heidi08 Beavers and salmon September 23, 2019

A recent reminder from Michael Pollock about the upcoming open house.

For those of you who can make it, a great opportunity to getup-to-speed on our Watershed Program research. There is a WebEx option for those who cannot attend it person. It does fill up fast (in 3 days last time) so register soon if interested.

The Watershed Program focuses on two primary research areas: Ecosystem Processes and Restoration. Our Ecosystem Processes research focuses on understanding cause-effect linkages between landscape processes, habitats, and biota, with an emphasis on priority issues for NOAA regulatory staff. Our Restoration research primarily focuses on improving restoration practices to help accelerate recovery of Pacific salmon and steelhead listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Our research is designed to assist with recovery planning for Pacific salmon and steelhead listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Apparently there are a few government agencies still trying to do science. Who knew? Although it does say you need a state issued ID to attend and if you’re not a citizen you should reapply to a special department. Hmm…

Michael Pollock will be presenting on the Scotts River restoration efforts so you know the topic of beavers will be coming up. The agenda for the entire event is available here and you can attend via web by following these directions.

WebEx information

We are pleased to offer you the ability to attend the Open House remotely via WebEx:

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Meeting number (access code): 903 588 421
Meeting password: EqRMbpyP
Wednesday, November 6, 2019 9:00 am

See you all in school!

THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT

heidi08 Beavers September 22, 2019

Responses are still trickling in to. my very unorthodox post about whether kids are paying attention to nature in the right way. There is a veritable cannon that all conservationists are supposed to believe In this matter, and it starts with Richard Louv and the Last Child in the Wilderness and ends with requesting paper straws. And I, apparently am the odd man out.

Because every KNOWS kids spend too much time on their screens to care about the natural world, Right?

I still say blaming screen time for kids knowing less about nature is like blaming plastic straws for global warming. You’re blaming a massive problem on a very small thing instead thinking about how we all are and have been to blame for centuries.

There are 3 billion fewer birds in North America than there were in 1970

North America has lost nearly 3 billion birds since 1970, a study said Thursday, which also found significant population declines among hundreds of bird species, including those once considered plentiful.

Overall, bird populations in the United States and Canada have declined by 29% in the past 50 years, according to the study, which authors say is a sign of a widespread ecological crisis.

“Multiple, independent lines of evidence show a massive reduction in the abundance of birds,” said study lead author Ken Rosenberg, a senior scientist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and American Bird Conservancy, in a statement. “We expected to see continuing declines of threatened species. But for the first time, the results also showed pervasive losses among common birds across all habitats, including backyard birds.”

What if kids were observing less about nature because there was in fact less nature for them to observe? What if our factories, cars, pollution, development and climate change had so disrupted the natural world that there was precious little of it left to see?

The findings showed that of the nearly 3 billion birds lost, most belonged to 12 bird families, including sparrows, warblers, finches and swallows. Overall, the drop was from about 10 billion birds in 1970 to about 7 billion now.

The cause is primarily habitat loss, as birds are losing the places they need to live, find food, rest and raise their young.

Other threats to birds include deaths because of free-roaming cats, collisions with glass, toxic pesticides and insect decline. Climate change compounds all of these problems and also accelerates the loss of the habitats that birds need, experts say.

But we played outside every day when I was a kid, they say.. The kids are spending too much time on their phones. That’s the real problem with them not knowing enough about the environment. It’s that these lazy, spoiled dam
kids just won’t put down their phones and go outside.

They just aren’t tuned in to nature like we were.

The exact number of participants worldwide will be hard to get. But the event was truly global and astonishingly well organized: There were over 2,500 events scheduled in over 163 countries on all seven continents.

The estimates are some where around 4,ooo,ooo participants.

THE BEST BEAVER – FULL STOP.

heidi08 Beaver Art September 21, 2019

Lory found this amazing card which I just had to share. We are still not sure why he has fish in his pocket, but maybe he’s bringing them to feed those mooching otters?

Many, many thanks for the fine birthday wishes yesterday. I got something I always wanted and was able to talk Jon into being my best grip boy/stage, set and costume designer so we could try and make this. I’m sure the first of many such attempts.

It will get better!

Is it too dark? Yes. Too blurry in the shots taken by hand? Yes. Can you see Jon’s fingers for a split second pulling the strings? Yes. But it has promise, don’t you think?. And was so much fun to make. I posted it on Facebook like every proud momma and our old friend the great and talented Ian commented kindly

Ian Boone There’s still nothing better than beavers and stop motion!!! Well done!

I just wish I had known about these when I was working. My sand tray collection would have been AWESOME casting!

Maybe next time I can borrow Erika’s?

DO BEAVERS HAVE PERSONALITIES?

heidi08 Attitudes towards beavers, Beaver Behavior September 20, 2019

The jury is still out on beavers in Connecticut. The nutmeg state is characteristically never too excited to see the little rascals, but there are some among them that know of the good that they do. Remember when Ben Goldfarb started writing Eager he was living in Connecticut! Let’s hope he talked a lot to his neighbors.

RLT Sets Program on Beavers

ROXBURY — The Roxbury Land Trust is sponsoring a two-part program on beavers.

Nick Barnett will give a talk, Industrious Beavers, at 4 p.m. Sunday, September 22 at the Roxbury Town Hall. In the second program, Mr. Barnett will lead a walk at 2 p.m. Saturday, September 28 at the Roxbury Land Trust’s Baldwin Preserve to learn more about beavers’ natural habitats.

That sounds promising right? People talking about beavers is mostly better than people not talking about beavers.

Mr. Barnett, a board member of the West Hartford Land Trust, will focus his talk on beavers’ engineering skills, their behavior, personalities and natural history, and the environmental impact of their industriousness.

Their personalities?
I’m just trying to imagine whether this is a translation of another word that makes more sense? (And I do mean translation, because local papers have lost so much money that some some news is truly outsourced to Korea or some place cheaper.) I guess dogs have personalities right? I think Hope Ryden Lily Pond certainly saw enough of them to know. Or do you think he really does have something to say about beaver personalities that I don’t know about. Maybe some personally perceptive skills or beaver Rorschachs just never paid attention to?

I’m curious. If beavers have personalities, can they have personality disorders?

This trained psychologist sat with our beavers every day for 11 years and I feel I know relatively little of their personalities to this day. They tended to keep those cards pretty close to the vest if you take my meaning. Mom was patient. She did communicate that, She put up with people watching and eventually let us pick her up in a dog crate when she was sick. And Dad was less patient. Does that count? I don’t think I can flesh it out more than that. Certainly not enough to give a whole talk about it?

Maybe I just wasn’t paying enough attention?

The walk, which is moderate and relatively flat, will look at the beaver habitat as well as for other creatures and species found only at beaver ponds, like the baskettail dragonfly.

Well that sounds better anyway. No word yet on the personalities of the dragonflies? I’m pretty curious to find out.

And on the twentieth day of September, she celebrated another completed circle around the sun, this time launching into the year that Enos Mills was when he died. Fingers crossed it’s not unlucky for beaver fans!

This GIF sent to my by a beaver buddy must be a very good sign of the many bright days to come, right?