5th international Beaver Symposium

Two recent stories have new information that I’m grimly going to share. To start with the mayor of “Tom’s River” who was going to “consider humane alternatives to trapping” turns out not to have considered them very long. Times up! Beaver trapping season is open and no one should be surprised at his conclusion.

Activists angered by decision to trap Toms River beavers

TOMS RIVER — A state-licensed trapper has been hired by the township to remove beavers whose dam-building activities have led to complaints from neighbors who live near Lake Placid.

The township’s decision to hire the trapper — who began working in the area Dec. 27 — frustrated representatives from Gloucester County’s Unexpected Wildlife Refuge, who met earlier this month with Toms River officials in an attempt to convince them to use nonlethal means to prevent the lake’s beaver population from building dams that have flooded neighboring properties.

“Trapping is the only viable, long-term solution to provide a practical and financial means of responding to the presence of beavers on town-owned and managed lands,” a statement issued by the township reads. “Trapping ensures that property damage and human health and safety risks are minimized and that quality of life is preserved for residents.:

Township officials said that in spite of their efforts, more beaver dams have appeared in Lake Placid in recent years. Moving the beavers is not an option since the state Division of Fish and Wildlife does not allow relocation of the aquatic rodents, officials said.

The township says the beaver dams “alter waterways, destroy forests and threaten homes and roads.” Beaver trapping in New Jersey runs from Dec. 26 to Feb. 9.

Ugh. I’ve highlighted your “Proceed governor“moment. That’s where I’d start my response.

If I were there I’d try saying something like “I’m relieved to hear it’s a long term solution, Mayor.” Then follow up with “How long?” Brightly cheerful. “How long did you say the trapper is guaranteeing his work?” Wait a second, and then “Because Mike Callahan guarantees his installation for five years, I’m assuming that trapper will come back and do whatever is necessary for that long too?” See if you can get them to acknowledge that when new beavers move in the city will have to pay again. See if you can get them to talk about the payment for the trapper and how long it usually takes beavers to recolonize adequate habitat.

I agree that its rotten the city said they were pretending to look for solutions while the press was there. And then did exactly what they had always planned the second their backs were turned. But stop recommending compassion, because no ones listening. Talk about saving money. Talk about hiring a trapper four times in five years versus letting you install the culvert fence for free. And ask the mayor which he thinks is a better use of taxpayer funds.

Van Hof, of Unexpected Wildlife Refuge, said her group offered to pay for installation and maintenance of a trapezoid-style fenced beaver deterrent that she said has been proven to have “98 percent effectiveness in historically badly flooded municipalities.” She said the trademarked beaver deterrents suggested by the group, called either “Beaver Deceivers” or “Culver Clear,” require almost no maintenance.

She said the group offered to visit the site weekly to monitor the effectiveness of the beaver deterrent device. The longer beaver deterrent devices lead the beavers farther away from the culvert or pipe and prevent them from successfully damming it, Van Hof said.

Great work offering to do it yourself. Now follow up with the statement that “Rather than allowing us to carry this cost you’re saying its better make tax-payers do it?” And see if you can get that covered by the papers. They are being weasels, and not the pretty kind. Let slip the watchdogs of war. (In a very polite way.)

cooper crane — **Cooper Crane posing in Worth A Dam shirts after our legal challenge failed to stop the sheetpile was installed thru the beaver lodge.**

More news about the firecracker beaver from our longtime German friend Alex Hiller (posing here for photo with Skip Lisle at the beaver symposium a few years back). He researched the local papers and found that the tragic death really did happen about a week ago. He highlights that fireworks are illegal in Germany and these were probably purchased in Poland. He writes,

It is a sad story you forwarded to me. Unfortunately the incident is being approved by necropsy. The corpse of the female beaver kid of 6 months age was being discovered at the bank of a lake besides the castle of Koenigs-Wusterhausen. The wife of the local hunter had witnessed teens throwing firecrackers into the lake the day before. The incident happened about a week ago.

What was being discovered by necropsy were ear drums on both sides destroyed and ripped open. Its liver and brain had clogged blood vessels resulting from shock. Death was caused from drowing, because lots of water was found in its lungs and stomach. It was assumed that firecrackers could have caused an underwater shockwave resulting in the beaver kid`s death.

Alex is a trusted beaver researcher with boots on the ground. He even found a grisly article from B.Z. showing the ruptured eardrums. (Because German papers are like just that.) So this means it really happened and that when people blow up dams they occasionally blow out beaver eardrums. . (Which is quite upsetting to think about.) It makes me worried for our little beavers in retrospect. And now I’m thinking that maybe that ‘mourning beaver’ recorded by Bernie Krause also had his own hearing loss and couldn’t tell how loud he was being?

You can watch that if you dare, I never will again because it is just too sad. The bright spot in this gloomy follow-up is that Worth A Dam still has a generous beaver friend in Germany who is willing to do some research and translating for us when needed. Thank you Alex, for your valuable aid, and hopefully the next story I ask you to sniff out will be a more beaver cheerful one!

Alex’s most difficult summary was the report from the last day of the conference where beaver density and trouble spots were discussed. He wrestled with this article with enormous care, and I think did an outstanding job. At one point he wondered if writing the names of professors who gave unpopular advice was a good idea, since the “internet is forever” and people might change their minds eventually. I was forced to admit that he is much, much kinder than I am, but assured him he could decide either way. (I have always considered the internet to be a snapshot in time, and if you were caught saying bad things about beavers in that snapshot you will just have to deal with the consequences!)

After some mulling, he decided to let his report stand. I offer it in it’s entirety with the only possible title:

The Good:

“Hot spots” were beaver sites called by Prof. Alius Ulevicius from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Vilnius University, regarding the richness of nutrients and organic material as well as the structural alterations to eco-systems: Beavers “create specific complex habitats” consisting of different environment elements “like beaver ponds, standing dead wood and debris, beaver dams, lodges, etc.” Its impact on the hilly moraine landscape depends on its location more than its size.

The alterations created by beaver sites in relation to the landscape of densely inhabited beaver territories does not exceed population fluctuations of 6 to 7 percent according to Prof. Alius Ulevicius. Thus to be said for Lithuania, that went through a boost in beaver population starting in the mid-forties of last century leading to an estimated beaver population of about 89 k to 121 k individuals “near to its carrying capacity” counting an average 7.8 beaver sites per 10 square kilometers. (7.8 beaver sites per 3.86 sq.miles.) In comparison we learned that Minnesota, USA, has got an average of 10 beaver-sites per 10 sq.kilometers ( 3.86 US-sq.mi ) equaling about 2 and a half beaver sites per square-mile with alterations to the landscape in the surrounding territory of 13 percent.

Nevertheless you will find beaver sites in Lithuania not only at lake shores, river and stream banks but also on both sides of roads and highways, most likely lodges at open drains on surrounding meadows of slush green surrounded by healthy stands of aspen, willow, maple oak as well as pine forests as we were shown on our guided tour to neighboring beaver sites within about 15 sq.kilometers around Dubingiai Conference Center on September 23, 2009, as the final day of the 5th International Beaver symposium.

Despite beaver density, do not expect a flooded countryside with dead wood all around: Lithuania appeared to be one of most beautiful countries throughout Europe in all shades of green with its healthy meadows and forests, numerous lakes and almost undisturbed nature. Have a look on the Lithuanian website ( www.maps.lt ) screening the entire country far better than google maps. “The maximum effect of beaver impact should be expected where beavers are able to alter the hydrological characteristics of water bodies such as small streams, drainage canals and small swamps.”

Indeed the beaver impact on open water drainage succeeds to 18 percent and accelerates at lakes and stream banks: Research on selected 555 segments of 500 meters ( 550 US-yards ) each alongside lakes and streams showed 82 to 100 percent of beaver impact:Beaver made canals collect surface water thus providing larger wetlands from its additional water supply. The mean burrowing intensity was up to 30 burrows per kilometer ( 0.63 US-miles ) discharging in average 30 cubic-meters ( 1 cubic-meter is 1000 liters, 1 cubic-foot is about 28 liters, equaling about 1071 cubic feet ) of soil subsurface ground into the canal-bed.

By this means beavers create huge underground infrastructure for a number of forestrial vertebrates like otters and the invasive species of American mink that can frequently be found in Lithuania at beaver-sites feeding and resting, moreover sheltering and breeding in beaver-made burrows and lodges.

The Bad:

The negative effect of inadvertent habitat creation for those semi-aquatic predators was later mentioned by Prof. Vladim Siodorowich from National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk, on his investigations about beavers as prey supply. Most obviously is beaver impact on the plant communities of beaver meadows with its relatively high species richness due to increased soil dampness, acidity and nutrition. From a conservationists point of view any alterations in a territory with its indigenous plant and animal communities are to be evaluated critically.

Prof Ulevicius called “man and beaver” the main disturbance factors on eco-systems questioning which concept of land use will be the most appropriate regarding beavers that create “highly productive patches that attract and involve higher trophic levels on landscape scale” at the one end of the scale and man “highly favoring the effective use and export of accumulated goods” on the other end.

The Ugly:

Among the lecturers from Lithuania and other eastern European countries that focused only on disturbing impacts of beavers that were consolidated on their specific investigations was Prof. Romanus Lamsodas from Watermanagement Institute of Lithuanian University of Agriculture recommending “hydrologic regime” to be taken over beavers settling in open drains in localities relevant for concentrated agriculture .

Prof. Olgirda Belova from Lithuanian Forest Research Institute , Kaunas, demanded an “eliminating norm of 15 to 20 percent” of the beaver population by hunting and trapping for the reason that the main six woody species of the beaver diet are important for biodiversity conservation and need to be protected against growing beaver population. “Appropriate structured harvesting” topped it all and was suggested by Göran Hartman from Norwegian Institute for Nature Research in numbers of 15 to 20 percent of the beaver population as a self-financing method that could provide a positive incentive for landowners and will effect the stabilization of the beaver population. At the same instance he suggested distinct care “as the species is vulnerable to overharvesting.”

Whew, more Good:

This all was said before Skip Lisle and Duncan Halley talked about non-lethal methods of beaver-management. By the way, licensed live-trapper Sherri Tippie from Denver, CO was shown setting Hancock live-traps in the slide show removing beavers from creek of mid-town Aurora, CO , in the effort to relocate them to sheep ranchers in the Rocky Mountains for all the benefits beaver hot spot provide to animals and to landscape. Hopefully the well proved and cost effective methods of non-lethal beaver management will lead to awareness of viable alternatives to hydrologic regime, eliminating norms and structured harvesting in the mind of those “scientists on demand” as I would consider them according to their unacceptable conclusions, presumably under the pressure to value short-term financial savings higher than long-term ecological effects.

“The Americans are far ahead of us” was noted by one lecturer remarking on the positive effects of beaver-sites on areas experiencing drought from global warming.”Be prepared for the long game” according to an expert of the Scottish Beaver Trial.

Much Appreciated Guest Blogger: Alex Hiller

(Clint Eastwood comparisons entirely my own.)

Skip Lisle (left) & Alex Hiller (worth a dam t-shirt) at the 5th Annual Beaver Symposium