Tag: Adrian Nelson

Because why not Blame the Beaver?

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver Conference, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? March 24, 2017

Oh those crazy beavers with their penchant for sinkholes and collapsed roads! When are they going to stop harassing us with their rodent ways and let us live peacefully. On ALLIGATOR lake.

Beavers the culprit in 30A road collapse

“We’ve always had problems with beavers where we don’t have a bridge,” said Chance Powell, an engineer for Walton County

One of the great mysteries early Thursday morning was solved after it was determined that beavers were the most likely culprit for the sinkhole that has closed Walton County Road 30A near County Road 283.

Beavers? Beavers!

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office received a call just after 5 a.m. Thursday about a sinkhole on 30A at Alligator Lake.

According to County Commissioner Tony Anderson, who was present as county crews began to fill the extensive hole, a GMC pickup was crossing the section of road when the asphalt began to cave in. The vehicle made it across, but the pickup was damaged and the man driving it was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast with minor injuries, said Walton County Public Works Manager Wilmer Stafford.

“The water that flows under the road became too heavy on one side and caused it to fall in,” said Stafford, who also was at the scene later in the morning.

The section of CR 30A surrounding the collapse site has been closed until the road can be repaired.

On the surface, the hole appears to be about 4 feet wide and takes up three-quarters of the road in front of Alligator Lake. But officials calculate that crew must deal with a much larger area of damage under the road.

But wait, how do the beavers make the sink hole exactly? Are you saying they tunneled under the asphalt to get away from the alligators, or chew holes in the road with their huge incisors, or that maybe the road was stuffed with willow and they ate it? The article is a little vague on the actual mechanics of destruction. But I’m sure they’re telling the truth, right? People would never blame a rodent for something just to explain away a problem that their carelessness caused in the first place.

I guess it will stay a mystery, like how beavers live near ALLIGATOR lake in the first place.

Come to think of it, maybe they can sign up for the flow device WEBINAR coming soon from our friends at Furbearer Defenders and Cows and Fish. It will be taught by Adrien Nelson and Norine Ambrose and you are ALL invited. It’s a bargain at 5 dollars. Make sure to save your space now.

Learn how to successfully implement flow devices for beaver management in your community with our upcoming webinar, Beaver Flow Devices for Managers.

On April 6, 2017 at 3:30 pm EDT / 1:30 pm MDT / 12:30 pm PDT, Adrian Nelson of The Fur-Bearers, and Norine Ambrose from Cows and Fish will co-host this engaging webinar that will focus on the “whys” and “wheres” of implementing these devices. Managers and supervisors from a range of backgrounds will learn to better understand the applicability of these devices, as well as analyze sites requiring beaver management, and address which type of flow devices are most appropriate.

Adrian will walk through the different types of devices, and how to make each one successful, as well as various obstacles and needs that may need to be addressed before deployment. The presentation will also touch briefly on ordering and supplies to ensure teams have the right materials for success.

Norine will tell participants of her first-hand experience in learning about and installing these devices in Alberta, and let participants know about the broader beaver collaborative work on education, social science, and management Cows and Fish is involved with the Miistakis Institute, local partners, and support from The Fur-Bearers.

Participants will come away with a better understanding of flow devices, but more importantly why they are useful to successfully co-exist with beavers. A question and answer period will follow.

I actually didn’t know these good folks knew each other, so I might watch just to learn more about their interaction. We will definitely learn things!

Did you know the Cavalry is in Vancouver?

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions August 20, 2013

179 W. Broadway, to be precise. That’s the address of Fur-bearer Defenders in BC where our good friend Adrian Nelson is putting in flow devices faster than they used to kill beavers. (And that’s pretty fast.) Just read this great story from yesterday

Don’t believe me? Check out this fantastic article:

Volunteer help saves beavers and highway

Beaver dams threatened to flood a section of Highway 101 in Egmont, but thanks to two days of volunteer efforts, the road is now safe — and the beavers are, too.

“The resident in Egmont with the acreage really liked the beavers being there. The habitat they created was bringing in elk, which he really loved, and even when we were there we saw gorgeous song birds,” Fox said. “So he didn’t want to harm the beavers, but it was a little too close for comfort. The dam was built near the roadway.”

Members of the Furbearer Defenders group Lesley Fox, Jim Atkinson and Adrian Nelson and Friends of Animals member Dave Shishkoff travelled to Egmont on July 31 and Aug. 7 to install two pond levellers and some exclusion fencing to appease the beavers and protect the roadway.

Hurray for Adrian and FBD! And our new friend Dave Shishkoff all of whom drove three hours both ways two times to pull this off! I’m thinking they have earned some beaver love for their hard work so go donate what you can and remind people that beavers are a good thing to take care of.

Cheryl sent an army of excellent photos from her visit to the beavers on Saturday. If I had any impulse control at all I’d eek them out by sharing one a day. But you’re in luck, because it’s always Christmas morning around here. There was lovely fresh willow to keep them occupied and a cast of characters made their appearance.

Wait up! — Kit chases adult with Willow – Photo by Cheryl Reynolds

Did you see that little straggler behind? Looks like he is working hard to catch up!

Wait for me! I was especially happy to see this familiar face – although given the current state of our dams I know he’s around and feeling fine! You’ve heard of bad hair days right? Well, our patriarch has what I’m going to call “DAD HAIR DAYS”.

Dadhairday — Father Beaver’s unique do! Photo Cheryl Reynolds

Ha! Great to see Dad in all his glory! He must have VERY powerful Castoreum! There were various close encounters of the beaver kind:

closeup — Beaver Nose & Whiskers Photo Cheryl Reynolds

And finally something that looks uncannily like a beaver kit waiving!

beaver says hi — Beaver Kit Waiving – Photo Cheryl Reynolds

Which was so adorable I had to go marching back through the archives to show that, yes, Martinez has the most friendly beavers on the entire planet. Thanks so much Cheryl for this closeup meet the beavers! Am I wrong or shouldn’t this be the new billboard as you come off the Benicia bridge?

Good things come in threes

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions August 15, 2013

Beavergate in Cornwall Ontario One Year Later – It was a Success! Clear Guindon Park Waters with no Flooding!

CFN – What a difference a year makes. When we started the Beavergate Protest we never expected that the devices placed in the Guindon Nature Park in Cornwall Ontario would have such dramatic results.

Funded fully by Lesley Fox and her Fur Bearer Defenders organization the road to clearer waters and healthier habitat were started by Wyatt Walsh pictured above.

Beavergate in Cornwall Ontario One Year Later – It was a Success! Clear Guindon Park Waters with no Flooding! Saved under Community, Cornwall, Cornwall Area Politics, GREEN News, Headlines, News, Ontario, Politics

Instead of signs that dogs and small children can’t read there is lush green. Mr. Walsh had one abortive attempt after contacting the Standard Freeholder go on deaf ears before CFN became active in trying to find a solution.

Our request for a 90 day moratorium on trapping to the City last year resulted in the traps being moved next to the lodge and wiping out the family of beavers lived.

That’s when local activist and musician Rebecca Sorrell entered and then with some media momentum and help from Lesley Fox and her organization oiula!

Congratulations Cornwall on moving your powers that be into a better beaver management strategy. It is hard, hard work changing hearts and minds, and we know that in Martinez. You might remember that Mike Callahan went and did an on site training with FBD Adrian Nelson to get the job done. If you listen to the video you can hear Donna Dubreuil in the background because she was there for the installation. This was a triumph for beaver friends in Canada, and it nice to remember their victory a year (and a month) later.

Mike Callahan & Adrian Nelson at the Guidon Nature Park Installation

Congratulations everyone!

On to this lovely beaver birth announcement from Devon, England where some fenced-in beavers are welcoming some new family members. Click here for an excellent BBC description & video of the event.

Devon wetland beavers have baby

Two beavers in a secure fenced-off area in west Devon have had a baby.

The animals are part of a three-year experiment by the Devon Wildlife Trust at a secret location to see if the animals can help restore wetland areas.

The baby beaver – or kit – is believed to be only a few weeks old, but it is not known if it is a male of female, project staff said.

Mark Elliot, from the trust, said staff were “thrilled”

Congratulations Devon! Mark is the coordinator for a group called “Working Wetlands” and I can see he’s headed for great beaver things.

Finally a nice reprisal in the Record yesterday of our beaver-extravaganza. Looks like mostly the same article with some tenses changed, but very nice to see again. Enjoy!

Kits show up for Beaver Festival VI in Martinez

New beaver kits appeared in Alhambra Creek recently, just in time for the Aug. 3 Martinez Beaver Festival. It was a time for family fun and an easy way to discover some secrets of urban wildlife.

The festival, in its sixth year, has grown appreciably. This year’s event, near the Amtrak station, featured wildlife experts, artists, entertainers, teachers and scientists, plus guided creek tours, games, hands-on projects, 41 display booths, music and information on the beavers, fish, otters, birds and vegetation surrounding beaver construction sites.

Which obviously begs the question: When will Cornwall & Devon be planning their first beaver festival? The world is waiting.

Learning Curve

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Who's Killing Beavers Now? June 8, 2013

Remember the nature sanctuary in Grafton that misunderstood the meaning of the work “SANCTUARY” and trapped its beavers a while back? I wrote the chief administrator and the council and I bet a lot of other folk did too because I received several responses, including one from Mr. Karokti himself. Well it looks like the learning curve in Grafton has taken an upward slope, at least for now.

Grafton sanctuary struggles with beaver woes

A group of residents and members of the Nawautin Sanctuary Association in Grafton struggled with this issue this May when four beavers were trapped and killed by the Township. The sanctuary is a municipal property at the shores of Lake Ontario. Nawautin Sanctuary Association member Jean-Remy Emorine, who has lived near the sanctuary for the last six years, often walks his dogs at the sanctuary and watched the beavers.

“I was really upset when I heard those beavers were killed,” said Mr. Emorine, who is originally from France. “For me they are emblematic of Canada

I have taken the liberty of highlighting what I feel was the salient issue in this article. The town of Grafton did not, in fact “struggle” with this issue. Nor did the membership of the nature sanctuary debate or discuss because they were never informed. Approximately three folks had a discussion and a memo was written, a phone call was made and 4 beavers were killed. I would say the “struggle” for Grafton occurred instead at the emergency meeting where the remarkably tone-deaf decision blew up in their faces and splattered all over the media.

Never mind. They’re definitely struggling now.

“It’s unfortunate because I love animals,” he said, adding he knows there are other municipalities that struggle with similar beaver problems.

In his 25 years with the municipality, as far Mr. Korotki knows, no one has approached the Township with alternatives to trapping. Ms. Kilmer has been in contact with the Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals, which does offer other alternatives. Mr. Korotki said they will consider alternatives in the future and consult with members of the association.

Well I personally sent him info on Mike’s DVD and Sherri’s book as well as our website, so hopefully we won’t be reading that excuse ever, ever again. Now it’s Adrian’s job to provide workable consultation and nature’s job to move in some beavers to replace the ones that were assassinated.

I quite liked this little insert the paper did, although for some reason I can’t get my brain used to “Mr. Nelson”:

Now its THAT time again! Let’s hope we can get this on the local channel once more!

The very good, the pretty good, the slightly good, and the ugly

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Environmental, Who's Killing Beavers Now? May 27, 2013

First we should give MORE kudos to our beaver friends at Fur-bearer Defenders who have strewn a path of beaver deception around the municipality of Mission in British Columbia just outside of Vancouver, installing 9 beaver deceivers to control flooding in culverts.

Beaver deceiver prevents dams from being built

A beaver deceiver being installed in Mission. Each unit saves the municipality thousands of dollars annually. Submitted phot

Gosh, I’m so old I can remember when Adrian Nelson had just gotten married and nervously installed his very first one after chatting a lot to Mike Callahan and scouring his DVD. And now these installs are practically a piece of cake! Delicious, effective cake that they actually talk an entire city into paying for!

The non-profit group approached the district with a simple, non-lethal alternative for managing flooding concerns associated with beaver activity: build a wire fence around the culvert intake, interrupting the beavers’ natural instinct to build where there’s current and the sound of flowing water. “They work awesome,” said Dale Vinnish, public works operations supervisor. “We don’t have to trap beavers. They moved elsewhere. They’re not causing a problem.”

The nine “beaver deceivers,” at $400-$600 apiece and built in one day, save the district thousands of dollars, because workers no longer have to pull apart dams. Previously, the municipality would break down two to three dams daily, several days a week, in addition to paying for the capturing and killing of about a dozen beavers annually.

“If we weren’t trapping, we were going in continuously to break apart the dams,” said Vinnish.

Great work Fur-bearer Defenders! We are entirely impressed that you are easily giving Washington State a run for it’s money as the beaver-management champion of the northern hemisphere. Go Mission!

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New footage from our famous San Jose beaver friends. Love the ‘urban safari’ feel of this video. Sadly if this is momma beaver, I’m not seeing any teats, and that means no silicon valley kits this year!

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Next, a nice column on ‘Extinction Events’ from Minnesota. His point is climate change, but my point (as always) is beavers!

For instance the pond created behind a beaver dam becomes the habitat for a wide variety of plant and animal species. Remove the beaver engineers and the entire ecosystem collapses.

It’s about time we start to realize the number of species that are displaced or wiped out when beavers are removed. Trickle-down economies work both ways. I wasn’t happy with this later sentence “Without the stream, there could be no beaver dam” because that’s not exactly true. I’ve heard of beaver creating ponds from tiny springs, so that the big beautiful pond becomes the only water in a desert. Certain ephemeral streams (like we have here in California that dry up in the summer) wouldn’t dry up if we had enough beavers. I kindly sent him this Chumash legend:

Author Jan Timbrook who is a curator for the Santa Barbara museum of natural history described this in her book ‘Chumash Ethnobotany” has some very interesting things to say about beavers:

“A willow stick that had been cut by a beaver was thought to have the power to bring water. The Chumash would treat the stick with ‘ayip ( a ritually powerful sbustance made from alum) and then plant it in the ground to create a permanent spring of water.”

Jan Timbrook, Chumash Ethobotany p. 180

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And on to the ugly. I’ve been sitting with this story a couple of days, but its fairly unavoidable and we better deal with it. This is the kind of negative advertising I hate, even more than I hate the Belarus story. Ultimately Americans value roads much more even than we value human life. Now every city will be more tempted to tell property owners they’re liable for beaver dams. Call me crazy, but it seems like if you’re worried about the stability of a dam, the smart thing to do is to reinforce it!

Flooding damages road in West Warren MA