Remember Rebecca from Cornwall?

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, featured, Friends of Martinez Beavers, New Species, Recent Sightings, Video July 15, 2012

She and others worked REALLY hard to get rid of trapping and save some beavers in Cornwall Ontario, which sits right above New York State. They protested, talked to the media, and generally made an obstacle of themselves and guess what happened? Always remember what Gandhi said

First they ignore you

Then they laugh at you

Then they fight with you

Then you win.

Posted by Mike Callahan on the Beaver Management Forum. Photos courtesy of Rebecca Sorrell.

Great Beaver News from Ontario!

I returned home today from a fabulous trip north of the border to Cornwall, Ontario. It was a fantastic week full of fun, good conversations, and lots of hot, hard and rewarding work installing flow devices.

As you may recall from recent BMF posts, The Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals based in Vancouver, offered the financial support and expertise to install the first flow devices in the city of Cornwall, Ontario. They also kindly paid me to assist them with the flow device installations.

I’d like to give big kudos to Adrian Nelson of FBD. He really impressed me with his ability to work with local officials, obtain all the right materials and tools, design the proper flow device for each of four sites, and teach the local volunteers how to build and install the devices. He was so good that my expertise was barely needed. I agreed completely with his plan for all four sites.

Adrian is quickly becoming North America’s west coast flow device expert!

A major highlight of my trip to Ontario was meeting the inspirational leader of the campaign to save Cornwall’s beavers from continued trapping. Her name is Rebecca Sorrell and she just joined our Beaver Management Forum. Welcome Rebecca! Never doubt that one determined and passionate person can be the catalyst for positive change. She has rallied many other good people in Cornwall and together they are making the city change its trap first policy.

Rebecca and many in her large group of passionate volunteers were actively involved with the flow device installations and are taking responsibility for monitoring and maintaining them to ensure long-term success. In addition, they plan on installing more flow devices themselves if the city has beaver conflicts elsewhere! They are a dedicated bunch, led by a special and inspirational person, and with our Forum’s support and assistance I am sure they will succeed!

Donna, Gary and Kate, our Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Center beaver friends made the trip to Cornwall and were also very helpful and a delight to spend time with. Hopefully our work in Cornwall will inspire / embarrass the politicians in the Capital city of Ottawa to finally embrace flow devices. Good luck to these dedicated beaver friends as they continue their struggle in their nation’s Capital.

There was some good local media coverage in Cornwall which is so important to educate the public. Hopefully Rebecca can post the links and maybe a few pictures of the installs here for everyone to see.

Finally, it was a pleasure and honor to work with all these good folks as we all continue to spread the word about the importance of beavers and the effectiveness of flow devices.

A hearty congratulations to Rebecca and friends, Adrian and Furbearer Defenders, and Mike who drove across several states to get there! I hope your hard work reminds everyone that people can make a difference, that even tricky problems have humane solutions, and that beavers are worth a dam or two!

Speaking of dams, apparently our beavers are so highly regarded that this morning even an angel came to visit them.

Angel visits beaver dam — Angel Visits Beaver Dam - Great Egret by Heidi Perryman

Next Stop: Beavers!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Environmental December 16, 2010

There’s been a weird flurry of activity on the ‘beaver-saving front’. I had an email from one of the women who attended the Santa Clara Creeks Conference asking if it was okay to pass my name along as possible speaker for a parks conference. Sure, I said, thinking ‘regional parks’. Yesterday, I was invited to speak at the California State Parks Conference in Yosemite. State Parks. Did I want one hour or two?

(Gulp. Just two?)

After I twittered about the house in a panic I wrote Michael Pollock and said, hmm might the NOAA ever authorize you to talk about beavers and salmon in Yosemite? He answered “sign me UP and lets call Rick”. So I talked to our historian-wikipedian friend, Rick and he can’t wait. We will be a “Beavers: How, Why and Where” triumverate on the Ides of March in snowy-bound-early-spring Yosemite, convincing rangers to use different tools and let beavers stay.

Somebody pinch me.

Of course our state parks are in dire times here in California, or they wouldn’t have a conference full of riff-raff like me. But we will make sure the state’s loss is the beavers gain. Deep breath. Hail Castor Yosemite!

More good news? I learned that our friend Adrian from Fur-bearer defenders (who just built the flow device) will be coming to the State of the Beaver Conference. And I just heard this morning that Paul Ramsay of Save the Free Tay Beavers will be there as well! It’s a long way from Scotland to Oregon, but he was lured by the keynote speaker, Donald Hey, and I don’t blame him. It will be a rare delight to sit in a room full of people who all know way more about beavers than me.

Adrian!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions December 10, 2010

Remember Adrian Nelson, the young man who is communications director for Fur-Bearer Defenders and recently installed a flexible leveler in Langley? I found later it was his first one and he had a long chat with beaver friend Mike Callahan before hand. Now I see he’s written a letter to the local paper, and I couldn’t be happier!

Beaver solutions

Re: They’re ‘just oversized rats’ (Letters, Dec. 6). It’s of little surprise that Glenn Lennox hadn’t seen beavers outside of the park until recently. Beaver populations in North America were once estimated to be between 60 million and 90 million, but due to heavy trapping and exploitation, those populations were reduced to as little as six million to 10 million.

It is only recently that we are seeing the populations starting to rebound. Current estimates put the population at about 10 million to 15 million, a far cry from its original numbers.

Canada has been losing its wetlands at an alarming rate, a vital habitat in which beavers are a keystone species. Many communities across North America are successfully implementing alternatives such as simple tree wrapping, beaver deceivers and pond levellers, which keep beavers in the area without the risk of flood and property damage.

In fact, hundreds of thousands of acres of land have been effectively beaver-proofed using these methods, saving the vital wetlands.The simple fact that trappers must continue to trap beavers from the same area year after year is evidence this is not a long-term solution.There is no need to cut down trees, kill beavers, or ship them somewhere else. In order to outsmart a beaver, one needs only to be smarter than the beaver.

Adrian Nelson, Winnipeg

Great letter, Adrian! I love the part about trapping being a short term solution especially! Being ‘smarter than a beaver’ is familiar in the very best way. Keep it up and let us know how the installation is working! We’d love to arrange for you to do a short ‘internship’ with Mike and Skip so that you learn all the best from the best!

Adrian Nelson Installs A Flexible Leveler in Langley

Only You…

heidi08 Creative Solutions, Friends of Martinez Beavers October 30, 2010

Well now I’ve heard everything. From the Toronto Sun we learn that a fire that burned a cottage to the ground and caused 150,000 dollars in damage was started by a beaver.

The buildings could not be saved but firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to another nearby cottage. Once the fire was out, the cause was not apparent, not until investigators realized a tree was down on a power line and they could see the distinctive marks of beaver chewing. Other beaver-chewed trees were down in the area as well. “It chewed through one of these trees, the tree fell on one of these high voltage lines, shorting the line,” said South Frontenac Fire Chief Rick Chesebrough. The power was conducted through the tree into the ground, igniting leaves and dry brush. “With the wind blowing toward the cottage, away it went,” he said. The cottage is about 20 km north of Kingston.

Give that man some credit because I read a lot of beaver accusations and THAT has got to be the best. Of course its theoretically possible that a beaver could could chew a tree that falls into power lines and a spark ignites brush. Just like the wind could blow a tree over and the spark ignites brush. But blaming beavers is a nice touch. It might be my favorite “Wanted” poster ever.

Well, except for those lawyers who that said the South American beavers were eating fish and getting super large. That was my all time-favorite. Gosh, where were those attorneys from anyway? Ontario! Hmm…Where that fireman was from? Now look, I’m sure its just a coincidence. It’s not like I’m saying the whole province blames beavers for every possible thing they can think of. I’m sure there are very reasonable people in Ontario who respect the backs of their nickles. Well not counting Mr. Spackman and this letter to the editor which I’m told was originally even more offensive and inflammatory and was edited accordingly. He says trapping is the second-oldest profession in canada (get it? prostitution being the first) The highlight of his diatribe against humans who impose their humanity upon things is its stunning conclusion which approaches a first-amendment argument.

In closing I would just like to say if we humans are going to be an invasive species the least we can do is be good at it, so the next time you see a trapper out protecting our infrastructure pat him on the back and thank him for saving you tax dollars to fix the damage that would have occurred had he not done his job. Don’t take a picture of his butt crack and put it in the local paper, I actually feel that MAY BE BORDERING ON PERVERTED.

Dwaine Brown: A Proud Trapper

Dwaine, allow me to personally reassure you that I regard trappers with every bit as much respect as I regard prostitutes. I fully understand both groups maintain a valuable societal role in allowing a failed and onerous patriarchy to perpetuate its myths and chauvinisms. Moveover, rest assured with my pledge to you, that I, at least, will never under any circumstances, succumb to the irrisistible temptation to photograph your butt crack.

Feel better?

I don’t want to accuse an entire province but never mind. Let’s be provincial. Ontario is INSANE when it comes to beavers. I’m sorry but its true. There is a dark age of beaver fear and ignorance and you and Ohio (and parts of Pennsylvania), are it!

Anyway, the fire’s out now, and lord knows the offending arsonists have been dealt with.

In the mean time, here are some excellent pictures of a more constructive nature. This is Adrian Nelson. He is the director of Communications at Fur-bearer Defenders in British Columbia, which is apparently slightly less insane about beavers. He’s installing a flow device in Langley. The photos are from their facebook page and the full essay is here.

You can see he’s using the domed top design of Mike Callahan (Skip uses a flat top like our round-fence) and is attaching the fencing with hog rings

(remember Skip using wire and the hollow pipe to twist it around from the New Mexico training video?), so I think Adrian must have trained with Mike on some occasion.Anyway I can’t tell you how THRILLED I am to have a new face on the beaver saving team,