Tag: Ann Riley

Restoring Neighborhood Streams with beavers

heidi08 Beaver Conference, Beaver News, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and Insects, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Who's saving beavers now? September 10, 2016

I had a nice surprise yesterday in the mail with the arrival of Ann Riley’s much awaited urban creek book. Her first one published 25 years ago and became the restoration bible. It is still a valuable asset and regarded as a necessary resource even though others on the subject have been published since. This second one is all about successful creek restoration stories – both labor intensive and natural. And guess who’s in it from page 171-179? That would be the story of the Martinez Beavers, who moved into an urban creek and transformed it all by themselves.

Riley has been a good friend of the beavers over the years but she wasn’t exactly forthcoming with this part of her book. It was strange and exciting to read our story told by an outsider and see myself consistently described as ‘Perryman’. Ha. The scan came out horrible but here are some wonderful segments worth sharing.

I love having this documented correctly in a book that will likely survive the next 25 years and beyond. Riley works for the SF waterboard and has done several trainings about planting trees out here. It’s through her that we were able to have the watershed stewards the last couple of years working with the conservation core. I particularly love how she cracks open the creek scientists pretend enviromental reports that the city paid for to have justification for their impulses. And of course I loved THIS.

How happy do you think the city will to be to read about that historic sheetpile? Maybe they’ll throw me a parade? That whole ordeal was such a nauseating bundle of tension that I have long repressed it: I was terrified every moment that the beavers would be killed. I can’t believe they survived. And I remain very partial to this video.

I am bursting with pride at this paragraph and you can certainly see why this reference made the wikipedia challenger disappear. Maybe its just me but I find it a little terrifying that many years ago in a panic I just happened to come across the 2005 ecological survey and made the decision to contrast it with the species we saw over time. I’m sure there were all kinds of reasons a well-trained person wouldn’t have done it. But I was right here when it all happened, and I remember how rare a thing it used to be to see a green heron or muskrat in the creek and how common it became.

Riley & Cory plan the attack! — *Ann Riley & WSP intern plan the tree planting*

More than anything else in the ENTIRE world I am wishing that some other city looks at this chapter and says hmmm, maybe we should try that. (And I’m looking at you, Mountain House). If allowing beavers to restore urban streams needed to be proven then I’m thrilled that Martinez was a testcase. I met Riley through Lisa Owens Vianni who I met through the SF bay Estuary project where she used to work. That got my foot in the proverbial door but it was my presentation at the Santa Barbra Salmonid Restoration Conference that impressed her.

She said it was might have been the best presentation they ever had.

There are a few picky things I would have changed about this chapter. The meeting wasn’t in chambers it was at the High School, and it was a Sacramento Splittail not a SPITTAIL and good lord I never want 5000 people at the beaver festival! But I’m so happy we’re in this very important book and the role our beavers played is documented forever. Thank you Ann Riley for bringing our story to the next level.

Anyone who cares about creeks and beavers should go buy a copy right now. It will pay for itself may times over.

Urban beavers

heidi08 Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Environmental, Who's saving beavers now? December 2, 2015

I invited a new team member onto the urban beaver chapter because they told me I could. I felt we needed more water weight in our cluster, and first thought of good friend Ann Riley who is too busy with her third book to help. That of course meant I needed to ask Dr. Ellen Wohl who was surprisingly interested and willing to assist. In case you’ve forgotten who she is, shes a professor of geo sciences at Warner College in Colorado who has written a great deal on beaver, rivers, and climate change. This audio is a great introduction. It’s taken from a few moments of her interview on Santa Fe Radio, and happens to be the smartest most tightly packed summary of beaver benefits I’ve ever heard.

Ellen suggested we consider using a tool for analyzing the likely role of a beaver dam risk and contribution of woody debris. Her paper on the topic is coming out soon and she attached a copy for review, with sections about the value of woody debris to invertebrates and fish that immediately translate to beaver dams. I thought for sure it would interest Michael Pollock and sent it along to him. He got very excited and thought it was a great idea to inform our paper.

Which just goes to emphasize that they are all super smart in their relative fields. And I just make connections. Because its what I do.

building the dam — Beaver building urban dam: Cheryl Reynolds

Fascine party!

heidi08 Environmental, featured, Friends of Martinez Beavers November 21, 2015

Worth A Dam got a grand lesson on urban creek stewardship yesterday, from the woman who literally wrote the book on the subject (New books coming out in January). Ann Riley of the SF Waterboard came out for a workshop and planting with some interns from the Watershed Steward Program of the California Conservation Core, and many friends who wanted to learn her techniques. Our eager city engineer showed up as well, and Worth A Dam was there with boots (er, sandals in Jon’s case) on the ground to make it all happen. Check out the grand photos by Ron Bruno. First off they took a field trip of the standing willow by the corp yard, then did many cuttings of the nearly dormant trees, then fastened the bundles into “FASCINES” that they planted into trenches around and above the beaver habitat. Meanwhile Jon got Cottonwood stakes from a friendly stand on pacheco and they pounded them into the moist soil. There were nearly 20 helpers in all, and the major work was done by midday, when Riley was headed to lunch with local Flood Control . Theoretically the bank should be stabilized and covered with new growth by March, because things will be dormant and rooting undergound as they should be for a while. It was a good feeling day, and everyone was cheerful and excited about the project. Here’s what it should look like when it grows. Wouldn’t that be tempting if you were a beaver?

In lots of places, school groups are used to fashion the fascines. How would this day be if you were a second grader in Quebec? Never mind the French, this is easy to understand.

A Tree Grows in Martinez

heidi08 Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? March 28, 2015

Continuing with our charmed beaver news cycle…

Farmers should welcome nature’s architect

The wetlands that result when beavers build dams contribute to higher water tables, which boost crop and forage production

“People are actually recognizing that beavers have some real attributes,” said Fitch.

“For example, they are a climate change adaptation tool, allowing us to start to adapt to the rigours of both floods and droughts. I suspect one of the other reasons is that they’ve just dropped below the radar.”

Cows and Fish has found that in addition to supporting greater biodiversity, beavers dams and the wetlands they’re part of can contribute positively to agriculture through higher water tables that result in greater crop and forage production.

“This becomes pragmatic good business, managing those riparian areas, because of their inherent productivity,” said Fitch.

“These are the deepest, richest soils within a ranching or farming unit. They’re sub-irrigated, and so these produce the most forage.”

“Especially during drought conditions, because these are reservoirs, and if there’s enough beavers at a landscape scale to provide the storage volumes, they can help us work our way through the ravages of drought.”

Another great beaver article! Cows and Fish is doing amazing beaver work in Alberta. They are really changing the landscape of attitude toward beaver. But you can see it’s still a hard sell. The article takes a break from proclaiming their value to write about the BOGUS research that says beavers are contributing to climate change. Sheesh.

In a study published last year, University of Saskatchewan researcher Colin Whitfield found that the footprint of beavers is growing across the three continents they inhabit.

It also found that plant matter collected in these shallow ponds contributes 200 times more greenhouse gases and methane from beaver ponds than in 1900.”

ohhhhh puleezee…….

Yesterday’s tree planting was a grand success, Ann Riley decided to join the watershed interns and lend a hand as did our own Lory, Cheryl and Jon. Channel 7 news showed up to film the start of the day and some RCD members at lunch at the creek monkey decided to pitch in. The story was on at 6 last night, which was very and a pleasant change from the latest Martinez appearances. 50 stakes were planted in the block between Marina Vista and Escobar. Jon wrapped 12 of them and will do more soon.

Good work all! And special thanks to Riley for making it happen. Hopefully the odds will be in our favor. Willow is very powerful, but tell mother nature to rain soon, will you?

Eager for Beavers

heidi08 Beavers and Birds, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Who's saving beavers now? March 12, 2015

Devon’s wild beavers one step closer to freedom

Campaigners are waiting with bated breath for the results of testing which will determine the future of Britain’s wild beaver colony.

Four adult beavers from the River Otter group have successfully been captured and tested for a range of diseases which will dictate whether they can remain in their North Devon habitat.

The tests were carried out on Monday and initial examinations have confirmed that the animals are free of Echinococcus multilocularis (EM) – a disease which has the potential to be harmful to humans.

Although the results of further mandatory tests have not yet come back, a spokesman for the Devon Wildlife Ttrust said they expect them to be returned “very soon”.

I love the flower-child picture. It’s perfect for the occasion. This news just sparkles to me, like sunlight on the water. It means not only did the residents of Devon successfully FORCE DEFRA to change course on the beavers, but the farmers also kept their whereabouts hidden until they did so, and now the beavers are successfully found, trapped and tested as if by magic! The inevitability of beavers in England is looming closer and closer. And to top it off I received this Email from Derek Gow this morning:

Hi Heidi – sorry away for the last few days. Basically the situation is this – 5 beavers captured 2 pairs plus a single kit from a litter of three with one pair. The other pair has a remaining single kit on the river. There are another 2 known kits on the river plus a 2 year old which has not been captured so total is 4 adults, 1 2 year old and 4 kits. The adults were screened for EM on Monday and don’t have it. We now have permission for their rerelease and are waiting for a final blood test for Bovine TB prior to releasing them back into their territories.

We are assembling another 2 unrelated pairs now for release in the summer to bolster this population. So all so far so good. One of the senior govt chaps who we had a big fight with a year ago came with his wife on Saturday and said how pleased he was now that this project which he thinks could make a real difference in now proceeding. Its all therefore pretty cheerful at the moment.

I was going to get in touch to thank you again Heidi for inviting us to what turned out to be a remarkable conference. We are really looking seriously at having a beaver festival in Ottery this year to celebrate their return. Would there be any chance you could send me your presentation with if poss an explanation of what you did as I would like to show it to the folk who may help ?

BW and thanks again !!! Derek

In my years as beaver cheerleader I’ve helped many cities push towards a new way of thinking on beavers, and even inspired some beaver festivals in Utah, Maine, Colorado and Canada. But this is THE BEST NEWS i’ve ever had the joy of contributing to. Beavers ready for release and cheerful good will from the officials is the best possible outcome. And I cannot WAIT to put together a slide show that Derek can share with folks in Devon to think about a beaver festival in Ottery.

Wouldn’t you want to go?

This good news follows hard on the heels of a very successful talk at the Salmonid conference yesterday. The water-defenders gathered there were all creek champions of the highest order, folks boldly understanding what it means to both compromise and challenge for 20 years at a time, turning concrete trapezoidal channels into living streams and looking at the world like an intricate patchwork quilt identifiable by watersheds.

They had all accomplished a lot and knew a lot and knew enough to look forward to beavers. The new Contra Costa flood control fellow (replacing the one who had served on the beaver subcommittee) was actually presenting at the conference, and got to hear my talk as well! Riley’s role in the workshop was such that she was both revered by everyone and enthusiastically glad I was there so I had every possible platform to start from. And my talk was very well received with more laughter, oohs and ahhs in more places than I have run into yet. There were eager questions, happy praise and one fellow promised to trade off two adult salmon for a pair of adult beavers. The man after me began his talk by bemoaning his fate at being put on the schedule having to follow “the best presentation of the day”.

I was very happy. We pretty much beamed our way home.

It was a successful but fairly exhausting day, and I’m looking forward to a very, very quiet weekend. Here’s hoping that any more good news about beavers decides to wait a day or two before jumping into the pile. I think I need the rest.

The lead photo and suffusing good mood just call for this soundtrack. Change the lyrics to “They call me Eager Beaver” and you have a eco-hit just waiting to happen.