Army Core of Engineers

Remember Sammamish in Washington? They were in a dither about rascally beavers collapsing roads and then brought out the big guns to say they had to kill them because their dams would block salmon? I wrote them that this was untrue and suggested they look out their front door and contact the folks at Kings County who had been successfully and humanely solving beaver issues for years? Well guess what?

“The idea is to try to live with them rather than try to fight them,” said Brian Sleight, a supervising engineer with King County’s water and land resources division.It’s a never-ending fight that the city’s Public Works Department has been battling for years – particularly in the wetlands near Ebright Creek Park and the outlet of Beaver Lake. The beavers, attracted to the prime dam real estate, put up a home that they use for breeding and protection from predators.

The abode backs up the water behind it, creating headaches for land owners. The city then pays to have the beavers trapped and released in another location and dismantles the dam.

Invariably though, the beavers tend to find their way back to the original location and start rebuilding and the cycle continues.“You might buy yourself 18 months, maybe 24 if you time it perfect,” Sleight said. “But as long as you have good beaver habitat, you can remove them but they will repopulate an area.”

Yeah Brian! We like Brian!!!! Well good for you for taking the beaver bull by the horns and investing in long term solutions. Once the struggle gets local though things get a little insane. They are budgeting 100,000 for the next two years. Really?

Senior Stormwater Engineer Eric LaFrance said the city has been through this several times with the beavers. A dam on the outlet from Beaver Lake combined with heavy summer rains led to high water levels on the lake this June, submerging some residents’ docks. LaFrance also blames a dam for backing up water in the wetlands that feed Ebright Creek, which has caused flooding on 212th Avenue.LaFrance got the Beaver Deceiver idea from the county, who had used a similar device on Peterson Pond, north of Sammamish.

The deceiver is a pipe that tunnels under an existing beaver dam and up to the normal water level on both sides – essentially creating an extra drainage point for a stream or wetland that will kick in when the water level rises above the top of the pipe. The end of the pipe is fenced off to prevent clogging.

A beaver deceiver of solid gold?

Never mind that what your describing sounds more like a Clemson Pond Leveler than a ‘Beaver Deceiver”. I’m sure Brian knows what he’s doing. Good luck on your real solutions, and congratulations!

Now if you’re looking for a local hero read about Mitch Avalon (of beaver subcommittee fame) and his willingness to take ACE on over the tree/levee issue!

Implementing the clear-cutting policy will cost local jurisdictions millions, they insist. At a news conference Monday in North Richmond, officials pointed to a thick stand of trees and bushes along Wildcat Creek. It would cost $2 million to bring the area in compliance with federal rules, said Mitch Avalon, deputy director of the Contra Costa Public Works Department and spokesman for a group of Bay Area flood protection agencies.

“I stand before you today at the risk of going to jail,” said Avalon.

Yesterday I was reading through the latest issue of the SFEP newsletter and I happened to spy an interesting article about how the Army Core of Engineers feels about trees on levees. Turns out they’re against them, and asking every city in the nation to rip out trees that are within 15 feet of the waterway.

The original ordinance was announced back in June of 2009 along with a requirement to ‘fill in animal burrows’ and remove woody debris. (I bet you can guess why this article got my attention.) The requirement got a lot of pushback from environmental groups. So much so that the USACE released its own “don’t believe the lies you heard” web page. Which outlines the outlandish things they’ve been accused of and justifies them without ever denying them in any way whatsoever. Here’s a favorite:

Error: The Corps ordered thousands of trees chopped down.

Fact: The Corps notifies levee project sponsors of operation and maintenance deficiencies, which may include vegetation, animal burrows, encroachments, and closure structures. These deficiencies must be corrected to remain eligible in this voluntary program for federal rehabilitation and repair assistance following a flood.

Translation: You only need to remove all nesting locations for those damned birds and close the stinkin’ rabbit holes if you want our money! If you don’t want it we can take it to some other city that deserves it more. The rule is that if you fail to do all these ridiculous things we, (like that fire department in Tennessee), aren’t responsible for you! If we come out to a flood situation and see one single tree branch floating by we’re not going to pay you a dime or lift a shovel. Got that? Don’t come crying to us if your cities wash all the way out to sea, this job is really hard and besides KATRINA WASN”T OUR FAULT! WAHHHHHH!!!

This was my favorite under ‘key points’

Proper operation and maintenance (O&M) of levee systems is a critical component of public safety and the consequences of O&M issues, such as vegetation on levees, floodwalls or dams, go beyond a breach or failure. While vegetation and other encroachments can harm the structural integrity of the infrastructure, it can also obscure visibility for visual inspections, impede access for maintenance and inspection, and/or hinder emergency flood fighting operations.

Did you get that? All those darn trees block our view when we come out once a decade to check how things are working. It’s really hard to see all the reasons why we aren’t responsible and how your community is really at fault. Sometimes we have to move branches and they’re really scratchy, we get mosquito bites and the mud is slippery. Back off people. All these boxes won’t check themselves!!!!!!

Ahh, dear sweet, overworked ACE. (Isn’t that cool that your initials are ACE? Like a handsome P.I. or something. I know you like initials) I know you’ve had a hard, hard time of late, people were awfully mean about the levees in that Gulf Coast town, and you had those awkward whistleblowers and documentaries made about you. It’s been a nightmare! Here, have a beer. Sit in the good chair. Put your feet up. Better? I want to tell you a little secret about trees that might make you feel differently.

You see, trees have a part you can see and another part you can’t see. (Stop me if I’m going to fast for you.) The part you can’t see is under the ground. Well it turns out they’re about equal in size. Imagine that! All those forks and branches are mirrored under the soil. They’re called ROOTS and there’s millions of them.

I understand you’re worried about your levees. Look at all those things under there! And its not just the trees! The grasses and blackberries and tulles and thistle…All those matted roots…I can understand why you’re stressed….but ACE. Roots are our friends! More importantly, roots are YOUR FRIENDS. Think of them as if they were holding their little hands under the soil. They’re making a net to support the dirt. To support YOUR LEVEES. They keep it altogether with their interlocking connections.

See, the roots are saving you hours and hours and hours of work – (paper and field). They are saving you angry documentaries when the levees collapse. They are on your team ACE. They are your FRIENDS.

In the interest of time I won’t post again how your own research proves that willows along streams help protect the levees, increase flow and reduce erosion, but go look here if you’re interested. I won’t waste time repeating again how woody debris is essential for salmon and trout. What would be the point? I will just assume that in the history of the world there has never been a government employee that doesn’t want his or her jobs to be easier. Who could blame you? Holding back water is hard work. Which is why I am here to remind you that Roots can help make that happen.

I suspect that this issue is coming to the forefront in the next few days as the regional ACE-representative has given Ca until the end of the month to make its case for riparian benefits. Stay tuned.