Tag: Beavers

Beaver Civics Lessons

heidi08 City Reports, Friends of Martinez Beavers November 1, 2010

Years ago, when I was just starting to film the beavers, I’d wander blearily down to the dam in the morning and stare into the water waiting for ripples. Everything was so different then, the beavers were living in the old lodge, and the location of the dam seemed so far away, almost like a vast green murky wilderness in the distance.

I guess it’s the wildness of a mystery before you know all about it, before their habitat was finite and shrinking, when it seemed like anything could happen. Sometimes when I’d walk back past the parallel parking spaces on Castro Street I’d see them filled with unmarked white vans. Obviously rentals, apparently gathered there overnight for no apparent reason. I realized later that they were the ‘ballot’ transport system. Those vans would pick up votes in San Ramon and Concord and Oakley and carry them back to the warehouse beside the beaver dam to be counted.

Have you ever driven by on election night? There are police closing one line and guarding the process, reporters gathered, officials and ballot-counters. One year (before the sheetpile) mom beaver climbed up almost to the pathway to get a sowthistle and everyone went WOW at the same time. One year Jon threw in a piece of apple and one of the security guards ran over to him worried that he was throwing ‘rocks at the beavers’. Our beavers couldn’t be any more closely tied to the election process in Contra Costa County. If you doubt me watch the November 7th video for a reminder.

So its fitting that Friday’s article in the Contra Costa times outlines the significant spending by downtown property owners on maintaining the current council and points specifically to perks and special favors like a certain sheetpile wall.

Residents who say property owners and developers wield too much influence over the City Council point to the stream of campaign cash that has flowed to the incumbents in recent elections. This year, members of the Bisio, Dunivan and Busby families, which own many downtown Martinez properties, donated a total of $3,564 to Schroder and $4,400 to Menesini, according to campaign statements. Menesini also received $1,000 from Concord-based Albert D. Seeno Construction. The Busby family gave DeLaney $1,750.

Several recent decisions have fueled criticism that the council is beholden to downtown interests.

Last year, the council agreed to pay $250,000 over five years to rent the Campbell Theatre, which the Bisios own, for the Willows Theatre Company. Even if the Willows folds, the city is on the hook for the five-year lease. Despite opposition from neighbors, the council last year approved an apartment project for low-income seniors to be built on property owned by the Dunivan family. And in 2008, the city paid about $355,000 to stabilize the Alhambra Creek bank near Escobar Street after the Dunivans, who own property nearby, threatened to sue.

Ahhh we waited a long time for this article, but I can’t imagine a better time for it to be written. Think of the beavers tomorrow and go vote!

Locking up the Anti-Beaver Vote

heidi08 Who's Killing Beavers Now? October 29, 2010

Council hopeful Dave Spackman of Oshawa Canada has chosen a simple, bold platform for his election, (blushing tones not withstanding). “Kill the beavers!” Remember that last year Oshawa citizens were told the beavers were being relocated when they were really being killed. Then this year the residents rallied to save the beavers and stop the council from killing them. A temporary moratorium on killing was issued but the trappers invitation got lost in the mail so some beavers got accidentally killed anyway. All this, (including the council promising they’d ask the trapper if it was the mother beaver that got killed and the trapper telling them it was impossible to sex a beaver so he couldn’t know), sparked a fair amount of outrage and public pressure that motivated the council to rethink. (Note: in this sentence prefix “re” may be an exaggeration.) Now the fine environmental group that recommended killing them in the first place has a contract with the city for 60,000 to maintain the pond at a safe height so the beavers can stay. Dave feels that this exorbitant amount is so unpopular with voters that its worth a slogan and he’s built a campaign around it.

Dave Spackman: Kill the beavers!

At last a politician that will keep his promises! Well, not Dave himself personally. He’ll use taxpayer money of course to hire another trapper and kill the beavers but it will be WAY less than 60,000 dollars. Not sure what else he’d do for the town or where he stands on zoning issues, district funding, property taxes or road maintenance but by golly I know where he stands on beaver issues! Kill them all!

(Pinkly!)

(One has to speculate about the color. Did Mr. Spackman have an earnest kitchen-table conversation with a sensitive aunt or savvy political adviser who told him that the slogan might possibly alienate the female vote? Is the hue intended to ‘soften’ his murderous message and show subconsciously that he means no harm to women in general and is just protecting Oshawa’s purse strings? Or, perhaps, is this a deeply complex, ‘Brokeback Mountain‘ type of trapping advocate, who just happens to be really, really fond of pink? Inquiring minds want to know.)

I thought it was worth writing about Mr. Sparkman not because his platform is unusual, but because its so very, very typical. We here in Martinez have had more than a few politicians and candidates that have carved a name for themselves by being loudly anti-beaver. Especially when public works got finished with their important C.I.R. (Cost-inflating Record). By the time they were done adding up all the police presence they paid for at the November meeting, the hours they spent digging out the dam and the shovels they had to replace when they dropped some in the water, Martinez reported a beaver-saving cost of 75,000.

(For the record, 13,000 of that went towards bringing out Skip Lisle from Vermont to install the flow device at the dam. He flew out twice, one to ‘pitch’ his contraption and once to install it. The city paid for him to stay here in town a couple of days while he saw how his install held up to the first rains. The cost of airfare from Vermont to Toronto is about 350 dollars right now. You could put Skip up in a pretty nice hotel, buy him several of the finest dinners in town and have him install a flow device made of copper and silicon for that price. Just sayin’.)

You see, Oshawa’s 60,000 and Martinez 75,000 (that became 375,000 when they installed the sheetpile) seems like a lot of money, an impossible amount of money, more than any hardworking city can afford to squander to “save some rodents”. But, of course, that’s not what its for. It would only be ‘too much’ if it was for resident’s benefit. These sums of course are for the politico’s benefit – cover money, front money, make-them-look-good-money, lawsuit prevention money, pretend money: so the actual sums don’t matter at all. These are ‘fairy costs’, as in, clap your hands and lets make the voters pay for pretending this job is really, really expensive. If they end up hating all the money we’re spending, we won’t have to spend it, and the problem will go away. If they end up hating the do-gooders in town who are forcing us to spend all that money they’ll bicker amongst themselves forever and we can get back to our rezoning decisions uninterrupted and the problem will go away. If the money turns out to be a waste no one will ever believe those loud mouths again and we’ll get to kill the beavers and the problem will go away. And if it happens that it all turns out to be worth it, well we inflated the costs so its cheaper than it looks anyway. Problem solved!

How can we lose?

Mr. Sprackman doesn’t yet understand the way politics work or his sign would just read;

Quinnehtukqut

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Who's Killing Beavers Now? September 26, 2010

Tim Nolan, Foreman of Maintenance at the Department of Public Utilities, a division of the city’s public works department, stands on a beaver dam at the Still River drainage basin that feeds Lake Kenosia. There are two dams that are opened with a rake each morning. Friday, Sept. 24, 2010 Photo: Scott Mullin / The News-Times Freelance

The constitution state takes its name from the Algonquin word for the “Long tidal river”. In the 1600’s tribal leaders actually asked the settlers in Boston and Plymouth to come to their region, luring them with promises of beaver skins and corn. They were looking for help managing their unruly neighbors the Pequots. Great idea, how could that possibly go wrong?

Podunk sachems were journeying to Boston and Plymouth to solicit English settlers with promises of corn and beaver skins and glowing descriptions of the “exceeding fruitfulness of the country.” What the Indians along the river wanted was protection against the hostile neighboring Pequots. The bait was taken when, in the fall of 1633, William Holmes and his followers settled at what became Windsor, Connecticut.

American Heritage Magazine

I offer this tidbit so you can see the history of Connecticut is inextricably linked to beavers. The economy couldn’t have existed without them. The landscape couldn’t have been formed without them. The fish and the birds and the wildlife couldn’t have ever been sustained without them. So I bet in 400 years the region has learned a lot about this semi-aquatic neighbor. When I saw the article this weekend from the imaginatively named “Newstimes” I couldn’t wait to read what a state that had half a century to learn about beavers had gleaned.

Furry facts Beavers are nocturnal semi-aquatic rodents. They build dams to protect their homes, called “lodges,” from predators and to create fishing ponds as a food source. Beaver families can include two parents and as many as six pups, who leave the lodge after two years. The lodges are built above ground and water, but have underwater entrances.

Dirk Perrefort, Newstimes

Stunning. You hear that misunderstanding a lot but it still takes my breath away when its reported in a paper. Furry Facts Dirk??? Are furry facts the same as fuzzy logic? Just so you know, beavers are vegetarians. They don’t eat fish. They do make ‘fishing ponds’ but not for the reason you think. Since they aren’t polygamists, all families have two parents. And we call the children ‘kits’ but now I’m just being picky.

Well okay, so they had one reporter who hasn’t been outside a lot but I’m sure the rest of the state knows their beaver psychology! Let’s hear what from the hard working salt of the earth.

Several times this week, work crews have taken apart a series of dams the beavers built along a nearby stream feeding the lake, only to arrive the next morning to find the structures have been rebuilt. Nolan said they’ve used large rakes attached to poles to dislodge the dams, only to return the next day to see them rebuilt.

So the city of Danbury paid public works to pull out the dams several times in a week and you are surprised that the beavers rebuilt them? You have heard of this animal before, right? You are familiar with how the whole family pitches together to repair their livliehood when something traumatic happens to it? (Irrelevant backstory: Last night I met a grating man at the dam who demanded to know when we had piled up all that wood on the surface. “You guys did this, right?” When I said that these were beavers and building dams is what they do all by themselves without any help from us, he snapped defensively that he ‘knew that’. It’s heartfelt exchanges like this that make evening docent trips to the dam worth while…)

What explains the enduringly stubborn human belief that removing dams will magically make beavers go away? It sadly happens in every state in the union. It happened in Martinez in 2006. Could it be projection? Might it not demonstrate the character of the actors themselves? How do you respond if your effort is hampered? . If someone destroys what you made do you walk away or rebuild? Since you would give up are you assuming the beavers will too? If that’s true then there are a whole lot of ‘quitters’ in city government and public works all over the country.

Paul Rego, a wildlife biologist with the DEP, said beavers are fairly common in the state. He said they create dams to protect themselves from predators and to create a food source. Beavers eat trees and other aquatic vegetation near water courses. Rego said the local beaver family may have been around for some time, but weren’t noticed until the city began draining water from the nearby lake.

Well being that they had two strong dams I think Paul’s right. That’s the first sentence that hasn’t made me groan or giggle. (Although I can see how Dirk got the wrong idea. You said beavers create ponds for a food source, but he didn’t understand that meant a riparian food source!)

Clearly the city of Danbury is in dire need of some beaver education, stat! Since they discuss the possibility of trapping beaver to solve the problem, they win this week’s ‘whose killing beavers now’ entry. If you’d like to provide some needed education the article has the reporters email. I looked up the director of public works, the mayor, and the two council members representing that ward. Maybe you could explain how cities live with beavers and why they should? The constitution state needs your help!

Beavers in Buffalo?

heidi08 Environmental, In the News, Recent Sightings August 16, 2010

Vermette pointed out where beavers had built a dam across one of the waterways, thus raising the water level behind it significantly. In many areas beavers can be problem animals, but here their dam slows the water flow still more, thus enhancing the marsh’s role in improving water quality.

Considering the bitter smack much of New York has been happy to talk about beavers, this article is a breath of fresh air. It describes two graduate students charged with monitoring, testing and studying the area, and who have been particularly enthusiastic about the effect of the resident beaver dam. The article goes on to describe how beavers often cause problems and dams are routinely destroyed by the transportation department, but how these students petitioned to let these particular beaver stay and help the polluted waters. Guess how well its working? The bemused article makes it sound like this healing dam is something unique or special, and sadly doesn’t mention that beavers could be bestowing the same gifts everywhere if they were just allowed to live. I wrote them the following:

Gerry Riser’s charming piece about the beaver dam improving water quality in Woodlawn wetlands seems to suggest that the good work done by this helpful dam is the exception rather than the rule. The truth is that once the transportation department stops wasting taxpayer dollars on futile dam removal and invests instead in real solutions like flow devices and culvert fences, every waterway, stream and creekside can be significantly improved by the addition of beavers. The secret wetlands of Woodlawn are only rare in their appreciative scholars: beavers benefit any waterway that is lucky enough to have them.

I heard from Sharon of Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife that they did a consult for a flow device in the area as well, so Buffalo should know better than to think ripping out dams is the solution.

Photo: Berryessa US DEPT of Interior

On a entirely different note I saw amazing footage taken by Moses yesterday morning of a MASSIVE otter in the area between the dams. His long whiskers and huge size let us know this is an otter that has seen many, many summers. Moses wasn’t willing to share the footage with the website, but keep your eyes peeled. We didn’t see sign of him last night, or the beavers either for a good long time and I was starting to get nervous. The kits eventually emerged as cheerful as you please, GQ crossed delightfully over the dam, a muskrat swam by and three green herons flew in for a squabble on the filter. All in all, it’s a pretty healthy habitat. Hear that Buffalo?

The Squeaky Wheel…

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beaver News, Beavers elsewhere July 16, 2010

So yesterday’s post about the uppity dogpark beavers in Alberta prompted me to write a couple letters to the media and powers that be. I actually got a response back from a local paper, which seemed like a good sign that protest to the decision to kill the beavers was brewing. They even visited our website and snagged a photo or two. Lo and behold, look at the lovely headline this morning!

Pet owners defend killer beavers

People in Red Deer, Alta., want the city to move, rather than kill, beavers that have attacked at least six dogs in an off-leash park.Media attention has led to offers from private property owners to allow the beavers to live on their land, Poth told CBC News on Thursday. Parks staff are exploring those options, but killing the beavers has not been ruled out as a worst-case scenario.

Ahhh now that’s worthy of a big beaver grin! Not to mention the delightful footage of the muskrat pretending to be a beaver for some lazy cameramen who think beavers are the size of puppies. Go CBC! (Maybe its a baby beaver?) (By itself! In broad daylight?)

On Thursday, two landowners offered space on their properties for the beavers, after reports of beaver attacking dogs at the off-leash dog park last week. “What we’re really working on right now is ensuring that the sites where we’d be relocating the beavers to are appropriate for the long-term health of the beaver and its family,” said city parks superintendent Trevor Poth.

Long term health? Your concerns shifted from ‘crushed to death’ to ‘long term health’ in an afternoon? Well I’m pretty sure that wherever you stick those beavers they’ll be better off than they would be if you killed them. But it would help to know how many you have, this ‘six to twelve’ vagueness isn’t promising. You mean your facts could be off base by 50 percent? Is that typical for your city? Just checking, but you do have actual beavers, right? Because I’m pretty sure those little swimmers on the video aren’t beavers…Come to think of it has someone actually seen a dog getting bitten by a beaver? I mean you know for a fact that we’re not talking about a coyote attack or some feral dog that got left in the park years ago whose a great swimmer and attacks in the water because its where he’s stronger? Someone’s actually seen the teethmarks and noticed their flat sharp cuts? not pointy?

“We’re a little unclear whether it’s one or more. Beaver identification is pretty challenging,” Poth said.

I really, really believe that, Mr. Poth. Here’s my guess. Assuming they’ve indeed happened, the attacks have been a yearling, that is just ‘feeling his oats’. Mom and Dad know other ways to stay out of doggie paths and if they wanted your pooches dead they’d just grab on and dive down to start holding their breath. Chasing off a big dog is full of ‘flourish’ and more like a teenager than a parent. The kits are probably not out much yet, certainly when dogs are around, since your summer is later than ours, but yearlings are protective of them. So you probably have somewhere in the vicinity of 6-8 beavers. (Mom, Dad, two yearlings, two-four new kits). Make sure you get all the kits and you don’t leave some babies orphaned. Imagine how many news stories that would get?

Beyond the misleading muskrats, the worrisome part of the video is the comment that “fencing would reduce the beavers territory”. Aside from the obvious existential observation that death would also reduce vastly their territory, there doesn’t appear to be much effort to think about the differing skill sets of the different species here. A waterline fence would keep out dogs, but not beavers, who swim just as well underneath the water. Your beavers have to deal with “natural fencing” every winter when they swim under the ice and make their way out of their lodge and to their food cache. They would be just fine with a fence, thank you very much, and it could protect their young until their large enough to do it on their own.

I’m thrilled that the city has had the sense to realize that any story with 300 media reports in 2 days is not a good place to display your stubbornness or lack of compassion. But live trapping beavers isn’t a mindless guarantee of their survival. Sherri Tippie is about 1500 miles directly south of you, but she knows more about relocating beavers than anyone on the planet. At least pick up the phone and have a conversation with her. Also you might want to figure out how many you have there, first. Beaver stake-out, anyone?