Cornerstone – Worth A Dam

Pittsfield solves beaver problem at Wild Acres pond humanely

In conjunction with Beaver Solutions, highway… (Stephanie Zollshan / Berkshire Eagle Staff)

“Everybody in the pool,” Dan Osterander yelled out, as he and other city workers stepped into the pond and installed a fence to keep out the beavers Friday morning. The crew used an excavator to remove twigs and mud that formed the dam.

They were joined by Michael Callahan of Beaver Solutions, who was contracted by the city to find a humane solution to a flooding problem city officials blame on the critters.

On Friday, Callahan took 50 paces into five-feet deep pond waters to place a cage that will connect the pipes to where the city has its own dam to control the water.

Callahan has a thriving business thanks to a Massachusetts law which prevents the lethal trapping of beavers. Any disturbance of a beaver dam requires a special permit.

Looks like our good friend Mike is busily convincing another city that beavers are Worth A Dam. (Although the reporter continues to be under the impression that we would only install a flow device because of the evil 1996 law. Apparently he has failed to notice that beavers can STILL being trapped and killed and cities routinely get permission to do so – even with grip traps if one of nine exceptions are met. Nor has he thought about the fact that if you pay a trapper $500 to take out some beavers one year, and new beavers move in the next year, you’ll pay it again and again, adding up to way more than hiring Mike.)

Never mind. We’re always happy when public works crews have to jump in the water and help someone install a flow device.

The owner of the farm has complained about high water levels at the pond, said Jim McGrath, Pittsfield’s park and open space planner. The Bousquet Ski Area needs the water for snowmaking in the winter.

Van Derkar, a Pittsfield conservation agent and former wildlife biologist, said beavers shouldn’t be negatively impacted by the city’s work.

“It shouldn’t affect them. That’s the whole goal,” Van Derkar said. “We need to be able to work with them.

Here endeth the lesson.

When’s the last time you went wine tasting in the Autumn with about 1000 other wildlife lovers? Oh wait, never? Then you should come join us at Cornerstone in Sonoma for the 2nd annual Optics and Nature fair. Worth A Dam will be there with lots of folks you know and some you’ll be very excited to meet. You can learn about lions or owls or beavers, and if you decide to pick up an extra pair of binoculars for junior the optics folks will pay the sales tax. See you there?

If you were standing on the bridge last night you could feel that little nip in the air that told you autumn is approaching. You would have heard the shrill chirp of the circling osprey who is counting his days before migration. You would have seen a handful of yellow leaves fall into the water and thought briefly of the Hau flowers in Kauai, that begin their hyacinth morning dressed in yellow and then drop gracefully into the water where they ripen first into orange and then a deep scarlet by nightfall.

And you would be marking your calendars so you remember to join us for this: 1240459_10151846003023958_1177210572_n Cornerstone is a magically elegant place just about 40 minutes from Martinez at the easy edge of Sonoma. It’s artistic shops have amazing things that we probably can’t afford to buy but are very fun to look at, and its lush gardens might be the sight of a wedding for a politician’s daughter or some important corporate event. But on October 20th it will be the home of the SECOND ANNUAL NATURE & OPTICS FESTIVAL, planned by our good friends Tom Rusert and Darren Peterie of Sonoma Birding. Naturally minded folk will travel from the edges of the earth to see the 40 nature exhibits, 8 artist displays and 10 sponsoring Optic companies who will teach you personally what binoculars or equipment would best suit your needs. And in addition to sponsoring the event, the good people of Pentax, Zeiss or Swarski will pay the sales tax of any optics purchase you make that day. You can bet Worth A Dam will be there talking beavers to the wine tasting crowd and we couldn’t be happier to see yet another nature festival in the Bay Area. Last year they expected about 300 attendees and wound up with a thousand. This year who knows what could happen?

Oh, and when you see Tom and Darren be sure to tell them congratulations. The great state of California allowed them to get married this year, and I’m thinking that their continued happiness is a very good thing for beavers.

Yesterday was “beaver madness at the dam”, with a almost full cast of six characters on stage including the three new kits, our 2012 kit (who’s now a yearling), the ever-attentive new mom dad brought home in 2011 and an uncle (step-uncle?) who is one of the three 2010 kits our original mom had before she died. This uncle beaver is apparently less eager than most, and stayed behind after his siblings had dispersed. Here’s he is coming to see what’s going on. Only dad didn’t make an appearance last night, but he is a cautious beaver and we never known when he’ll show. If you can steal an evening some time in the next few weeks before it gets cooler, I wouldn’t miss the chance to see the family in person.