Because the beaver isn't just an animal; it's an ecosystem!

Tag: Hamilton beavers


Major beaver victory in Ontario, Canada this morning:

Hamilton Conservation Authority creates new protocol to let Fifty Point beavers be

A new protocol for dealing with wildlife conflicts at local conservation areas will leave beavers at Fifty Point alone unless they wreak major havoc.

 Set to go to Hamilton Conservation Authority directors for approval in May, the protocol only allows lethal trapping as a last resort in cases where beavers are a significant threat to health and safety, property or the natural environment.

 Directors placed a moratorium on lethal trapping last May after a Fifty Point neighbour’s discovery of a dead muskrat and injured snapping turtle in two beaver traps in the park’s trout pond created a public outcry.

He said if beavers aren’t creating an immediate flood risk, park staff will simply monitor their impact and if necessary consider habitat modifications, like fencing trees and modifying culverts so they can’t be blocked.

 If beavers have built a dam that is a flood threat, depending on the situation the authority may remove it or try less intrusive measures, like installing a flow device to restore normal water levels, the told the authority’s conservation advisory board.

 “Humane, lethal trapping is the last resort if you’ve got acute significant issues and the other approaches you’ve tried are not successful,” Stone said. “Generally, our preference is to leave wildlife alone.”

Go Hamilton! Fifty Point is an actual place, for a while I was reading this headline as if it meant fifty beavers at point! I had to hunt all over to find who’s responsible for this bit of beaver magic, but it turns out Hamilton is the home town of the Digital Director of content and the voice behind the radio at Fur Bearer Defenders, Michael Howie. So I’m not at all surprised they could will this into happening. Here’s their article on the victory.

The issue arose last year when a resident was out for a walk and came across a muskrat and an at-risk snapping turtle in beaver traps. The Fur-Bearers (and our wonderful supporters) spoke with the media, the Conservation Authority, and local politicians about non-lethal solutions following that news; it would appear the decision makers liked what they heard.

image1Last night I received the completely unexpected request for photo use from Demitrios Kouzios, a dedicated Cubs fan from Chicago who said he tweeted a beaver picture from our website and wanted to pay for its use. The photo was this, (hahaha) which I replied wasn’t ours, wasn’t a beaver and wasn’t even alive. Which he was thrilled to hear. He thanked me heartily and this morning donated $100 to Worth A Dam! Go Cubs!

Then Robin of Napa pointed me to  me this article on wildlife and traffic in the chronicle, reporting a study by the very group we featured this week. It also tells you where the danger spots are here in the Bay Area.

Mapping roadkill hot spots across a bloody state

Californians, with their famous love of the highway, tend to run over a lot of animals — raccoons, deer, desert iguana. But the danger for road-crossing critters may be rising with the drought.

A UC Davis study released Wednesday, which seeks to promote safety for both wildlife and motorists, identifies stretches of California asphalt where the most animals have been hit — and where more are likely to die in the baking sun as they extend their ranges in search of water.

CaptureFinally, in case you forgot to watch Nature last night there was unbelievably adorable footage of beaver kits in the lodge in winter. You will miss out on something truly special if you don’t go watch it right now. Beavers appear at the beginning and the end (the Alpha and the Omega as it were) but it’s all good. Ann Prum did a great job, although not better than our friend Jari Osborne who was prescient enough to just focus on beavers! Enjoy!

The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
Merchant of Venice, ACT IV: Scene 1

Apparently this was such an unexpected calamity in Woodinville that there are no fewer than 20 articles on the subject this morning. Traffic stopped because of an actual beaver blocking an actual culvert! That never (always) happens! I suppose this beaver built his dam far inside the culvert, where it was harder to remove. (Pretty smart actually. More privacy AND protection). Valiant Washington Transportation Crews worked all day using grappling hooks and security lines. Reporters stood by faithfully reporting on their every progress. “He’s inside the pipe. We have first contact”.

Honesstly, you would think they were free climbing El Capitan’s Dawn Wall.

At least its not as bad as Hamilton, Ontario where, out of the blue,  unexpected beavers are suddenly taking established trees for no reason at all!

MAHONEY: A trail of beaver dam-age

The beaver finds many trees at hand. Along the Waterfront Trail, for instance.  So now we have a problem; not so horribly divisive as, say, the one-way/two-way street debate over which Hamilton families have torn themselves asunder, but it’s a puzzler. We’re losing arbour by the harbour-ful.

 “He’s incredible,” says John Smith, half admiringly, half resentfully, pointing out a bare patch in the beautiful screen of trees between trail path and water.

 “Look at the gap he’s cleared away.”

 I count 12 stumps in a four-metre stretch, but everywhere along the trail one finds ample evidence of the beaver’s xylophagic efficiency (sit back down; it means “wood-eating”).

Beavers chewing trees in winter?  Say it isn’t so! I mean you cover the beaver beat for a few years, and you think you’ve hardened to the horror of it all. You think nothing can penetrate that thick skin you’ve developed after all the damage and brutalization. But then something like this happens and just throws everything into chaos.

First the culvert, and now this!

There must be some way to solve this problem. Some clue to a solution. But where? The article kindly mentions that walkers like the beavers so killing them isn’t an option. But what else can they do? If there was only some indication of a solution that they could go on, just some hint  or shred of evidence of what might possibly work,

Too bad the article was only published with this ole’ photo.

 BUSY BEAVERS John Rennison,The Hamilton Spectator John Smith marvels at the work of our national emblem, the beaver. But as an avid user of our water front trail, he's noticed a drastic decrease in the tree population along the shore and islands of the trail because of beaver damage.

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