Tag: Joe Wheaton

AMERICA THE BEAVER-FUL

heidi08 Beavers and groundwater, Beavers and Nitrogen removal, Beavers and soil, Beavers and water November 3, 2020

What, me worry?

When beavers are on NPR? Not bloody likely. In addition to being most excellent reporting and great news for beavers, this also happens to provide me with the perfect audio to make into a powtoon later today which is an ideal low-stress way to spend nerve-racking election day. Thank you Dr. Brazier!

Beavers bring rich biodiversity back to Devon, England

Come to think of it. America is pretty darn lucky England killed all their beavers 500 years ago. Hear me out. I mean in addition to the shortage driving people to look for them elsewhere and paying for the pilgrims to come to America and basically starting our whole country, the fact that they want them back NOW and are doing such excellent research to justify their existence works well for us in America.

So, thanks England.

[wonderplugin_video iframe=”https://youtu.be/AfWxCyAzP_c” lightbox=0 lightboxsize=1 lightboxwidth=960 lightboxheight=540 autoopen=0 autoopendelay=0 autoclose=0 lightboxtitle=”” lightboxgroup=”” lightboxshownavigation=0 showimage=”” lightboxoptions=”” videowidth=600 videoheight=400 keepaspectratio=1 autoplay=0 loop=0 videocss=”position:relative;display:block;background-color:#000;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%;margin:0 auto;” playbutton=”https://www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wonderplugin-video-embed/engine/playvideo-64-64-0.png”]

Yesterday’s NM Summit was beyond awesome. Any day when you get to listen to Joe Wheaton AND Jeff Ogburn in the same place you should literally jump at the chance. Jeff is the North Eastern Habitat Biologist for NM Game an Fish so of course he’s very interested beaver. He also has that enviable, pragmatic, energetic style that says ‘lets solve problems and work together and I’m not trying to sell you beavers’ which is SO SO SO helpful and needed on the landscape. (Something I will never be able to do because I am literally always trying to sell beavers, obviously.)

The entire presentation will be available online later an you can bet I’ll be sharing it. Much of Joe’s work is available already in his guidebook online, but wow here’s just a little. Remember he is from the Bay Area, went to high school in Napa where his mother still lives AND his sister came to the beaver festival twice.

By which I mean to say obviously he’s brilliant.Beavers are SO LUCKY to have Joe an all these amazing defenders on their side. Mary Obrien will bring it all home tomorrow, and hopefully by then we will know much more than we do now.

[wonderplugin_video iframe=”https://youtu.be/Ll-VKfJPdcA” lightbox=0 lightboxsize=1 lightboxwidth=960 lightboxheight=540 autoopen=0 autoopendelay=0 autoclose=0 lightboxtitle=”” lightboxgroup=”” lightboxshownavigation=0 showimage=”” lightboxoptions=”” videowidth=600 videoheight=400 keepaspectratio=1 autoplay=0 loop=0 videocss=”position:relative;display:block;background-color:#000;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%;margin:0 auto;” playbutton=”https://www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wonderplugin-video-embed/engine/playvideo-64-64-0.png”]

Now here’s one last gift to get you through today. It has already made the humans in this household cry hopeful tears several times today which is not something I ever believer Taylor Swift could do.

You’re welcome.

[wonderplugin_video iframe=”https://youtu.be/1VO2_KG6g-Q” lightbox=0 lightboxsize=1 lightboxwidth=960 lightboxheight=540 autoopen=0 autoopendelay=0 autoclose=0 lightboxtitle=”” lightboxgroup=”” lightboxshownavigation=0 showimage=”” lightboxoptions=”” videowidth=600 videoheight=400 keepaspectratio=1 autoplay=0 loop=0 videocss=”position:relative;display:block;background-color:#000;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%;margin:0 auto;” playbutton=”https://www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wonderplugin-video-embed/engine/playvideo-64-64-0.png”]

BEAVERS FIREFIGHTERS IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

heidi08 Beavers and Fire Prevention September 23, 2020

Now, you know I don’t drag out the star wars award scene for just ANY achievement. I save it for the best of the best. And this is better than that. Yesterday NPR was busy shouting that beavers create climate change, I got calls from Idaho and Wisconsin and my own mother. But National Geographic was doing this:

By Ben Goldfarb

PUBLISHED September 22, 2020

The American West is ablaze with fires fueled by climate change and a century of misguided fire suppression. In California, wildfire has blackened more than three million acres; in Oregon, a once-in-a-generation crisis has forced half a million people to flee their homes. All the while, one of our most valuable firefighting allies has remained overlooked: The beaver.

A new study concludes that, by building dams, forming ponds, and digging canals, beavers irrigate vast stream corridors and create fireproof refuges in which plants and animals can shelter. In some cases, the rodents’ engineering can even stop fire in its tracks.

“It doesn’t matter if there’s a wildfire right next door,” says study leader Emily Fairfax, an ecohydrologist at California State University Channel Islands. “Beaver-dammed areas are green and happy and healthy-looking.”

BOOM! And just like that not only is Emily’s research reported in National Geographic at the very time we need to hear it the most, the entire article is WRITTEN by our good friend Ben Goldfarb. So you know it’s going to be good.

For decades, scientists have recognized that the North American beaver, Castor canadensis, provides a litany of ecological benefits throughout its range from northern Mexico to Alaska. Beaver ponds and wetlands have been shown to filter out water pollution, support salmon, sequester carbon, and attenuate floods. Researchers have long suspected that these paddle-tailed architects offer yet another crucial service: slowing the spread of wildfire.

“It’s really not complicated: water doesn’t burn,” says Joe Wheaton, a geomorphologist at Utah State University. After the Sharps Fire charred 65,000 acres in Idaho in 2018, for instance, Wheaton stumbled upon a lush pocket of green glistening within the burn zone—a beaver wetland that had withstood the flames. Yet no scientist had ever rigorously studied the phenomenon. (See California’s record blazes through the eyes of frontline firefighters.)

“Emily’s study couldn’t be more timely,” says Wheaton, who wasn’t involved in the research. “This points toward the importance of nature-based solutions and natural infrastructure, and gives us the science to back it up.”

BOOM BOOM BOOM! The beavers marches right into the headlines and every single depredation permit is suddenly an act of arson and vandalism.

A green, hydrated plant, of course, is also less flammable than a desiccated, crispy one. And that’s what makes beaver ecosystems so fireproof. In beaver-dammed stream sections, Fairfax and Whittle found, vegetation remained more than three times lusher as wildfire raced over the creek. Beavers had so thoroughly saturated their valleys that plants simply didn’t ignite.

These lifeboats don’t merely protect beavers themselves: A broad menagerie—including amphibians, reptiles, birds, and small mammals—likely hunker down in these beaver-built fire “refugia,” Fairfax says. Although wildfire is a vital force that rejuvenates habitat for some creatures, like black-backed woodpeckers, it can devastate other animal populations.

How much does California need beavers? A whole dam lot I’d say. And I am hoping this article is open on the desk of the governor and everyone at CDFW.

In addition, beavers may help an ecosystem recover from a wildfire. In northern Washington State, Alexa Whipple, the director of the Methow Beaver Project, found that beavers promoted the recovery of native species, like willow and aspen.

Beaverless streams, by contrast, were more likely to become colonized with invasive plants after a burn. Whipple also found that beaver ponds improved water quality by capturing the phosphorus-laden sediment that runs off torched hillsides. (Learn how wildfires are increasing worldwide.)

“If we have a wetter landscape, we are going to resist fire and recover from it better,” says Whipple, whose results haven’t yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. “My hope is that wildfire can be the gateway for people to understand the whole suite of benefits that beavers offer.”

Oh my god. Chills. I’m getting actual chills. Is it just me or is this BIG.

Despite all the good that beavers do, thousands are killed every year for flooding roads, cutting down trees, and causing other damage to human property. Employing smarter, more humane policies—using nonlethal flood-prevention devices like “Beaver Deceivers,” for example, and relocating trouble-making individuals instead of killing them—could heal our relationships with beavers and wildfire alike, Fairfax says.

BOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOMBOOM!!!!!!! I’ve been waiting for this moment for 13 years, Tears of joy are making it hard to type. I cannot wait to see the fall out from this.

“Strategically embracing beavers in local watersheds could provide reassurance that you have wet soils and wet plants around your town,” Fairfax says. In fact, as her paper’s title suggests, the U.S. Forest Service might want to consider a new animal mascot: Smokey the Beaver.

That’s me. Grinning from ear to ear. Great work Emily and Ben and Joe and Alexa. We could not be prouder. And hey half of them have been to our beaver festival and since Joe’s sister came a couple years more than half. Beavers are finally getting the credit they deserve, and I for one could not be happier.

Cue the very finest fireworks I know.

[wonderplugin_video iframe=”https://youtu.be/a9KZ3jgbbmI” lightbox=0 lightboxsize=1 lightboxwidth=960 lightboxheight=540 autoopen=0 autoopendelay=0 autoclose=0 lightboxtitle=”” lightboxgroup=”” lightboxshownavigation=0 showimage=”” lightboxoptions=”” videowidth=600 videoheight=400 keepaspectratio=1 autoplay=0 loop=0 videocss=”position:relative;display:block;background-color:#000;overflow:hidden;max-width:100%;margin:0 auto;” playbutton=”https://www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/wonderplugin-video-embed/engine/playvideo-64-64-0.png”]

YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW: BEAVERS

heidi08 Beaver ecological impact, Beavers and Fire Prevention November 8, 2019

Goodness gracious. Where is my brain these days? What kind of husband am I to forget our anniversary entirely after only 12 short years! Yesterday afternoon it hit me that it was November 7th as in the fateful day when back in 2007 the Martinez High School Performing Arts theater filled to the rafters with 200 people who had very strong opinions about whether our downtown beavers should be trapped. Everyone was there. All the teachers and the shopkeepers. Lots of neighbors I didn’t know and some that I did. Some who have since died and some who have moved away, The Humane Society. The Sierra Club. I even saw the parent of a patient from another city there and she came just because she heard about it on the news.

It was the meeting that changed history. Certainly our history. And the lives of the then 6 beavers we had living in Alhambra Creek. What would I be doing now if that meeting had never happened? It’s hard to even imagine.

And if you have three hours and nothing to do and want your mind totally blown you might try clicking on the photo to watch it for yourself. You will need a player to do so, the city recommends silverlight which is a free download. I know all the lines already. But there are some good ones!

The reason I remembered I forgot our anniversary is that I heard again from the grad student who IS doing his thesis on the Martinez beaver story and all its implications for wildlife and social psychology. Whoa. I thought he had moved on to easier topics. But apparently he’s coming this summer to interview folks, review microfiche and do focus groups and he wondered if I had a better copy of the meeting, which I don’t unfortunately. Then I looked at the date and looked at the calendar and said OMG!!!!! – slipped out the back door to buy some roses at the gas station and pretended I knew it all along like any good husband.

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Enough of that for now. This morning there’s an excellent report on the Logan River in Utah and how much it changed when its very important beavers were trapped out in the fu-rush.

A Short History Of Utah’s Logan River on ‘Wild About Utah’

During this time the flow and movement of the Logan River was much different, in part because of the beaver families who built their homes and dams up and down the waterway. The dams created ponds whose waters seeped into the valley bottoms raising the water table and saturating the sponge.

Joseph Wheaton, associate professor of the Department of Watershed Sciences in the Quinney College of Natural Resources explained, “the saturated ground increased resilience to drought, flood and fire.”

In the early 1800s trappers arrived in the valley.

Michel Bourdon was one of the earliest trappers to see Cache Valley around 1818. The river was, for a short time, named after him. A few years later, Ephraim Logan arrived in Cache Valley. He and many other trappers attended the Rocky Mountain Rendezvous along the Bourdon River in 1826. Shortly thereafter, Logan died during one of his outings and the area’s trappers decided to rename the river Logan, in his honor.

Trapping for the fur industry severely impacted the beaver population and the Logan River. The dam building beavers were almost trapped to extinction because of the European fashion demand. Luckily, fashion trends changed before beaver were extinct. However, the virtual elimination of beavers fundamentally changed the character of the Logan River to this day.

Yes. The Logan river and EVERYWHERE else. And hi there Dr. Wheaton! I knew this was gonna be good when I read your name. Did you know Joe Wheaton’s mother lives in Napa? And he went to local high school? His sister surprised me very much by showing up to a festival an announcing cryptically “Joey says Hi!” And I scrunched my face in confusion and said “Joey?

“You know, Joey of Utah!” She explained impatiently and it started to dawn on me.

“Do you mean Dr. Wheaton of Utah State?” And she nodded happily, explaining that he always talked about the festival and so she had to bring her kids and see what it was like. They had a wonderful time and she came back again last year.

You know, because all roads lead to Rome. And all beaver roads lead to Martinez.

CALIFORNIA’S SLEIGHT OF HAND

heidi08 What's killing beavers now? September 5, 2019

Time for another victorious defeat for California beavers. We seem to be having these pretentious affairs every couple of months. And usually with credit given to a certain well known conservation group that seems to follow the spotlight.

I’m talking of course about the ban on fur-trapping.

California bans fur trapping for recreation, commerce

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California on Wednesday became the first state to ban commercial fur trapping, ending the practice nearly 200 years after animals like beavers and otters introduced the American West to international trade.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday he had signed a bill into law making it illegal to trap animals for the purposes of recreation or to sell their fur. It is still legal to trap animals for other purposes, including pest control and public health.

Now if you were anyone off the street just tuning in you might say “Hurray no more fur trade in the golden state!” But of course you and I know that the fur trade hasn’t been the primary cause of beaver death for 30 years or longer. And all of the MANY beavers that still die every day in conibear traps and by gunshot wound die because of DEPREDATION which remains very much legal. In fact when you depredate beavers you don’t have to even count how many you kill. Isn’t that convenient? No one can report it because no one knows.

A good way to avoid those pesky AP articles.

But in recent years, California licenses for fur trappers have declined considerably. In 2018, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said it sold 133 licenses, leading to the harvest of 1,568 animals and the sale of 1,241 pelts. A legislative analysis of the bill noted most furs are sold outside of California, with data suggesting there have been no fur sales in the state for the past three years.

Meanwhile, the state has issued about 500 trapping licenses a year for pest control and other uses. People who trap animals for those purposes are not required to report how many animals they capture.

Hey here’s a funny funny joke. OF those 500 permits issued to kill nuisance animals in 2018. 210 of them were for beavers. Because what seems like good news is never good news for them.

I guess that won’t be a headline anytime soon.

Newsom’s office announced the bill signing on Twitter by referencing the governor’s childhood pet, an otter he named “Potter.” The announcement included a photo of what appeared to be an otter puppet exclaiming: “My friends & I should not have to live in fear of being trapped & our fur being sold!”

Of course. Of course he did.

The real surprise of the day doesn’t come from silly pretend news that doesn’t matter to beavers at all. But from very very local and REAL news that matters a great deal.

Consider it another verse of “It’s a small world, afterall”.

Yesterday Robin of Napa confirmed that the mother of famed beaver researcher Joe Wheaton lives in the city currently. Which lead me to hunt about on google and LOOK what I dredgged up.

Joe Wheaton: studying his hometown creek

St. Helena High School graduate Joe Wheaton has turned his hometown creek into an international waterway. As a PhD candidate in physical geography at the University of Southampton, England, he chose to do his doctoral research and dissertation on Sulphur Creek.

In the process, he has brought distinguished geographers and geomorphologists to the study the creek; and to share with the community and the world the working of a geological wonder, one that was ignored and hidden in the back streets of town for more than a century.

This amazing article is dated 2006, one year before the beavers showed up in Martinez, So none of this was on my radar. Napa was just a nearby city, and creeks were just things that other people studied while I was busily working to make children a little less unhappy.But there is not now, in all the world, a single more well-known and well respected beaver researcher than Dr, Joe Wheaton who apparently went to Napa high school before he literally put beaver benefits on the map and became their foremost authority.

The mind reels. The jaw drops. Do you think if he had landed a job at UCB California would have been the premiere state where the forest service protected beavers and the BRAT tool was invented? Do you think Mary Obrien would have ended up working for the Sonoma Land Trust instead?

I’m getting dizzy. I need to sit down.

Add to this fact that our dispersing beavers might have settled down in Napa, that Rusty and Robin became friends of those beavers and friends of Worth A Dam and that the County Supervisor Brad Wagenknecht came to our beaver festival. Twice.

Twenty-eight-year-old Wheaton was born in Napa, lived on Dry Creek Road but attended school in St. Helena. When he was 13, his parents moved to their present home on Inglewood Avenue.

He received both his BS and MS degrees at UC-Davis. Wanting to continue studies in fluvial geomorphology and ecohydraulics, he entered the University of Southampton, in Hampshire, England, where he will complete his PhD requirements this year.

Lets make the circle comp[ete. Any other famous beaver supporters from Napa?

Amy Gallaher Hall creating chalk art centerpiece in the Park at 12th Annual Martinez Beaver Festival 2019. Photo by Cheryl Reynolds 6/29/19.

I guess what they say is true. Beavers really do make the world go around

BEAVER FIRE-BREAK

heidi08 Beavers and Fire Prevention September 11, 2018

Today’s post is brought to you by Dr. Joe Wheaton’s twitter feed. Please share it with every Californian you know. At least all those that live in flammable areas. (Meaning all of them in oxygen-based areas.)

This is Baugh Creek (a tributary to the Little Wood in Idaho) and this is part of the Sharps Fire.

The Sharps fire in Idaho was started by an accidental spark from target practice and has now burned more than 65,000 acres and was finally contained by crews at the end of August. I’m hoping there’s more water upstream that we can see in this photo where some beavers can go shopping because otherwise those are going to be some mighty hungry dam-builders.