Out For A Swim

Casting A Broader Net

heidi08 Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers August 9, 2009

Matthew 4:19

One of my favorite passages of the new testament is the story about Jesus enlisting disciples. He’s out walking by the lake of Galilee and sees the cryptically named Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew casting their nets onto the lake.

“Come follow me“ said Jesus “And I will make you fishers of men.”

Say what you like about the new testament, but that is some beautiful language and as fine a choice as I can imagine to start a post on a Sunday morning. Certainly Worth A Dam has been “fishers of men” in the sense that we are always trying to connect with a broader network of support. I sometimes laughingly call it, “preaching the beaver gospel” but honestly that’s much of what we do. Over and over again, we try to tell people who will listen (and some people who won’t listen) that taking care of beavers is good for the watershed and the wildlife. Taking care of beavers is possible and worth doing.

Not just our special Martinez Beavers, but Concord Beavers, Lafayette Beavers, Berkeley beavers, San Mateo Beavers….even Orange County Beavers!

This morning I’m looking at the map of beaver supporters generated by new memberships at this years beaver festival. Last year we were thrilled that we got some Martinez-ites from the elusive “south of highway 4” bracket. This year we have Petaluma, Kensigton, San Bruno, San Francisco, and Chula Vista. The article in the chronicle about the mink helped us cast a “broader net”, and Linda’s appearance on Terra Verde radio Friday strengthened the point. I’m hoping my national interview Saturday will take our message to more and more places, and challenge folks around the country to think about how they can be smarter than a beaver, take care of problematic behaviors, and benefit from the good done by these remarkable animals.

Sadly, there are no beavers in the new testament. (A regional oversight, I am sure.) If there were though, this is where I think they’d be.

Beavers on Terra Verde

heidi08 Beaver News, Environmental August 7, 2009

This afternoon at 1:00 pm, Worth A Dam’s Linda Meza will be talking about the effect of beavers in the watershed with other guests, Lisa Owens-Viani and Mitch Avalon. Tune your radio to 94.1 FM KPFA in Berkeley or listen live here. I, sadly, will be laboring at the day job to support my “costly beaver habit” so listen close and tell me all about it! Archive here until August 21st.

The radio opportunity, and my interview next Saturday with Dave Egbert came from the flurry of attention to our mink. It’s funny how we can stand around spouting “Keystone Species” over and over for two years but nobody believes you until you snap some great mink photos and get a biologist to say its important! Hrmph! We knew it was important back in 2007.

Still, Joe Eaton’s new article on the mink and the habitat is a lovely read at the Berkeley Daily Planet. (We here at Worth A Dam consider it our special duty to keep Joe busy!)

The wildlife scene at the beaver pond in downtown Martinez continues to surprise observers. Last year, in addition to the beavers, muskrats, river otters, turtles, and herons, someone spotted a single mink. Now there’s an entire mink family.

Beaver advocate Heidi Perryman and photographer Cheryl Reynolds observed them on a recent July evening near the beavers’ main dam, where Escobar Street crosses Alhambra Creek. If you visit the Martinez Beavers site (www.martinezbeavers.org/wordpress), you can watch four young mink cruising around like a paddling of ducklings in Reynolds’ video. Furry ducklings with sharp little teeth. The mink appeared to be using a muskrat burrow on the side of the pond.

Um…Perryman’s video…but thanks for the plug! It’s interesting to read his discussion of the meaning of Minks in the watershed. Because they are at the top of the food chain they are an important indicator of pollution, so these 5 mean our water is looking pretty good. It’s amazing to me how little is known about minks, since they aren’t a profit making industry any more, or a profit destroying pest, no one is researching them. I wrote our friend Bob Arnebeck who spends all his time looking at wild things, and he had this to say about mink.

Minks seem to like to raise their pups close to civilization. I never see them in
the remote beaver ponds. There are four pups down at our community’s
“main dock”.

Bob is an avid observer of wildlife, and a challenger of classroom learning in favor of hours of actual watching and paying attention. You can check out his website on minks here. In the meantime, enjoy Joe’s article which is a lovely reminder of why minks matter.

Don’t forget to listen at 1:00!

Photo: Cheryl Reynolds

Inscrutable Beaver Behavior

heidi08 Beavers May 28, 2010

2008 Kit Cheryl Reynolds

Sometimes when you watch the beavers you observe them doing things that totally make sense; scooping up mud from a nearby bank to pat on the dam, chewing on a leafy twig, whining when their brother tries to take the twig they’re chewing. These behaviors are instantly recognizeable, we understand them right away and they soften our hearts with their familiarity.

But sometimes when you watch the beavers you observe them doing things that make no earthly sense to us whatsoever, like carrying mud from such a long way away it is a melted speck by the time it reaches the dam, or chewing the leaves off a blackberry branch and ignoring the luscious ripe fruit, or neglecting a big log and that seems just right for dam building. These are what I’ve decided to call Inscrutable Beaver Behaviors (IBB). Sometimes when you observe IBB you find out later it ultimately makes beavery sense in a grand Castor scheme that humans don’t understand at first. The beavers decision to ignore the repairs on the primary dam and tackle the secondary instead is an example of an IBB that turned out to be not just meaningful, but wise. Sometimes IBB occurs as part of a learning curve, and after a few stupid tries the kit gets it right–so it changes from an IBB to just a BB! The blind kit swimming in circles was an IBB that we eventually understood as because of his illness. Sometimes mysteries explain themselves.

But there are some IBB’s that will never make sense, and are just the wasted effort of an aquatic mammal that are fun to watch. This morning I saw an IBB in the form of a yearling carrying a mudball from what I used to call the “annex” pond all the way down to the primary dam. Swimming direction and circling can sometimes be an IBB. Yesterday Cheryl observed the kind of IBB that will probably eventually make sense, when she saw dad come out of the yearlings “frat house”. What examples of IBB have you observed?

Confusing and amusing as it can be at times, it is undeniably true that IBB is much easier to understand than its corresponding trait in humans: IHB.

Fraternity

heidi08 Friends of Martinez Beavers, Recent Sightings July 14, 2009

There’s a new development in beaverdom you might have noticed if you’ve been visiting the dam site. The yearlings have moved into a frat house down stream, far enough away from mom and dad to safely enjoy their all night parties and keggers, but close enough to still borrow money every time they need it. We did a swat team observation on sunday to confirm that the parents were still in the old (new) lodge, and they definately came out for the night from above the dam, while the yearlings came out from below it.

Remember your first apartment? It didn’t quite look like mom and dad’s, and you were perfectly happy sitting on milk crates or opening the refridgerator with a screw driver. Same for our beavers, who appear to just use a hole in the bank at the moment. They were bringing lots of twigs and reeds for bedding that night, so I’m sure they’re only a few lava lamps away from it being home sweet home.

With the summer developments we have our recurring problem of JDFFB. (Juvenile Delinquents Fishing From the Bridge.) Early on I wrote the mayor about this and was brushed aside with the (wishful) remark “the beavers might just become victims of their own popularity”. (Um, Mr. Mayor, I think your unconscious slip might be showing.) The police did come out last night because the JD’s were F-ing from the Bertolas property, which is illegal, but not before they frightened the grandmother who asked them to stop, and later wrote me much shaken.

Tonight, July 13th, there were quite a few boys fishing off the cement place next to Bertolo’s, beyond the “no tresspassing” sign. The “no tresspassing” gate was propped open and the young people were gathering by ones and twos. I approached the boys and told them that fishing there might not be actually illegal, but it is rude. They said they would be careful and if they saw a beaver they would stop. So a yearling swam on by and they did nothing with the two lines they had in the water. I said “I see you seeing that beaver and you are still fishing”. The biggest boy, with large hunting knife near him, said I should stop talking to him right away if I knew what was good for me. I was very dissapointed with how he spoke to me, an obvious grandmother. I called the police from Luigi’s, who was very kind, and they did respond. The officer I spoke to, sorry, I didn’t get his name, said that was the only place they could not fish legally because it is private property. I was saddened by the entire events of the evening…

Apparently it is perfectly legal to fish from the bridge, although hardly a good idea. The best we can do is ask, and then hover. Take your friends with you and go stand near the crowd. I’m thinking some older women just appearing really interested in their day and who their best friend is and whether the drink whole or skim milk might drive them out pretty darn quick. It worked for me when I was a JDFFB.

I may have other news for you soon. Stay tuned.

With Liberty and Beavers for All…

heidi08 Beavers or Social Ambasadors July 4, 2009

Happy Independence Day! If you head down to see the fireworks tonight, cast an eye to the creek and help key watch on our beavers. So far they have survived three fourth of July’s in safety, but last year new comers really appreciated having sights explained to them as they crossed the footbridge in eager droves for the park. Remind curious lookers to stay out of the creek and look but don’t touch, and do your best to discourage the tossing of beer cans so our beavers can continue to celebrate the fourth with us for another year!