Tag: Mary Tappel

THE END OF A BEAVER TALE

heidi08 Beavers May 5, 2018

For the Anniversary of My Death
Every year without knowing it I have passed the day

W. S. Merwin

One of the first beaver stories that caught my eye was written by then editor of the Martinez Gazette Richard Parks in 2007. He was reporting on the life cycle of beavers and what Martinez could expect after his consultation with “beaver expert” Mary Tappel who was the original consultant the city turned to. His article quoted her warning that beaver populations explode because beavers can “Breed for 50 years”.

Novice that I was at the time this statement nevertheless caught my eye. Because it sounded unlikely that beavers could reproduce longer than humans. So I called the editor and asked “Is that a typo?” He was an earnest fellow and remembered specifically writing that down so he called her back to verify. She was so affronted to have her “facts” questioned that she decided to never appear before the beaver subcommittee and just whisper her vile opinions directly to staff but that is all blood under the bridge.

Of course we now know that a beaver is very, very lucky if it gets to breed for 10 years, and live to 15. There are reports of beavers in captivity living until 19 or 20, but in the wild we would think 12 years makes a beaver a senior citizen of his particular curious nation. I always try to calculate how old our beavers were. Dad was definitely the oldest. We know from research that the majority of beavers cannot reproduce before age 3, recently I remembered that when we first learned about the beavers the woman who told us about them said there were actually three and one was smaller – like what we now understand is a yearling. I never saw three beavers – but I believe her. That implies that mom and Dad moved here with a yearling in tow who later dispersed shortly after the new kits were born that summer when I started paying close attention. 3+1+1 – that means dad was at least 5 in 2007, which means he lived in Martinez until he was at least 13.

Not a bad run for a beaver. Certainly better than either of these stories this morning.

First wild beaver killed by car in England ‘was forced out of river by flash flood’

The first wild beaver reported to be run over and killed by a car in England may have been forced on to the roads by flash flooding. Experts believe the four year-old female ventured out of its natural habitat when water levels rose on the River Otter in East Devon last week.

She was part of a community of wild beavers which was first spotted in 2013 – at a time when they were thought to have been extinct for 400 years. The mammals are touted as a secret weapon in the battle against climate change because their dams can act as a natural flood defence.

Being hit by a car is certainly a very common way for a beaver to end its life. There is almost nothing I feel more hopeless about than a beaver on the road trying to reach a body of water on the other side. They lack the eyesight, speed and logic they need to become ‘streetwise’. They always loose.

This story this morning was worse though. West Kelwona is in British Columbia about 200 miles east of Vancouver.

Conservation Officers still hoping to locate suffering beaver

Okanagan residents are still waiting for a conclusion behind a potential case of animal cruelty. A $2,500 reward has been offered for any information that leads to the conviction of the person(s) responsible for shooting a beaver with multiple arrows.

The animal was found suffering near the shore adjacent to the West Kelowna Yacht club last week. Local Conservation Officers say they have heard no reports as to whether the animal is dead or alive and are encouraging the public to keep an eye out.

Of course there are multiple photos of the unlucky beaver stuck with an arrow which I at least have the decency not to show you. A beaver with a 12 inch arrow sticking out of his side cannot even go back home to heal, since the passage hole into the lodge is much too small for that. I am writing the psychological profile in my head of the young sociopath who did this (white male under 25 using own bow and his father’s boat) .

Never ever leave me alone in a room with him.

Which just goes to say that when people feel sorry for our beavers dealing with all the trash or the homeless or such a small urban creek, they are ignoring the fact that a great many beavers have it much, much worse.

Martinez was the lap of luxury.

Second Beaver Chapters

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Environmental, What's killing beavers now?, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's saving beavers now? April 20, 2017

I have to tell you earnestly, our website has the BEST readers. Bob Kobres from Georgia found that footage of the Buda Texas flow device, and yesterday Robin Ellison of Napa tracked down the story of what happened to the cow-herding beaver. I’m so glad I got to watch this. And this fine rancher should be a spokeswoman as she is clearly the nicest person in Saskatchewan and a wonderful story teller.

I love the idea of the beaver going under the fence and the cows just watching with awe as he waddles away. Thanks Robin for assuring us this had a happy ending!

Not sure we’re going to get the same for some beavers in Rancho Cordova on CBS last night. But the fact that they were on the news instead of just quietly dispatched means they have a prayer. The report says the city is being ‘advised’ and you can guess by whom.

Beaver Dams Creating Flood Risk For Rancho Cordova Neighborhood

Given the location, I’m willing to bet that the ‘advisor’ the city is talking to is Mary Tappel, who came all the way to Martinez just to share her misinformation with our staff. Ahh, memories. The idea bothered me enough that I spent the past hour writing the city council about our solutions and the inaccurate information we received. I’m going to trust that there’s a chance it will get read and considered, but in between Placer and Sacramento is a hard place to be a beaver.

This lovely photo is from Leopold Kanzler in Vienna. He got my attention yesterday on FB when he changed his image to this great photo, which enchanted me for obvious reasons. Then I remembered he was the brilliant mind behind these photos and knew we were among friends. I’m told that these were not photo-shopped just carefully constructed beaver- curiosity driven moments that he perfectly captured on film.

The lying month of May

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and Birds, Beavers and climate change, Beavers and Forests, Beavers and Frogs, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, What's killing beavers now?, Who's blaming beavers now? May 9, 2016

We are just two weeks from the purifying ritual that occurs every year apparently at SARSAS in Auburn. Before they invite me to come tell the truth about beavers, they conjure the opposite so as to soothe the evil bureaucratic spirits. I guess them helps sneak me in the gates, so to speak, since the powers that be are thus duly convinced they hate beavers. By the time my booming beaver beatitudes arrive no one of consequence suspects anything.

By evil spirits, I’m referring, of course, to Mary Tappel, who still takes time out of her busy life on the water board to spread vile lies about beavers. I once called her the ‘human beaver deceiver‘. Her bio in the SARSAS newsletter has some rich allegations of her merry volunteer brigade and their wondrous application of various nonlethal techniques. But this is my favorite one.

Mary also dealt with beaver management questions and in foothill areas such as Granite Bay, Loomis, & Roseville; and towards the Bay/Delta area in Fairfield & Martinez, and to the south in Elk Grove, all in creeks and small retention basins.

So not only does Mary have the outright gall to take credit for the unrivaled beaver slaughter in Elk Grove and Granite Bay (The biggest beaver genocide in 2007 and the site of the most depredation permits in 2013-14.) She also PROUDLY proclaims her work in MARTINEZ.

We’re actually on her resume.

What was her service to the home town of John Muir you ask? Fortunately nothing at all that was useful or true. She told the Gazette that beavers breed for 50 years. She told our mayor that flow devices never work. She advised city staff to kill the father beaver so that the mother would be forced to mate with her offspring. And, at a public meeting of 200 people nearly a decade ago said that the beavers were leaving Martinez, and wouldn’t be a problem anymore.

I have to say I remain very grateful for her unique level of competence.

Maybe I’ll thank her publicly when I come present in June and talk about the many transformations that beavers made to our creek in Martinez. I’m constantly reminded of how many individuals’ incompetence was instrumental in saving our beavers. The lawyer on the subcommittee who wanted them trapped, for instance, was lackadaisical at best in his half-hearted efforts to convince the city they would ruin the creek. He brought a large stuffed beaver once to the meeting with a sign that said ‘send me to Plumas county’. I thought maybe he was just ineffective generally until I saw him speak on another issue in opposition at a meeting. In that instance, he was forceful, competent and had done all his homework, which is what my lawyer friends told me he was like in court.

If THAT attorney had shown his face on the subcommittee we might have had a very different outcome.

As it was, folks just didn’t really care that much. Maybe enough to toss some money to hire a lawyer, but not enough to do research and really examine the allegations in the case. Like say, um, me for instance. If I had been my opposition, there would have been trouble.

Thanks, Mary.

The sound of the other shoe dropping….

heidi08 City Reports, Environmental, What's killing beavers now?, Who's blaming beavers now? April 13, 2016

Admittedly, all that happened on the mural yesterday was that money changed hands and discussions about first steps were made. The good news is that we have our ‘Whereas‘ contract which Mario needs to sign and return, and public works is supposed to contact me today regarding the power-washing. Nothing gets done without starting I guess, so I’m not complaining.

What absorbed my day primarily was the PTSD flashback triggered by the release of a very negative staff report from Mountain House discussing the fate of the beavers and their water-ruining ways. You know how it is: 15 pages of alarm and acronyms so that the whole problem sounds so complex you really shouldn’t worry your pretty little head about it. And an obviously manufactured possible ‘compromise’ offered with such a HUGE price-tag on it that everyone will want the beavers killed. Honestly, I thought the days of panicked research were behind me – but after an afternoon of labor I managed to issue a fairly intelligent response to their ministerial hysterics. This sentence was, of course, my chief motivator:

“It is clearly evident that in controlling the sequence of repairs and the financial burden that follows, beaver removal is the only option.”

It’s actually in moments like these that I’m happy that beaver relocation isn’t legal in California. The only real power that can motivate enough public backlash to get this staff report challenged is the distaste people feel about killing things that are in their way. If there was an option to just ‘move’ them into someone else’s way, and folks could fantasize that they’d done the right thing because the beavers would be happier in the forest or whatever – support would dry up pretty fast. Here’s my response if you’re interested. I’m sure there are all kinds of typos. Their report was given to me at 3 pm and I was pounding out my response until 7.

The MOST interesting part of this report to me was the part where they say staff already had an ‘expert’ come out and advice them about the beavers in 2011. Hmm. I’m laying a finger aside my nose and predicting that we can GUESS who that ‘expert’ was. The same ‘expert’ that advised our public works that flow devices always fail.

Not Enough: The AE Report

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers and salmon, Beavers and trout, Environmental, stupid solutions, Who's blaming beavers now?, Who's Killing Beavers Now?, Why We Care September 30, 2015

Did you ever have an arch enemy? I mean someone who thwarts your every move, foils your every plan, and seems to lurk just over your shoulder where you can never, never see them? AE’s are respected and listened to by all the wrong people and whatever work you do to dismiss what they say it’s too late because they’ve already gone on to speak to the next group that you’re going to have to try and re-educate.

The Martinez Beavers have had lots of enemies, city council, public works, hired environmental consulting firms, a few reporters, handsomely paid attorneys and various property owners. But we only ever had one AE. And if you don’t know who that was by now I’m not doing my job. Here she is talking at the April 2008 council meeting. And here I am over her shoulder looking inceredulous. I believe among her many erroneous points were;

that our beavers were leaving (or had already left),
that every flow device she had ever seen installed had failed,
and that trees can be protected with blackberry bushes because beaver never eat them as they dislike the thorns.

Originally Mary Tappel offered her services when our city was responding to beaver problems and she was supposed to present formally to the beaver subcommittee. We all got copies of her resume in preparation. But I happened by chance to recognize her name from an article about the Elk Grove beaver fiasco in the Sacramento Bee, which my folks used to get delivered to their home in the foothills. I remember being jarred by her comment in the article at the time that the beavers had to be killed because being sterilized was stressful. I thought, ‘isn’t being killed stressful?’ Then heard later that she was coming to Martinez to offer l her skills.

At the time she told the reporter for the Gazette that beavers “breed for 50 years”. I remember because when I read the article I wrote him and asked whether it was a typo. The editor said ‘no’ and called her to check that he got the quote correctly. And just like that my AE announced that she would not present to the subcommittee, because we were too inflamed and hostile, and she would just meet behind the scenes with city staff.

This meant that she could whisper her poisons unchallenged into their willing ears. Telling staff once that the father beaver should be killed so that the mother would have to mate with her sons when they grew up and slow population growth in that way. No. really.

God only knows what else she said.

The mayor liked her council so much that he invited her secretly to the April 2008 meeting where the subcommittee results were going to be presented. I remember how surprised we were to see her in the hallway outside. To this day I wonder what funds changed hands to get her there. That same night I had suddenly found out I was going to be the one to present our results. No warning, just like that go ahead and talk to 200 people. And then Mary would go after me and dispute everything I said.

It turned out to be okay though, because she was not very convincing with her waving cardboard sign. My luck. And she went away and we got what we wanted, so that seemed like a victory.

Imagine how excited I was when Jack Sanchez of S.A.R.S.A.S heard my talk in Santa Barbra and invited me to come follow her presentation on beavers in Auburn. The shoe was finally on the other foot! I was so happy. I pulled together the latest fish data and they said the talk was the best attended and the best delivered they ever had. I was on cloud 9 when it was over. Especially because of the intelligent comments of one listener from FWS who knew everything about the fish issue and could soothe anxieties at the end of the talk. Here’s what I wrote at the time:

One particularly knowledgeable young man introduced himself as Damion Ciotti from the Habitat Restoration Division of US Fish and Wildlife Service. We connected several years ago and he was very interested in our work in Martinez. I made sure he left with a copy of Mike Callahan’s DVD. You can’t imagine how helpful his comments were in soothing the beaver-disbelievers in the room. I couldn’t have orchestrated it better than to let fish savvy folk do the defending for me!

So I was stunned to hear a few months ago that my AE was invited BACK to S.A.R.S.A.S. to speak on beavers this September. Again? I got word yesterday from Damion that he attended her talk and was dismayed to hear her describe beaver as responsible for “Ecosystem Collapse“. He tried to ask pointed questions but realized she didn’t have any sources for her info but anecdote. She apparently said that there was no region in California where beaver should ever be introduced.

Ecosystem Collapse. If you google the phrase with the word beavers you get zero hits. Only articles about them being a keystone species. I guess the research world doesn’t think like Mary Tappel.

Damion said she introduced herself as working for the state, and he was worried about the influence she might have with policy. She is still staff on the regional waterboards, which is a division of the CAEPA. (Bravely protecting the environment from beavers, apparently). She is still marching around calling herself a beaver expert, and even boasts of her work with Martinez on her resume.

Mary also dealt with beaver management questions and in foothill areas such as Granite Bay, Loomis, & Roseville; and towards the Bay/Delta area in Martinez, and to the south in Elk Grove, all in creeks and small retention basins. Mary’s involvement in foothill areas and smaller streams has always included salmonid passage concerns.

What a coincidence. With the exception of Martinez those cities are the very ones that issued the most depredation permits. Isn’t that just an amazing coincidence?

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Which is not to say she hasn’t learned anything over the years. She used to preach devotedly that beavers ruined salmon passage, and now she says the salmon make their way around dams. Which is something. But I realize, sadly and with no small amount of panic, it’s not enough. I haven’t done enough. People want to hear what she says because they want to get rid of things that are inconvenient. She has a resonant message to deliver. And they want to hear what I say less because co-existence seems like it means work. Screw the salmon. Or the frogs. Just let me do what I want to do, sound environmental and give me cover. So I can get away with it.

I haven’t done enough. And even though, if you google her name, the warnings of this website are nearly the only thing that come up, even though I was able to follow her talk on her home turf in the very county where they kill the most beavers in the entire state, and even though I talked BWW into taking her off their resource list for beaver experts in CA: It’s not enough. I’m not doing enough.

My arch enemy continues to influence the American River area and all its surrounds. She has a powerful platform and a respected government job to grant her credibility. And I haven’t beaten her.

Yet.