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Riddles and Riders

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions January 3, 2011

Photocopy of historical Fur Trade Districts Map.
R.M. Bone fonds, University of Saskatchewan Archives
Box 28. II. Stony Rapids Project. Historical material – nd, 1954-1971.

One of my favorite parts of the Lord of the Rings is the council of Elrond where the nine were chosen for the mission to Mordor. I always enjoyed the introduction and identification of power, liked meeting faces you thought you knew but now understood in a completely different way, and was comforted by the idea that Sam and Frodo weren’t going to be alone.

I mention this because yesterday was the first ever conference call for the “historical beaver presence in california” for which it looks like there are nine of us involved. It was the most natural and still surreal thing, hearing truly thoughtful strangers obsessed with the goal of showing how the reintroduction of beavers could restore the watershed. They all came from their own particular point of view; “beavers are good for meadows, beavers are good for salmon, (or me): beavers are good!’

I was so interesting hearing about the different places the archeologist sampled the historic dam for carbon testing, hearing how to identify a likely beaver site by the shape of the valley, hearing how to construct an argument against the myth by understanding the myth itself. I was dazzled when a biologist from USFS asked someone to write up something about what to look for so that she could distribute it to all their field agents in the state and find more sites for research. At that moment it was clear to me how many resources and powers were assembled in that phone call.

I was especially amused when everyone admitted they were “addicted to beavers” and required a 12-step program to help deal with their need to compulsively look up information, follow links and return email. I just smiled at that, of course, knowing nothing of the condition myself!

Clearly we needed more evidence than just one dam. Was their tribal lore adequate to establish beaver in the high sierras? Was there evidence of soil changes or step plateau sedimentation of a beaver dam? Was their evidence of castor bone in midden piles in the area? Was their trapping records that would pinpoint colony location? Is their correspondence from the time that would prove beaver range? All we really need are a few letters from squinty-eyed pioneers living in the sierras and complaining, “Pa made us eat beaver again today!”

The entire conversation is still playing over in my mind, but the most easily recognizable delight came from early in the call when one researcher said that he had given a talk in Washington the night before and ran into several people who had heard about him from this “beaver woman in northern california!!!” hahaha

It was a great, collaborative, and creative conversation. The beavers would have been proud.

Conference Eve

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions February 2, 2010

Tomorrow begins the “State of the Beaver Conference” in Oregon. I am beyond jealous of the great minds who will gather to talk about the valued relationship between beaver and salmon. Tomorrow at noon will be the Umpqua tribal welcome and conference overview. Then the entire event launched with John Hadidian of HSUS talking about Urban Wildlife. John is the author of “wild neighbors“, a friend of the Martinez Beavers, both our familiar flow-device installers, and generously sent me an autographed copy of his book when I initially wrote him in a panic two years ago. I am eager to have long conversations with him about my idea for a beaver management internship through AmeriCorp that would train half time with both Mike and Skip, taking care of beavers for generations to come. Next is a discussion of the beaver in Europe by Duncan Halley, who it says has a PhD in zoology and a BA in psychology. Coincidence? I think not!

But the star of tomorrow’s opening day will be Michael Pollock of NOAA Northwestern Fisheries talking about the relationship between beavers and salmon. Michael was the reason I was most willing to drive 8 hours to get to the seven feathers casino, and I was delighted when our wikipedia friend nudged him into contacting me. He said that he had family in the area and would be willing to come down at any juncture to give a talk or education program for us. He also said (and this sealed his popularity in my heart forever) that he was once a member of his city council and knew first hand how remarkably pompous and foolish their discussions and decisions could be. Be still my heart! He speaks at 2:45 and I’m guessing will be the recipient of many avid listeners.

Sigh, its no use. I better confess it now. I’m a beaver groupie.

It’s just as well I’m not there. I’d be in the audience with my cigarette lighter raised the whole time. Don’t even get me started talking about Mary O’Brien’s presentation Friday morning. I can’t possibly swoon this early in the morning…

Salmon Silliness

heidi08 Creative Solutions January 9, 2010

The National Park Service and Redwood Creek Nursery continue to help Redwood Creek reestablish its natural meandering course with occasional deep pools by strategically placing logs and woody debris in the creek; restoring historic flood plains by removing levees; and actively encouraging the amount and diversity of streamside vegetation.

Salmons Struggle for Survival: Muir Woods National Monument. NPS US Dept of the Interior.

Your federal tax dollars at work proudly doing what beavers could do for free. Our Wikipedia friend has been finding a lot of these kinds of projects, where rangers are rebuilding dams to help salmon, usually after they rip them out to harm beavers. I suppose it keeps our goverment employees busy, but to be honest, when I talk to the rangers out at the John Muir Site they think they’re plenty busy already.

Why couldn’t we have beavers at Redwood Creek in Muir Woods? They aren’t going to eat the sequoias. They would add interest to the millions of tourists there every year, and they would help those special coho by making little dams along the creek that eeked out flow in the summer months, and slowed the current in the winter months.

The National Park System just released a massive report on whats wrong with that creek in particular, and why they didn’t see any salmon returning last season. Guess what it doesn’t mention? I guess NPS didn’t get the memo from NOAA? I guess they’re too busy to have a conversation with Michael Pollock of Northwest Fisheries. I guess they aren’t ready to overcome years of prejudice with just a few reams of hard scientific data?

Come into the light, NPS. It’s a beaver renaissance out there, and they have many, many uses.

Beavers? Why Not Dinosaurs?

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Who's Killing Beavers Now? September 10, 2010

Meet Martin Salter, member of Parliament for the labor party in England. He’s the angling (fishing) spokesman who made headlines this week by saying that the very idea of reintroducing beavers to England is “ludicrous!” Like his spiritual brothers in Scotland he is holding onto the mistaken idea that beavers dams block fish passage.His point: If Natural England is going to force the Hydro-eletric companies to remove their dams to let the fish pass, it is unthinkable that they should reintroduce beavers.

“The current situation is ludicrous,” Salter told a Commons debate on fisheries. “On the one hand, we are seeking to ensure that migratory fish can run the rivers and reach the spawning grounds. On the other, Natural England talks of reintroducing the beaver, which by creating dams will ensure that all our legislative efforts on fish passes become absolutely worthless.” He added: “If we really have to introduce endangered species, why do we not take the DNA of tyrannosaurus rex or the wolf and bring them back to Britain? There must come a point at which reality impinges on what Natural England seeks to do.”

PlanningResource

Ahh sagely put. Fortunately I have heard the group “Citizen Advocacy for New Tyranosaurus” (CAN’T) has had internal staffing problems and lost their grant for 2010. I don’t think we should talk about the wolf while you are obviously in this fragile state.

Maybe we could talk fish instead for a moment. You like fish, right? Your website has a photo of you holding a very large and gloriously dead one, so you must be an outdoorsman. Wikipedia tells me that while you are opposed to hunting with dogs, you have been a very strong advocate for keeping fishing regulation under environmental juristiction. I actually agree with that. Tracking what people take out of the water is a great way to monitor what is going in the water. I assume you want healthy streams, healthy populations of juvenile salmonids, and a high BMI content to the water so that all those fish will have lots to feed on.

Guess what’s really good at that? It’s kind of ironic really. Are you sitting down? Beavers! Beaver dams trap silt and organic material, which gets eaten by microbugs we can’t see, which get eaten in turns by bigger bugs…here, let her do it instead….

Alright. Are you with me so far? Beaver dams trap mud that bring insects that get eaten by little fish that get eaten by bigger fish. The kind you like to angle for. Wait, don’t beaver dams block passage? Well lets think about that. We used to have millions and millions more beavers. Gosh. There must have been terrible salmon shortages in early England because of all that blocking. What’s that? Salmon and trout were once enormously plentiful? Fisherman used to make their living on that dirty old Thames? Hmmm.

Maybe science can help solve this mystery. Meet Michael Pollock, researcher for North West Fisheries which is part of NOAA. He has been researching the effect of beaver dams on salmon and other fish. It turns out that they are actually essental in providing ponds for young salmon to live before their ready to go to the sea. In fact, if there are no or nearly no beaver dams, you get almost no Salmon, and no salmon season, like California and Oregon had this year.

Don’t believe me? Michael will be presenting his research at the 44th Annual Salmon Restoration Conference in Redding, CA in February. You could come if you liked. I would be happy to introduce you to some smart water advocates.

Look, Martin. I know you are afraid of these flat-tailed furry dinosaurs, but the truth is, the more you learn about beavers, the more you find out they take care of the water which in turn takes care of the things you like to catch in the water. This is why Natural England wants to re-introduce them. Not just because you used to have them and now you don’t, but because having them takes care of your watershed and the myriad of creatures who depend on it. Come away from the Dark Side. We can help.

And anyway, I’m pretty sure the Tyrannosaurus Rex was never considered a Keystone species. You can write Mr. Salter here.

Salmon Serenade

heidi08 Creative Solutions, Environmental, New Species September 8, 2009

Yesterday’s chronicle had an alarming article about our unfortunate salmon whose dwindling numbers got the year off from fishing on the California Coast. Turns out that even though the governor took the fishermen away, mother nature took away their water too, so while we’re waiting for their numbers to recover their wondering where the streams went.

California’s drought has increased wildfires, caused an economic crisis in the state’s agriculture industry and a shrinking water supply. But experts say three years of arid weather may also be the final blow for coho, already reeling from pollution and population growth.

Federal fisheries regulators say the disappearance of coho salmon in Marin County is not an isolated incident, and that studies find they are vanishing along the state’s central and northern coast. Coho live in coastal streams where they mature before moving to the ocean, and then back to freshwater to reproduce.

“There are definitely alarmingly low numbers of adult returns and spawning decreases,” National Marine Fisheries Service fishery biologist Jeffrey Jahn said. “And the fish that are produced by the few coho who do make it back have to deal with these drought conditions, which is affecting the status of the species.”

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record or anything, but hey you know what’s good at trapping water to control for drought conditions? Um, beaver dams! And guess what gives fantastic habitat for juvenile salmon to winter? Um, beaver dams! And guess what NOAA says is the number one factor that determines whether you have enough salmon in your creek? Um, beaver dams!

And guess how many times beavers are mentioned in this article? (I’ll give you a hint: its a round number).

Mind you this is an AP writer, so maybe our local reporters would be more educated. I promptly wrote the biologist Chris Pincetich who works with the Salmon Protection and Watershed Network (SPAWN) (now that’s a smart name…I can respect that name!) I suggested maybe he check out Pollock’s research on beavers and salmon and consider using our high-profile vegetarians to help salmon around the state.

Let’s see what happens.