Tag: Mike Settell

Making beavers count

heidi08 Beavers and water, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Who's saving beavers now? January 25, 2015

We’ve talked before about the hero from Pocatello that managed to get Audubon to provide a grant for a beaver count in the habitat in Idaho. Mike Settell is a friend of this website and pulled off his own musical beaver festival last summer (the dam jam!). Now he’s in the news again, training volunteers for a snowy beaver count.

Locals Prepare for Beaver Count

Watershed Guardians began training Saturday for their fourth annual Beaver Count. The Beaver Count is a free winter event where teams snowshoe, ski or hike through various drainages in the Portneuf Watershed to count Beaver activity.

KPVI News Six met with them on Saturday up at Mink Creek to learn more about their role in Beaver sustainability. Members from the Watershed Guardians prepared lunch in a yurt for volunteers coming back from training for the 4th annual Beaver Count.

The training was held at Mink Creek’s Nordic Center.

While the volunteers trained, they learned about the Beaver’s role in a healthy watershed and the current state of the Beaver in Idaho. Watershed Guardian volunteer Joan Bernt says training the volunteers is essential for the Beaver Count.

“The other thing is, is we want to make sure that people realize what they are looking for when they are looking for an active beaver colony. Just because they see a dam, that doesn’t mean that’s an active live Beaver maintaining that dam,” says volunteer, Joan Bernt.

The Beaver Count consists of teams surveying different zones in the area where they will be looking for Beaver activity such as fresh cuts where beaver have chewed on trees, Beaver tracks in the snow and Beaver dams and lodges.

Hooray for Mike and the Watershed Guardians! And congratulations for luring the good folks of Idaho into the snow to appreciate beavers! It’s wonderful to think of folks learning how to keep an eye on the beavers around them and hearing why they matter. I espsecially love the part where the article emphasizes the event is FREE. It reminds me a little of Tom Sawyer or P.T. Barnum.

This way to the Egress.

Great job fanning the beaver flame, and I’m thrilled the reporter added this at the end.

Mike Settell says the data collected from the Beaver Count will be presented at ‘State of the Beaver’ conference in Canyonville Oregon in February.

I can’t wait! See you there, Mike! And good work reminding people why to care about beavers!

Now on to Beaver appreciation in New Hampshire where a trip in the snow reminds folks that beavers are under the ice.

A trip to beaver lodges

HOLDERNESS, N.H. —One of the benefits of all this rain and cold weather is that it has allowed us to do some ice skating and exploring on our local bogs and ponds in the region.

Recently, we went on a beaver lodge tour of Hawkens Pond in Center Harbor and Holderness and were able to admire up close these houses made of sticks and mud. At the very top of the lodge you could see the chimney of sorts. Rime ice was collecting, indicating something warm inside was exhaling into the atmosphere

Their presence is a good indicator of a healthy habitat. Beaver flowages are important habitat for many other species including great blue herons, osprey, kingfisher, mink, otter and muskrat.

For those of you keeping track at home, that’s beaver appreciation in Arizona, Idaho and New Hampshire in the past two days. Not to mention the usual defenders in Washington and New York. I’m thinking its past time we adopt Dean’s “50 State Strategy”.

Time to congratulate my brilliant husband and beaver man-Friday who undertook the impossible task of cutting out a stencil so we could spray paint our keystone tails. My brain couldn’t even imagine the task of cutting away the shapes you wanted to remain but he boldly finished a design and knocked of 25 of these.

Just 125 more to go!

One of the final benefits of shining the beaver light so steadily and strong for so many years is that there is now an international army of folks keeping watch for beaver treasures around the world. Peter Smith of Kent England posted this find this morning, which I promise will make you smile. Enjoy!

The Gem State’s real gem

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, Festival, Who's saving beavers now? June 18, 2014

The next big beaver struggle won’t happen in Whistler or the Adirondacks – it is starting right now in Idaho. The issue is trapping on public land, and the playing field is constantly growing. Monday I chatted with Mike Settel in Pocatello who is planning the first ever Idaho beaver festival to teach folk about how and why to live with beavers!

He’s working for a 2-day event in September on USFS land that is focused around music. A beaver dam jam! It will have exhibits and booths and hikes to various beaver sites. Of course the location used to be the site of actual beavers, but they were killed by trapping. I told him he needs signs saying “this is where the beavers aren’t.” and “this is where there are no big fish because the beavers aren’t here to maintain their dams anymore.” You get the idea. He is planning to have folks take a pledge not to harm the beavers if they go on a hike to an active lodge.

We talked about sponsors and crowds and restrooms and event insuranc; about art projects, jam contests, adult quizzes, raffles and maps. We talked about allies and helpers and I made sure to give him the most valuable tool of all that has sustained me lo, these many years.

Remember that Mike isn’t a lone voice in the wilderness. He got a 5000 dollar grant last year from Audubon for doing a beaver cont, and found 75 volunteers to help him make it happen. There’s the Lorax and his merry men, Ralph Maughan who wrote about how the Idaho fires would have been lessened if there were enough beavers on the land. And don’t forget this columnist from the Idaho Statesman:

Ask Zimo: Beavers are common in Idaho, but seeing them is rare

Q: My mom and I were at the family cabin in Garden Valley this weekend when she noticed an unusual rock that turned out to be a beaver. We were very surprised by the sighting and wanted to share the photos. Wondering if this is a rare sighting; we’ve never seen wild beavers anywhere.

TAYLOR TODD, via-email

A: Beavers are not rare in Idaho, but seeing them is rare. That’s because they are nocturnal. Consider yourself lucky to get photos of one during the day. That’s great.

What a critter. Beavers are considered one of the most important animals for the ecosystem.

The neat thing about this busy animal is its work in rehabilitating streams, the brushy areas along waterways and for creating wetlands that are important for fish, waterfowl, reptiles and other wildlife. Their work in building dams helps slow down runoff and preventing erosion.

I love fishing a creek where there are beaver dams and pools hiding brook trout. That’s some of the best fishing around.

Good point! I can’t think of many better selling points in trap-happy Idaho than mentioning that living beavers make conditions that sustain more fish, duck, otter, mink and moose. I’m not a fan of trapping because I generally think it’s easier to take a life than to make one, but if folks will respect the voice of a trapper who became a dedicated beaver believer, I suggest they read this:

He started with two beavers, a dry, over-trapped landscape, and a whispered directive from a crazy native grandma. If you never read this book, you really should. Buy a used copy or read it online here.

Mr. Settell to the rescue

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers February 22, 2014

A few years ago I read an article about Mike Settell getting a grant from Audubon to do a local beaver count – because beavers have such an impact on bird life. I immediately tracked him down and invited him to the beaver conference where we were able to get him a presentation time so he could talk about his work. Last year Mike installed his first pond leveler’s using Mike Callahan’s DVDs. Now there’s a great article about his work.

Pond leveler: Ecologically friendly device seeks to control flooding, protect beaver habitat

About 10 feet onto the creek, he pulls some frozen brush and snow away to reveal that he is standing on top of a large beaver dam. Further examination of the area shows a large pipe protruding off the top of the dam, with a steady flow of clear, cold water spilling out downstream. He then points towards the top of a wire cage bulging above the snow that is covering the pond, like the top of a sunken ship poking through the Arctic ice shelf.

“The Pond Leveler allows the water from the pond to easily flow past the dam and lower the pond level while maintaining some water in the pond,” he explains. “The cage prevents beavers from plugging the pipe and blocking the water flow completely. If a beaver has a stick in his mouth, he’s not going to pass through the cage and plug the pipe.”

According to Settell, flooding roads is among the main reasons beavers are trapped or killed in a stream.

“What myself and others are demonstrating are ways to keep the benefits of beavers without having to kill the beavers,” says Settell, pointing to the healthy willow stand. “We’ve also found that these devices are very cost-effective to reduce localized flooding.”

Hurray for Mike! Taking on Idaho with his bare hands! It’s getting to the point that we have at least one beaver advocate in every state, and many more in some. Can the tipping place be far behind?

“The solution in the old days would be just to destroy the dams and get rid of the entire colony of beavers,” he says, pointing towards the expanse of Rapid Creek. “FEMA has already designated this area a flood zone, so beaver or no beaver, an area like this will flood. It’s just a question of when. What we are trying to do is to retain the beaver pond’s ability to create enhanced habitat and reduce the effects of peak flooding.”

Oh you mean like we did in Martinez 6+ years ago? Yep, our flow device has been doing its job since 2008, and doesn’t show any signs of giving up. Our beavers have been doing a bit of work on both dams and you should go check them out if you can. It’s good to see flow devices going into other creeks!

This morning’s donation comes from Eagle Optics which is a supply side haven for wildlife lovers everywhere. They offer a life time warranty and the best prices on everything they sell. I first learned about them when I was involved with the group watching the San Francisco Peregrines on the PGE building. I asked a trusted biologist about buying Jon a spotting scope for his birthday, and she pointed me straight to what I needed at Eagle. For the festival Eagle Optics graciously donated a 8×25 monocular which is a great way to augment your bird and wildlife watching. It requires less visual control than binoculars so is great for kids and is so small you can slip it into your pocket easily when lugging binoculars isn’t an option. Thanks Eagle Optics for your support! I know your donation will be appreciated.

Nothing Succeeds like Success – (Beaver Edition)

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Environmental October 16, 2013

I’m guessing you recognize the hardworking smile on the left, which belongs to Mike Callahan of Beaver Solutions in Massachusetts. The one with the shovel is Kevin Swift, of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center who is working with Mike to learn the trade and eventually apply it in California. Kevin came to this year’s beaver festival with Kate Lundquist of the OAEC and we couldn’t be happier that solutions will be closer to home. Great start, men! Apparently yesterday’s job was ripping out a Clemson and replacing it with a Flex pipe. How symbolic is that? Here’s Mike’s rundown:

Good news. Kevin Swift arrived here in Massachusetts today to learn how to start his own business installing effective flow devices in his home state of California. Here he is performing maintenance on a Flexible Pond Leveler pipe. This is the site of my first flow device installation in 1998. The original Clemson Pond Leveler was eventually replaced with a Flexible Pond Leveler, and the fencing on that pipe was replaced last week. Beavers are still there and continue to maintain the dam. We’re doing three new flow device installations the next three days. We’ll keep you posted!

But wait, Heidi, maybe you’re saying. That’s not enough good news of people living with beavers. California and Massachusetts are crazy liberal states with campuses full of tree-huggers and tofu! Who cares what they do? This just isn’t enough to float my beaver boat, so to speak.

Well, then, how about Idaho?This is Mike Settell who you might recognize as the man from Pocatello who got the local chapter of Audubon to fund his beaver count a few years back because the animals affect bird population so significantly. He came to the state of the beaver conference last year, met the gang, and presented on his hard work in the granite state. Like all the attendees he was graciously given a copy of Mike’s DVD, and after reading and watching and learning went on to do his first install this weekend. I am very happy that Idaho is willing in this instance to apply a long-term solution instead of a short term (trapping) bandaid. Congratulations Mike!

There was a bundle of good news yesterday, I can barely keep up. We’re off to the Boys and Girls club today to talk beavers, which should be fun. And I just got an email from Jari Osborne of the Beaver Whispers that her excellent documentary (which you will see on PBS next year) is up for a digi award for Best in cross-platform nonfiction. GO VOTE RIGHT NOW. I know you haven’t seen it yet, but trust me, it should win. It will save the planet. You can help. GO VOTE

And my all-time favorite news I can’t share just yet but I just found out last night and it has to do with a a topic that rhymes with “weavers in postal quivers.”

Beam.

Friends and Family

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beavers elsewhere, Friends of Martinez Beavers February 10, 2012

Three Little Beavers by Jean Heilprin Diehl, Illustrated by Cathy Morrison

These siblings, who live with their parents in the lodge on Beaver Creek, work a great deal. Bevan is an expert – he is what you would call a ‘master’ beaver. He can twist and alter those twigs and mud into perfection every single time. His sister, Beverly, is amazing, too. She can do underwater somersaults and all kinds of fancy tricks. These are two beavers who will grow up to be masters at their craft.

Unfortunately, Beatrix just can’t seem to get the hang of anything. Her mud patches fall apart, she’s not all that good with building, swimming, and, frankly, she’s tired of being around siblings who are better than she is. Sometimes it’s difficult to know what it is that we’re good at; after all, we all have a special skill, but Beatrix just cant find hers. So, off she goes.

Oh what a lovely start to a story! We all need a copy of three little beavers right away! The author is apparently from New Hampshire (not the friendliest beaver state in the nation) so its surprising that when the search for her talent gets Beatrix caught in a trap it happens to be a live trap from folks who never wanted to hurt beavers in the first place!

Not a scary trap, mind you, it’s a trap set by kind people who are just trying to make sure that beavers don’t rip apart their lawn, but they would never hurt an animal. Unfortunately, Beatrix can’t get out of the trap and when her ‘superstar’ siblings come along to save her – they get trapped, too. Who has to save the day? Beatrix, and all of a sudden she knows exactly what she’s good at.

Yeah Beatrix! Well….not really sure what kind of ‘trap’ keeps beavers off your lawn or come to think of it why a beaver would want to bother your lawn anyway…BUT still…great ending and nice moral to the story. The Seattle Pi review makes it sound like a delightful read and I can’t wait to get mine, but I confess to feeling a little apprehensive about this;

And the ‘fun’ extras in the back of the book teach everything from beaver facts to building dams with your hands!

Okay, but if it says they live in the dam and eat fish I’m going to demand a retraction!

Oh and a followup from Wednesday’s post about the Beaver Count in Idaho. I wrote the event organizer Mike Settell and he wrote back, delighted to find fellow beaver friends! He will guest blog about his work in Blaire County soon, but he gave permission for sharing this email:

Thank you so much for the note! I know that I’m not working in a vacuum, but when I see work like Martinez Beavers, well, I just well up.

Right now, I am in the midst of an event, not a festival, but HEY what an idea. Someone wanted to have a conference, but a festival sounds so much more fun. Can we borrow your ideas? Can we pirate your beaver tales and educational materials?

Please keep up YOUR good work and stay in touch.

Happy beavering!

Mr. Settell says that outside his county beaver policies are a little less informed. He says his work can be frustrating because of all the bureaucracy!

Ya don’t say….