An_Evening FINAL

Today is a mixed review of a beaver day, a triumph and a tragedy. Or rather 146 tragedies, made possible by a California Department of Fish and Wildlife that still believes that it’s a reasonable thing to report under past attempts that you had diligently tried “Hazing and debris removal” before requesting a permit. If you were asking for a permit to give up on your children you might just as easily write that you tried “loud music and making collages” as a earnest attempt at parenting. Because it would be exactly as useful.

All of the awarded permits combined add up to an allowed take of 2,626 beavers in a mere 23 counties in the state. They are generally where we’ve come to expect, surrounding the delta and wicking out from that center. The majority of permits was once again issued for Placer county, but the majority of beavers was authorized for take in Sacramento which I suppose is what we should expect.

Interesting to me in a grim kind of way is all the regions we used to see beaver permits issued and now don’t. Like Kern and Riverside and Mendocino. Places where the beaver population was starting I guess to rebound, and then they were depredated and progress stopped. Of course CDFW would say that just because 2626 beavers were permitted to be killed it doesn’t mean that many were actually killed. Except there were still 6 permits given for unlimited beaver, so for all we know it the actual tallies could even be higher. Plus there is no official with a clipboard coming to check that if your permit was good for 17 beavers you actually didn’t kill 18 by mistake. Or 118.

So I think it’s reasonable to assume that California kills at least 1500 beavers a year, maybe more like 2000.

What does that mean? It means that all the salmon those beavers would have helped, all the fires they might have prevented, all the drought they would have averted is lost in a pile of bones and fur. Some in the name of development and some just to preserve someone’s rosebush in their front yard. It continues to be a hard world out there for a beaver. And there are so many places where the light still doesn’t reach.

Thank you to Robin Ellison for obtaining the permits and to Molly Foley and Jon Ridler for helping me process them. It’s been a grueling 4 days. But there is a small comfort in that many many more permits in 2017 reported or recommended wrapping trees or painting them with sand as a defense and 11 of those permits discussed the use of a pond leveler. I guess that’s something.

Baby steps for babies.

Meanwhile Ben Goldfarb continues to fight the good fight and received a Pen award for his efforts. In case you want to see what a big deal the ceremony was (like the Oscars for writing) and hear his hopeful acceptance speech I have cued up his award and acceptance which is a fairly optimistic look at the differences we can make. Enjoy.

In keeping with our only good news Sunday theme, I thought I’d share this very convincing essay Molly Foley penned after attending her first ever State of the Beaver Conference. Molly is the next generation of beaver supporters and will be here to do this work long after we’re gone.

Here’s what I have to tell you people about beavers. Beavers shaped this country, and the wildlife that co-evolved with them for milions of years. Want to know why our birds, fish amphibians, and insect populations are plummeting? Loss of habitat. About half of endangered species rely on wetlands. When we decimated beavers during the fur trade, then drained the land for agriculture and development, we sentenced our ecosystem to death.

Beavers, humble creatures they are, can re-create that habitat. Its not just the Coho salmon and the red legged frog that need beavers either. From a self interested human point of view, WE NEED BEAVERS TOO. In the west, beaver ponds are helping to store water on the landscapecharge ground water, provide fire breaks and habitat

refuge. In the east beaver ponds provide flood protection and improve water quality.

So if you are lucky enough to be graced with beaver in your neck of the woods, I beg you, let them be! We have a blooming field of professionals prepared to non-lethally handle any beaver problem you might have, whether its to keep the flow going, or prevent loss of trees. There are solutions. Killing them isnt a long term solution because there will be new ones to take their place. Be smart monkeys and learn to co-exist.

Well said Molly! I’m so glad you’ve been thoroughly bitten by the beaver bug. We first met when she was taking the California Naturalist Course in Santa Rosa and presenting on the Martinez Beavers. She swung by the festival last year and then made her way to the conference this year. Beaver acolyte! Hmm, just asking but do you want to inherit a festival and website when I die?

As if that wasn’t wonderful enough, Ben was back on the radio yesterday talking about saltwater beavers in “Living on Earth” where he did another amazing job. It’s a very fine listen but for my money the best part is at the beginning where host Bobby Bascomb’s four year old is delightfully searching for “Beavehr twees”.

I’ve always been a sucker for four.

Saltwater Beavers Bring Life Back to Estuaries

Until recently, biologists assumed that beavers occupied freshwater ecosystems only. But scientists are now studying beavers living in brackish water and how they help restore degraded estuaries and provide crucial habitat for salmon, waterfowl, and many other species. Journalist Ben Goldfarb speaks with Host Bobby Bascomb.

What will I ever do when these Ben-terviews about beavers stop rolling delightfully onto my doorstep? I can’t even imagine that dark hour but I know it’s coming. He is already working on his next book, which is not about beavers, or not solely about beavers. Shudder. Let me not think on’t!

Today let’s end with two wonderful donations from Sparrow Avenue in Toronto. Barbara crafts original textiles and silkscreens and was my first generous YES in this year’s asking for beaver donation. Her enthusiasm gave me the courage to keep asking other poor souls. She donated an adorable little coin purse AND a pillow from her incredible store. Thank you Barbara!