Higher latitudes and better attitudes

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Educational, Environmental, What's killing beavers now?, Who's blaming beavers now? August 11, 2015

Yesterday’s labor of love. I wanted to send this to our UK beaver friends. Simon Jones of the Scottish beaver trial wrote back this morning that it was such fun he was sending it to their educational department because he thought it would be a great idea for a classroom activity!

Just imagine, the children of Scotland learning about beavers while doing an art project from Martinez!

In the meantime there’s lots to catch up on, as this article from Prince Edward Island shows us that opinions can thaw even in the coldest of climes.

Beaver killed on Brownsmill Road

Debbie Miller is furious to learn that a beaver on Brownsmill Road near her Merigomish home was killed as a result of a permit given to the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

The beaver was one of two that had a dam in the area, but a little over week ago on Aug. 2 she found it dead. She called to report it to Department of Natural Resources and was told it had been shot. She said the beaver’s dam had actually been destroyed the week of July 20. The following week she saw someone throwing something into the water.

Keith MacDonald , who is acting area manager for the Department of Transportation confirmed that his department had applied for a permit from the DNR and then hired someone to get rid of the beavers because they had blocked off a double culvert in the area. He said the DOT often have to deal with beavers because of their tendency to cause destruction to infrastructure. He said all the proper procedures of going through DNR were followed and the trapper chosen from an approved list.

Miller does not believe that the deaths were truly necessary, however.

“If anyone states that killing the beavers had to be done because they were being destructive, well they did not do any proper assessment of the area,” said Miller.

She said eroded banks in the area were from streams of water coming down the road due to lack of ditching, not because of the beavers. She said the beavers had developed a nice little wetland that was used by other animals, including ducks.

Beaver advocacy is in SUCH early days in this region that there is no mention of a flow device to protect the culvert instead. She even concedes that it would be okay to kill large populations but notes that in this case it was unnecessary because “There were only two!” Never mind, PEI is a tough area for beavers. The island insisted for years that they weren’t present historically and forced our own Rickipedia to do a little research and prove them wrong. They still regularly kill beavers to protect fish and this practice inspired one of my all-time favorite graphics, which I’m still delighted with.

I’m happy that Debbie is starting the conversation and upset about trapping. Maybe she will even find out that the culvert can be easily protected without dead beavers! Once she believes it she can make others believe it. All advocacy starts with compassion, remember.

Brock Dolman of OAEC sent this yesterday, and I thought you’d want to see it too.

Yet another reason to trap beavers in PEI

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers elsewhere, Who's Killing Beavers Now? December 20, 2013

Salmon recovery pleases conservation group

Beavers moved to make way for spawning salmon

Workers in the Souris area have been removing one of the major hurdles to saving the salmon, beavers. The wildlife federation works with local trappers to remove the beavers. Large rivers are cleared of all colonies and dams.

“Salmon couldn’t jump the beaver dams. Fish couldn’t get to the habitat,” said Cheverie.

“There’s still areas for the beavers to work off in some tributaries. We’re not trying to run them out of house and home, there’s still a place for them, The point is in order for fish to spawn, we have to have our major spawning areas with good habitat, they have to be open.”

Prince Edward Island is the home of the fictional character Anne of Green Gables and some of the craziest beaver logic on the planet. They have argued with us that beavers weren’t native, weren’t helpful, weren’t controllable, and weren’t vegetarian. Recently they have reluctantly admitted they’re probably native after all, but said that it doesn’t matter because their streams are so gradual that beaver dams don’t blow out in the winter, so of course their salmon must be protected.

Which is bunk because how sharp is the gradient in Alhambra Creek? A tennis ball would barely roll down stream, and it still blows out several times a year. And anyway, if the salmon are returning to where they were born in order to spawn, how did they get there in the FIRST place if there was no one on hand to rip out the dam before?

PEI is rapidly becoming the Bakersfield of the East. I feel I have to post this every time I read an article about them. I am not going to even bother linking to the research from Michael Pollock or pointing out the film about reintroducing beavers to restore salmonid habitat on the left. Apparently you can lead the entire town of Souris to water – but you can’t make them THINK.

I don’t see a Science Blog about Martinez Beavers on KQED yet, but I’m hopeful. (UPDATE: Here it is.)It doesn’t really matter. Because if you’re at all like me, PEI and Bakersfield and Hopkinton can be as stupid as they like, and folks can break every single promise they can make, but it all adds up to nothing because Bob Cratchit and I are still on VACATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maddening

heidi08 Beaver Behavior, Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Dispersal, Who's Killing Beavers Now? June 29, 2013

Naive child that I am, I once believed that the function of a Conservation Commissions, (charged with protecting wetlands and wildlife and developed as a function of the Wetlands Protection Act), was to actually, you know, CONSERVE things. Silly, silly, Heidi. What was I thinking?

Beavers damming in Hopkinton

In this beautiful weather, beaver damming can cause some not-so-beautiful problems if proper precautions are not taken. “Beavers are out there this year,” said Don McAdam, Conservation Administrator. The Conservation Commission’s job is to protect public and private ground water supply, fisheries, and wild life habitats – even from something as seemingly natural as local beaver populations.

That’s right Don, thank goodness the conservation commission was there to protect Hopkinton from all that NATURE. Anything could happen if you weren’t vigilantly at the ready, killing every water-saver that paddles onto your shores. I guess maybe you should be more specific about what you’re trying to conserve? I can just bet there are more like you at home.

Beavers dam culverts (pipes that go under roadways) and can cause flooding if the dam should break or block pipes, said Public Works Director John Westerling. The animals can pollute water, as well, he added.

Just so you know, Hopkinton is literally 70 miles away from Beaver Solutions. Mike could drive over and fix those culverts in an hour. I wrote of course but they haven’t responded. I shouldn’t be surprise. You have to work very hard to be this ignorant so close to MIT.

Beaver caught in Sherwood

Robin is no longer in the hood. After numerous sightings in the Birch Hill Drive area, the land-locked beaver that made the news last month has been caught today at the Mount Edward grocery.

This week store staff were surprised to find the beaver almost up the steps on the way into the store, said Chuck Gallison, wildlife biologist with the provincial government. He said that his department was giving the beaver the nickname Robin, as in Robin Hood of the Sherwood Forest.

I: Photo of a beaver trying to enter the Mount Edward grocery on Mount Edward Road in Sherwood. This photo was taken on Wed., June 26.

I don’t know if I can take many more of these terrifyingly lost dispersers looking for a place to call home. I am so grateful ours have an excellent waterway to travel. You may or may not remember that PEI has a stunningly bad record when it comes to beaver management – prompting one of my favorite graphics of all time. Their head of wildlife argued vociferously with Wikipedia Rick that the animals weren’t native until he produced an 1830’s document that showed they were. Well, I guess this story is slightly better than their usual but it still makes me very nervous.

With no place to go, the animal stayed put until other wildlife staff arrived with a net, then a cage. The beaver is at this moment on its way to a secret but secluded location on P.E.I., far from the network of culverts it had been using to elude capture for months now.

More beaver stupid from the Taos internet story which has apparently gone viral. My inbox was flooded with stories about the delicious crime from places as far away as Germany and Australia. I suppose I can look forward to days more of this at least. If my internet is spared the voracious beaver-appetite I will let you know.

It made me think about how ready the world is to report and repeat bad news about beavers, and what an uphill batter it is to get the real story out. Even Bay Nature has been reluctant to talk about the salmon issue yet, and got forbid the AP should pick up on a story of a flow device working! I am reminded of an old John Donne poem…

Now if you’re like me you need something nice after all those irritants. Beaver friend Glenn Hori was down the other night to photograph two kits and five adults. Enjoy!