Good things come in threes

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions August 15, 2013

Beavergate in Cornwall Ontario One Year Later – It was a Success! Clear Guindon Park Waters with no Flooding!

CFN – What a difference a year makes. When we started the Beavergate Protest we never expected that the devices placed in the Guindon Nature Park in Cornwall Ontario would have such dramatic results.

Funded fully by Lesley Fox and her Fur Bearer Defenders organization the road to clearer waters and healthier habitat were started by Wyatt Walsh pictured above.

Beavergate in Cornwall Ontario One Year Later – It was a Success! Clear Guindon Park Waters with no Flooding! Saved under Community, Cornwall, Cornwall Area Politics, GREEN News, Headlines, News, Ontario, Politics

Instead of signs that dogs and small children can’t read there is lush green. Mr. Walsh had one abortive attempt after contacting the Standard Freeholder go on deaf ears before CFN became active in trying to find a solution.

Our request for a 90 day moratorium on trapping to the City last year resulted in the traps being moved next to the lodge and wiping out the family of beavers lived.

That’s when local activist and musician Rebecca Sorrell entered and then with some media momentum and help from Lesley Fox and her organization oiula!

Congratulations Cornwall on moving your powers that be into a better beaver management strategy. It is hard, hard work changing hearts and minds, and we know that in Martinez. You might remember that Mike Callahan went and did an on site training with FBD Adrian Nelson to get the job done. If you listen to the video you can hear Donna Dubreuil in the background because she was there for the installation. This was a triumph for beaver friends in Canada, and it nice to remember their victory a year (and a month) later.

Mike Callahan & Adrian Nelson at the Guidon Nature Park Installation

Congratulations everyone!

On to this lovely beaver birth announcement from Devon, England where some fenced-in beavers are welcoming some new family members. Click here for an excellent BBC description & video of the event.

Devon wetland beavers have baby

Two beavers in a secure fenced-off area in west Devon have had a baby.

The animals are part of a three-year experiment by the Devon Wildlife Trust at a secret location to see if the animals can help restore wetland areas.

The baby beaver – or kit – is believed to be only a few weeks old, but it is not known if it is a male of female, project staff said.

Mark Elliot, from the trust, said staff were “thrilled”

Congratulations Devon! Mark is the coordinator for a group called “Working Wetlands” and I can see he’s headed for great beaver things.

Finally a nice reprisal in the Record yesterday of our beaver-extravaganza. Looks like mostly the same article with some tenses changed, but very nice to see again. Enjoy!

Kits show up for Beaver Festival VI in Martinez

New beaver kits appeared in Alhambra Creek recently, just in time for the Aug. 3 Martinez Beaver Festival. It was a time for family fun and an easy way to discover some secrets of urban wildlife.

The festival, in its sixth year, has grown appreciably. This year’s event, near the Amtrak station, featured wildlife experts, artists, entertainers, teachers and scientists, plus guided creek tours, games, hands-on projects, 41 display booths, music and information on the beavers, fish, otters, birds and vegetation surrounding beaver construction sites.

Which obviously begs the question: When will Cornwall & Devon be planning their first beaver festival? The world is waiting.

Remember Rebecca from Cornwall?

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, featured, Friends of Martinez Beavers, New Species, Recent Sightings, Video July 15, 2012

She and others worked REALLY hard to get rid of trapping and save some beavers in Cornwall Ontario, which sits right above New York State. They protested, talked to the media, and generally made an obstacle of themselves and guess what happened? Always remember what Gandhi said

First they ignore you

Then they laugh at you

Then they fight with you

Then you win.

Posted by Mike Callahan on the Beaver Management Forum. Photos courtesy of Rebecca Sorrell.

Great Beaver News from Ontario!

I returned home today from a fabulous trip north of the border to Cornwall, Ontario. It was a fantastic week full of fun, good conversations, and lots of hot, hard and rewarding work installing flow devices.

As you may recall from recent BMF posts, The Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals based in Vancouver, offered the financial support and expertise to install the first flow devices in the city of Cornwall, Ontario. They also kindly paid me to assist them with the flow device installations.

I’d like to give big kudos to Adrian Nelson of FBD. He really impressed me with his ability to work with local officials, obtain all the right materials and tools, design the proper flow device for each of four sites, and teach the local volunteers how to build and install the devices. He was so good that my expertise was barely needed. I agreed completely with his plan for all four sites.

Adrian is quickly becoming North America’s west coast flow device expert!

A major highlight of my trip to Ontario was meeting the inspirational leader of the campaign to save Cornwall’s beavers from continued trapping. Her name is Rebecca Sorrell and she just joined our Beaver Management Forum. Welcome Rebecca! Never doubt that one determined and passionate person can be the catalyst for positive change. She has rallied many other good people in Cornwall and together they are making the city change its trap first policy.

Rebecca and many in her large group of passionate volunteers were actively involved with the flow device installations and are taking responsibility for monitoring and maintaining them to ensure long-term success. In addition, they plan on installing more flow devices themselves if the city has beaver conflicts elsewhere! They are a dedicated bunch, led by a special and inspirational person, and with our Forum’s support and assistance I am sure they will succeed!

Donna, Gary and Kate, our Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Center beaver friends made the trip to Cornwall and were also very helpful and a delight to spend time with. Hopefully our work in Cornwall will inspire / embarrass the politicians in the Capital city of Ottawa to finally embrace flow devices. Good luck to these dedicated beaver friends as they continue their struggle in their nation’s Capital.

There was some good local media coverage in Cornwall which is so important to educate the public. Hopefully Rebecca can post the links and maybe a few pictures of the installs here for everyone to see.

Finally, it was a pleasure and honor to work with all these good folks as we all continue to spread the word about the importance of beavers and the effectiveness of flow devices.

A hearty congratulations to Rebecca and friends, Adrian and Furbearer Defenders, and Mike who drove across several states to get there! I hope your hard work reminds everyone that people can make a difference, that even tricky problems have humane solutions, and that beavers are worth a dam or two!

Speaking of dams, apparently our beavers are so highly regarded that this morning even an angel came to visit them.

Angel visits beaver dam — Angel Visits Beaver Dam - Great Egret by Heidi Perryman

The Sweet Smell of Success in Cornwall

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions May 31, 2012

Beavers 1 – Smart City Manager 1 – Nasty Politicians 0 – Beavergate Team Presents to Cornwall Ontario City Council

CFN – I’m used to covering Cornwall City Council, but Monday night was special as I was part of a group to present to Council. Wyatt Walsh led the charge by asking CFN for help with the beaver trapping in Guindon Park. What happened from there is a text book case of abusive and ignorant attitudes from elected officials in response to an overwhelming demand from the public and what seems to be some petty personal response by some councilors and one particular manager to this scribbler and CFN.

Looks like the beaver-beleaguered city of Cornwall Ontario had an unbelievably exciting public wave on tuesday evening. You won’t want to skip reading the entire account here. Rebecca Sorrell, who had been promoting humane ways to live with beavers in person, on camera and to the media for weeks and weeks, was given time to address the council. And many people showed up to support the cause.

Rebecca spoke for our group. She greeted council in French and the proceeded to outline our journey and the hugely generous offer by The Association for the Protection of Fur-Bearing Animals from BC that will be sending down an expert to implement devices that will preclude trapping as well as training city staff and volunteers. Those actions hopefully will forever banish Conibear traps from Guindon Park and we’re hoping that council pass such a by-law in the fall stating that.

Congratulations Team Cornwall! And Congratulations Furbearer defenders who raised money for this install that will be undertaken by our young friend Adrian Nelson! I am so proud of all of you, and remembering our dynamic city council meeting lo these many years ago, I’m honestly jealous of the civic buzz you must be feeling right now! Since we couldn’t get a quote from the beavers, here are some comments from the heroine herself….

These last few weeks have truly been an eye opening experience for me. I have learned first hand that the combined power of a group of individuals in search of a common goal is virtually unstoppable.

“I started this journey to save the beavers simply because I believed it was the right thing to do and a good opportunity to teach a life lesson to my daughter. I never would have imagined that I would be the one gaining the most from it. It truly restores my faith in humanity to see how united everyone was for our cause and to see how capable we were as a whole. It warms my heart to know that I had a role in evoking change in my community with the help of so many amazing people.

The friendships I have harvested during this battle will no doubt prove to become lifetime commitments. For all intents and purposes it would appear as though we achieved our goal. We saved the beavers of Guindon Park and we have pushed the city of Cornwall in the direction of progressive and humane change. I am looking forward to many evenings spent at Guindon Park observing these amazing creatures at work and I sleep soundly with the knowledge that my family will be safe in doing so.

From the bottom of my heart, to all involved, I extend the most sincere gratitude and thanks. To quote a lifetime hero of mine, Mr. Jack Layton, “Don’t let them tell you it can’t be done.” I certainly didn’t this time nor will I for future battles on the horizon. This is only the beginning. The time for change is upon us and I have a new found confidence that not only is it possible but a certain reality.”