I had a long conversation yesterday with Kat Milacek and Rhonda Burkhardt-Thomson from the DFW wildlife coalition over the beaver issue in Irving Texas. If you haven’t heard anything about it, here’s a fairly recent report.

They got word of the contract the park issued to take out ALL beavers from ALL wetlands. But when the media started poking around they revised it to say they were relocating beaver only from the pond. (Insert Grinch explanation to Cindy Loo here). Kat and Rhonda started an online petition that got 800 signatures from around the nation, and the park department got so defensive they adapted their own web page in response.

There is misinformation and a petition circulating regarding Irving’s beaver trapping program. The City of Irving would like to correct the misinformation and provide our residents an accurate account of this story.

Yayaya. I’m sure it was all a complete misunderstanding…

Apparently three beavers (one adult and two yearlings) have already been captured and released onto private land. This is less than ideal timing, to say the least. Since kits are probably going to be left behind as they may not be able to dive out of the lodge/bank hole without adult help. My guess is that mom will stay with them as long as she can, but eventually succumb, leaving them alone.

I talked with Kat and Rhonda about solutions, about wrapping trees and getting media, they expressed frustration over how slanted the news was and how many of the park department’s lies it broadcast. Was it worse because they were in Texas? (Hahahahaha) Sadly no, I sympathized. The media is deeply naive and will be believe what officials tell them to the ninth degree. The only things on your side are cute pictures and compelling stories. Which you have so far, so buck up I told them!

Given that three beavers were already captured, I advised that it was going to be better to get the rest as quickly as possible. Try and find out where they were living to make sure none get left behind. In the mean time try and get video or night video and send that to the news station in order to pressure the park to sit down with you and make a beaver management plan for the NEXT beavers that come along. I thanked them for caring about beavers and wished them a hearty good luck!

It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the thought that there are people who want to save beavers in Texas. But I’m grateful for the chance to be proven wrong. It’s a big state, and they need the water. They should all care about beavers. Just look how good that’s working in California! (Not.)

Onto beaver defense in New Hampshire where this great letter was published in the Valley News.

Letter: What About the Beavers’ Ecosystem?

I have lived in the Upper Valley all of my life and for 53 years have traveled 12A, where on numerous occasions the beaver dams have been altered to prevent flooding. I just wonder why we always have altered the beaver dam, a dam that builds a viable ecosystem for aquatic life and waterfowl. We continually use destruction to solve the immediate crisis. I ask the state to propose alternative solutions before the next crisis.

Throughout all the election years of the past, I have listened to campaigners boast about their achievements in passing bills that have millions of dollars set aside to preserve and maintain habitat. Can we apply some of those funds in Plainfield to a solution that allows for a viable Route 12A and a thriving aquatic ecosystem? Upper Valley residents need to say we want a chunk of the money to preserve this ecosystem now! Do you believe that money spent regarding our encroachment on wildlife habitat is better than money spent to preserve wildlife habitat? If so, I ask you to help by writing or calling our state legislators about this issue. Let’s stop responding to a crisis and start finding a permanent solution.

William Monette

Wow! Asking for action at the state level! That’s dreaming big William! I like it! But you might start with your own city or county to get the ball rolling. Why not talk to your neighbor Art Wolinsky who installed a culvert protector a few years back. Now the beavers are building on the other side of the culvert, but he’s committed to solving the problem the right way. Just look at this video from this morning: (watch all the way to the end for essential commentary).