Because the beaver isn't just an animal; it's an ecosystem!

Tag: Scott Artis


Last night there was a meeting of minds with Worth A Dam regulars and some new supporters who wanted to understand the group better. Plans were made for Earth Day, the Dow wetlands event, and early thoughts about the Festival. The clear-headed mother of our tree-planting eagle scout was interested in having another “jewelry making party” to create more beaver key chains, necklaces and bracelets to benefit our silent auction. We thought that would be an excellent idea!  Our artist Fro, mentioned that she had learned how to make an amazing rooting compound using willow leaves in a blender, which she swore worked a charm and wasn’t a recipe for beaver margaritas. There was a discussion of the tiles and recent changes to the habitat, with a sneak preview of the adorable temporary tattoo we are going to make available for kids at our upcoming events.

Scott Artis, of JournOwl, who has been advocating so tirelessly for his burrowing owls, came and told his impassioned and all too familiar story: city lies, developer manipulations, and inverted priorities by Fish & Game (protect the permit, not the species). As some of you might know, Scott is a very tall fellow with an  exceedingly gentle spirit; (he must have left 6 feet behind him somewhere in middle school). It was amazing, then, to see him grow even taller before our very eyes as he spoke fiercely about his struggle.  Scott’s broad understanding of the issues, dedicated research, eloquent writing and passionate advocacy have pushed the burrowing owl story solidly to the conservation forefront. He recently connected with a writer from the Smithsonian magazine who will be following up with a story this year.

Our third new guest was Rick the wikipedia historian who has been doing such stellar work updating beaver entries and researching the prevalence of beaver in California. He had offered to pick me up from my conference in San Jose and come to the meeting, and of course we had lots to talk about on the way. We stopped off to view the dams and the tiles, which he found very impressive. Rick got involved originally because the 85 year-old man he had bought his house from had told him that he could “fly fish in the stream that ran there” all year long. Of course the stream now is dry for the summer and fall, and Rick wondered if there might be an inexpensive remedy. This got him thinking about beavers and when he approached the ranger he was told “there were no beavers here” which got  him interested in the history. Turns out Captain Sutter bought 1500 beaver pelts in 1841 from mission San Jose, so that didn’t make much sense. This naturally brought him to us!

Rick was a veritable font of knowledge, describing the competing trapping influences in California and the different routes they followed into the state. He knew the particulars of what beavers were “(re)introduced”  and where by fish and game, and even knew what subspecies. He is a solidly respectable researcher and physician who had the bemused air of a man had been completely ambushed by his overwhelming enthusiasm for this new and compelling beaver mystery story. It was clear he wished there were more hours in a day, more days in a week, more time for beaver pdfs, and more money to spend on endless historical volumes that might hold the elusive answer. Rick said several times that he wished there was a clinical term for this hopeless “beaver addiction”. but I assured him there wasn’t one.

It seemed perfectly normal to me.


Scott and the plight of the burrowing owls made the big screen last night, click on the photo in case you missed the tale. If the new year has left you full of renewed good intentions, join us Sunday and show the world where you stand on the whole protecting-property-owner-interest-versus-preserving-rare-wildlife debate. (Given that you’re reading this blog I assume I already know…) I’ve already heard from a few beaver supporters who will be in attendance, and lots of others who “Give a Hoot”. I’m sure your neighbor will carpool with you. Let’s remind the powers that be that wildlife matters.


Scott Artis writes that the owl kick-out order was apparently granted just in time. Before the ink was dry on the CDFG signature allowing the eviction of the burrowing owls and the fumigation of the ground squirrels, Kiper went to work.

In any event, I stumbled upon the first round of evictions by Kiper Homes’ consulting firm way sooner than expected.  As I wandered through the unlocked chain link fence I found a team of 3 actively enlarging the burrows of the owls my wife and I have come to obsess over in terms of their protection.  I continued down the middle of the street looking over burrows marked with flags of orange and red, plexi-glass fitted one-way doors blocking burrows that sheltered a family during breeding season, and adjacent burrows that provided extra cover were now overflowing with soil and rocks.  The eviction of the first section was just about complete and the process continued uninterrupted in the background as I spoke with the principle biologist.  I couldn’t help but glance over his shoulder as the shovels filled in burrows that months earlier I had cleared of garbage and debris.

Scott and his wife were there, sadly recording the damage as burrows were widened and fitted with one-way doors, and other adjacent areas were filled with soil and rocks. Scott had a talk with the biologist hired gun on site, who admitted that the squirrels were enormously important to the habitat and thought they deserved protection. In this discussion Scott also learned that there is no data on how evicted owls recover, or whether they recover at all.

The eviction process simply functions by ASSUMPTION that displaced owls do fine and is apparently at the behest of the California Department of Fish & Game who no longer requires banding of the evicted.  So again I am left with the feeling that the owls are a Species of Not So Special Concern.

Burrowing Owl Eviction Begins.

Obviously Kiper (rhymes with viper) wanted this done in time for the holidays. Who can celebrate with their family while bands of hoodlum owls are loose in the neighborhood? When I look at Scott’s smart, bitter video I know exactly how he feels. There but for the grace of 200 people…

Have I told you all lately how much I love you?


Remember the burrowing owls that adopted the abandoned development site in Antioch? Beaver friend Scott Artis of JournOwl wrote about them on his website, and followed up with an article in the Contra Costa Times and the MDAS Audubon newsletter. The owls were threatened by the removal of fencing which had offered them protection and kept the traffic and dumping away. Scott worked hard to get the city to force the developer to replace the fencing.

He wrote yesterday that he received the mitigation/relocation report from the city. It read:

The California Dept. of Fish & Game (CDFG) has signed off on the plan and provided them with a letter to proceed with eviction.  Communication from the developer in September indicated that they will move forward with construction in Spring 2010. The report dictates that the passive relocation timeframe is Oct. 1, 2009 -Feb 1, 2010. The CDFG has not yet approved eviction for Oct. 1, 2010 to Feb 1, 2011 for any owls that show up or remain after initial relocation efforts, etc.

In short, the owls will be passively relocated through the use of one-way doors and the California ground squirrel population on the land will be fumigated.  Unfortunately, the owls will not be tracked or checked up on after their eviction.  I have provided details and excerpts from the document at http://journowl.com/index.php/archives/1063

I guess its a kind of victory that Scott was able to get anyone to pay attention to the owls at all, and passive relocation is definitely better than active destruction. But his email made me very sad. Does Fish and Game ever say anything but “yes”? Okay, kill the woodpeckers. Kill the beavers. Evict the burrowing owls. How about advising cities to work on accommodating their animal population? How many cities know of a nesting ground for 4 pairs of burrowing owls? Are there any cities that would like a greater mouse population? Why not make the owls into a feature of the housing project? You could call it the complex the “Burrows” and have an owl logo on your street signs. Children could learn about them in school and there could even be a local TV station Owl Cam. Antioch could be famous as a friend to owls, instead of only boasting a gloriously corrupt Redevelopment Agency.

Aside from the fact that the city is ignoring a precious resource it is lucky to possess in favor of the almighty dollar, it is startling that permission is so cheerfully given to evict “this species of special concern” by CDFG. As Scott said, clearly the owls are a “species of not so much special concern”. No effort will be made to track them to make sure they relocate into safe stable territory. The holes will be blocked with one way doors, and after two days the burrows will be collapsed. (I guess following the foreclosure model practiced heavily in Antioch where people leave their homes in uninhabitable states and strip every sell-able thing from the walls.)

After which, the ground squirrels will be fumigated. No story is complete without the dramatic death of a rodent. The fact that the squirrels are a keystone species and provide food and burrows for all manner of animals is really just a bonus.

I’m sorry for your owls, Scott. I know its sad to lose site of them, but know in your heart that getting them the attention you did was no small feat for a city that is known for the most famous harboring of a kidnapped child in history. Getting Antioch to pay attention to anything but outbuilding is a lion’s struggle. The owls were lucky to have you.

Beaver friend GTK sends the following addresses in case you want to write the Antioch mayor and council your opinion.

Mayor James D. Davis

Tel (925) 757-2020
Fax (925) 939-4617

All summer long, and until the kindly rains begin, Worth A Dam man-Friday Jon has been watering the trees. The only water source out that way is the creek so it means he throws a bucket into the water, and hauls it out by rope again and again. We’ve had far fewer tree casualties as a result, and yesterday the “slap” of the bucket produced the “tail slap” of a beaver in response, so you know it’s working!

Two trees were planted on the “amtrak” side of the creek, right near a leaking pipe thats trickle has produced a broad patch of grass. When Jon went to water this weekend he saw two deer browsing the green goodness. One was a small, fearless doe, and her partner was a lovely (barely) six-point buck. They stood irritably while Jon was watering, waiting for him to finish so they could get back to their important work. Jon wished he had a camera but imagine this is what he saw….

Beaver watchers have been deprived a glimpse of mom for the month of September, so if you happen to see her some evening or morning, let us know. Her tail mark is barely visible anymore, but her right eye is very affected, so she’s easy to spot if she faces upstream. We are happy to report that the beavers have finally decided to shift their schedules to match the declining daylight hours. Twice this weekend we saw a yearling out by 7:30 pm which is a relief because no one wants to wait in the dark until 8:30.

Certainly not last night when I was avidly watching Ken Burns describe our National Parks. Did you see the Martinez photos? I liked the narrative very much, but am I the only one who thought that Petteway’s annoying and repititve guitar music detracted from the whole experience? (It was almost a drinking game, every time Sligo Creek started to play again, I wanted to do a shot.)

Our Burrowing Owl friend released this video this weekend, and all I can say is that he must have had help. This is no sloppy perryman attempt, and that see-through emblem in the corner could only have been made using Final Cut, which I have only braved a few times even after hiring a tech to teach me how to use it. I made sure all our friends saw it, and am currently trying to nudge Penny into taking the owls on for her next “Comeback Kids” book.

[youtube:http://youtube.com/watch?v=_goEHp867aI]

Great work, Scott. You are an Inspiration.

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