Guess what came in the mail yesterday? Sherri Tippie’s 2011 newsletter that’s what! I couldn’t wait to sit down and pour through the whole thing but as soon as I looked at the cover my eyes got too blurry to read anything. Praise for beaver advocacy from Sherri Tippie is like having Picaso tell you ‘nice painting’ or Martha Stewart say she loves what you’ve done with the decorations. Okay, I’ll try not to over react, but still it’s very, very nice. Inside is a lovely article about the beaver conference (and by the way I have heard from Leonard that they have committed to a new one in 2013 and are finalizing dates) and this. Enjoy!
And if you want to read the whole thing, and support the remarkable, necessary and courageous work that sherri does and teaches others to do, sign up for her newsletter and throw something in the kitty. (Use the new address below). I promise you its worth it.
Her new address is 4905 W. Lakeridge Rd. Denver, CO 80219 303-935-4995.
Sometimes it is slow news here at beaver central and sometimes it is fast, thick and icky, but this weekend has been a flurry of delightful stories I can hardly wait to share. First up is agrand new discovery about our friend Castoroides Ohioensis. Remember the very large beaver that was the size of a bear and went extinct at the last ice age? Seems they just ran one through a CTscan (don’t ask why no one thought of this before) and discovered a very long chamber behind his noise that they are speculating was used for resonance. Now every archeologist is busy trying to figure out the giant beaver call that echoed through the forests of paleo-history!
LAS VEGAS – Blessed with a hidden chamber in their over sized skulls, extinct giant beavers may have created a unique Ice Age call of the wild. Detailed CT scans reveal a dead-end passageway leading from the back of the animal’s skull toward its face. That chamber connects via a long, narrow slit to another passage going straight through the beaver’s skull from throat to nose, vertebrate paleontologist Caroline Rinaldi reported November 2 at a meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.
“I don’t know of any other animal that has this,” said Rinaldi, of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine.
Our second grand story comes from the Oregon town of Five-Rivers (which is incidentally, very near where the State of the Beaver Conference was held this February). Seems they had a meet and greet with the locals, served hot cider and Christmas cookies, and asked landowners to open their heart to beavers. “Do it for the sake of the salmon” they encouraged!
FIVE RIVERS – The sparsely settled Coast Range valleys of Lincoln County’s Five Rivers country ought to be a highly productive breeding ground for coho salmon, but logging, road-building and other human activities have altered the landscape in far-reaching ways, leaving threatened fish runs in a precarious state.
Beaver populations also have declined throughout the basin, in part because of those same human impacts. Now the MidCoast Watersheds Council is working to enlist the aid of area residents in shoring up salmon numbers by reintroducing beaver colonies in some of the places where they’ve disappeared – even if that means some inconvenience for rural property owners.
Don’t even THINK that any of this would be happening without the day-in day-out hard work of Leonard and Lois Houston who have made beaver friends out of more folks than anyone can know. When I spoke to him recently about their good relationship with ODFW (Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife – note that they don’t call just care about GAME in Oregon!) he said that one thing he had learned is that it is easier to get enthusiastic support from the fisheries biologists than from the fur-bearer folks. Hmmm. Now that was a revelation!
“Beaver and coho salmon are just inextricably linked,” said Steve Trask, a fish biologist working with the council. “We’ve noticed over time that as beaver populations have declined, there’s been a real loss of production in coho salmon habitats.”Representatives of the Siuslaw National Forest, the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and the Alsea Watershed Council, all potential partners in the restoration effort, also were on hand.
Coho salmon fry emerge from the gravel of their spawning beds in the spring, then spend a year dodging predators and bulking up before venturing out to sea, where they spend another year or two before returning to their native streams to spawn as adults. Beaver ponds, Trask said, provide ideal rearing habitat for young coho and other salmonids, such as cutthroat and steelhead trout. The ponds capture nutrients from falling leaves and rotting wood, forming the base for a thriving food chain.
They also perform a number of other functions, from moderating flash floods to restoring old floodplain connections and re-establishing a more natural, complex channel structure that provides a variety of habitats for aquatic life. Bringing beavers back to Five Rivers, he said, could accomplish a lot of the watershed council’s restoration goals for the basin.
“We’re talking about somehow restoring beaver to the landscape so they can be a tool for salmonid restoration,” Trask said. “If we can get it going, it’s a pretty cheap way to do it.”
Wow. Just wow. Steve, do you happen to have any relatives that work for DFG in California? Just asking. And excellent job by the reporter, Bennett Hall, who clearly gets the whole relationship very well. My guess would be this isn’t his first time reporting on the beaver-salmon relationship. All we can do here in plod-along California is plod along. Sigh. Go read the whole thing.
Click to Play
Which brings us to our THIRD good story, and that’s the announcement that starting NEXT WEEK an interview with a beaver expert will air here every Sunday on a podcast series that I’m calling “Agents of Change”. For the past few months I’ve been trotting about wooing the beaver world and trying to get them to talk to me about why they do what they do and how beavers changed their lives. The first interview will be with Sherri Tippie and the second with Skip Lisle. You won’t want to miss these short, remarkable glimpses into the lives of people who make a difference on behalf of the animals who make a difference.!I think you’ll enjoy it, click for a sample.
*Much thanks to David Bowie and poet Mark Seth Lender for their valued contributions!
And because man does not live by beaver alone, I’m passing along this AMAZING look at the 4 night festival of lights popular winner from Lyon, France. Mind you this just has to be the very best blending of history, pop culture and modern technology that I have ever seen.
Looks like Benicia State Parkhas beavers again. I’m not hearing any threat in this article, but we know the colony mysteriously diassapeared once so it would be good to keep an eye and ear out this time. The story of beavers at the park preceeds our Martinez beavers, but I’m enjoying the fantasy that at least one of the beavers in this colony is our disperser – all grown up and doing what mom and dad taught him or her!
The author spotted a freshly felled tree on the trail of the State Park. He appears surprised that folks weren’t more upset by the very natural action and writes,
Later I told the story of the tree killed by the beavers to Wolfram Alderson, executive director of the Benicia Tree Foundation. Here, I’m thinking, is someone who appreciates the value of trees, and wonder if he will object? Instead he smiles at me and says “Really, in Benicia?” We’ve all heard of the Martinez beavers, and the controversy they have engendered in our neighboring community. Benicia is not threatened by flooding the way Martinez is, so we can remain unconcerned about it.
Really?
For the record, the ‘proclaimed controversy’ consisted of a few powerful property owners, a handful of flood-fearing businesses and a council who wanted them dead, against EVERYONE ELSE. I guess that’s a ‘controversy’ in the same way that a single drop of food coloring turns a glass of water blue. Anyway it’s a fun article, which you should go read. And the next time Benicia needs beaver photos they should come to US! Sheesh!
Another mention comes from the Watershed Project in Richmond. I connected them years ago and somehow ended up receiving their newsletter. Look what’s in the latest issue.
Ana Weidenfeld’s brief article covers the basics. As beaver articles go it’s fairly luke warm but they do recommend coming to Martinez to see them for yourself, which is nice.
If you are in the mood to watch these fastidious and fun mammals at work, head into Martinez. The beavers are nocturnal, so make sure to bring your flashlight and go out in the early morning or late evening hours.
And a final note from Estes Park in Colorado, where you might remember a brave advocate wrote a letter to the editor about the irony of killing beavers to build a trail in the hometown of Enos Mills. It prompted my response, which apparently was printed.
Words from the past
Bill Melton raised the pointed question about what Enos Mills would say about removing a beaver dam to install a trail. The best way to answer that question is to go to the source. This is from his “In Beaver World,” which was written nearly a hundred years to go from his cabin in Estes Park.
“The dam is the largest and in many respects the most influential beaver work. Across a stream it is an inviting thorough fare for the folk of the wild. As soon as a dam is completed, it becomes a wilderness highway. It is used day and night. Across it go bears and lions. rabbits and wolves, mice and porcupines; chipmonks use it for a bridge, birds alight upon it, trout attempt to leap it and in the evening the deer cast their reflections with the willows in its quiet pond. Across it dash the pursuer and the pursued. Upon it take place battles and courtships. Often it is torn by hoof and claw. many a drama, romantic and picturesque, fierce and wild is staged upon the beaver dam. The Beaver dam gives new character to the landscape. It frequently alters the course of a stream and changes the topography. It introduces water into the scene. It nourishes new plant life. It brings new birds. It provides harbor and a home for fish throughout the changing seasons. It seizes sediment and soil from the rushing waters and it sends waters through subterranean ways to form and feed springs which give bloom to terraces below.”
p.74 Enos Mills In beaver World
Estes Park happens to be the home town of my hero, and I am from the home town of his hero. Enos Mills was the guest of John Muir here in Martinez in 1908. He well understood that an essential part of conservation work was done every night by the beaver. We would be happy to help you manage the pond in a way that takes care of your beavers.
Heidi Perryman, Ph.D. President and founder, Worth A Dam. martinezbeavers.org/wordpressMartinez, Calif.
Special thanks to Tom Gootz and the other members of the Trail and Beaver Pond committee for working with EVRPD and the contractor to attempt to find a solution, suitable to everyone, with regards to the beaver pond and dam on Fish Creek Road. It appears that the beaver will be the losers.
I better understand now that some citizens feel that the beaver cause damage to the community and should be relocated. But construction this fall, which the committee attempted to extend to next spring, is not the answer. The beaver will most likely abandon the site and be left to the plight of the winter for their future. Sad for the beaver and sad for the Estes Valley.
I was most pleased that Dr. Heidi Perryman of Martinez, Calif., read my “letter to the editor” of earlier this summer where I said, “What would Enos Mills do”? Dr. Perryman, who states that her hero is Mr. Mills, quoted from his book, “In Beaver World.” She also offered her company’s assistance (Worth A Dam) to manage the pond and take care of the beavers.
What’s the rush EVRPD? Why not contact Dr. Perryman and let the committee take another shot at helping to save the beaver? Enos Mills was a very wise man when it came to the ways of nature and man. Let’s take a moment to stop and reflect on his long ago comments that today are still very relevant to the future of our beloved Estes Park Valley.
Bill Melton Estes Park
Worth A Dam a company? Well, we do vacuum when we have the gang over to dinner to talk about beavers, that’s like “company” right? Honestly all the answers you need are on the website but if you can’t find the solution Sherri Tippie is about an hour away, so let her come show you how to protect your trails AND your beavers.
Beaver loyalist Lory Bruno has been in Tahoe this week, where our good friends from the Sierra Wildlife Coalition have spotted both a new beaver dam AND a new beaver kit! They toured the area on a sunny afternoon and I thought I’d share this. (Shhh, don’t tell our beavers they’d be SO JEALOUS!!!!!!!!)
Sierra Wildlife Coalition Visit new Tahoe Beaver Dam
In the mean time, while her sisters go to the ball, Cinderella has been slaving away sewing the new beaver flag that children will be asked to illustrate at Sunday’s Peace Day event at the Oakland Zoo. That’s right, our own FRogard Butler has volunteered to be the Besty Ross of Beavers and has created this eye catching emblem. Imagine it covered with creatures after the children get to populate it!
New Worth A Dam starter-flag by FRo
She made sure to add this mascot to give the piece heart. I can’t wait to see what it becomes.
Mom's tail
And after I sent Sherri’s epic article around yesterday Stan Pietrowski (the method behind the state of the beaver Madness-meaning a technical and announcing wonder) offered to help her put up a website and they’re talking domain names as we speak. Soon we may get to visit Sherri’s beaver relocating website, which will be cool. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with EVERYTHING printed in the Westwood article and I can understand why. I’m trying to decide whether its indiscretions were the fault of dazzled adoration or grimly unconscious sexism but it is still MOSTLY good for Sherri and good for beavers so I won’t complain.
Just show me the article that talks about Skip Lisle’s sex life and we’ll call it even.
Lookee what I got yesterday when I helped Sherri start up a facebook page! (Go friend her so she gets practice.) She wants a beautiful website like ours and is looking for some hardy souls to help her. I told her I would put out the APB, but in the meantime she could make things work with FB.This article was just published about her involvement with Estes Valley and apparently another big one is on the way.
Stan Gengler, executive director of the Estes Valley Recreation and Parks District (EVRPD), told the gathered citizens at the town board room on Friday that he wanted to hear everyone’s thoughts and concerns and that the meeting provided a great opportunity to talk about the assets of the trails and the beaver ponds. He assured worried citizens that the EVRPD doesn’t want to get rid of the beaver dam and doesn’t want the beavers to move. They are an environmental asset, he said, to applause.
“I hope we (can) come together and find the best alternative for constructing a trail, as well as for preserving the beaver habitat,” he said. “We’re not bulldozing the beaver ponds.”
Now this sounds like a community that appreciates beavers! Everyone’s suggestions were heard at the meeting, including the one to make the trail into a catwalk and the one to make the whole path cantalever!Sherri of course offered real alternatives, and I’m sure they’ll get it all figured out soon.
Tippie said that the problem with removing the dam is that engineers would have to go deep — it’s not just a matter of “taking out the sticks at the top.” That would lead to draining the pond, which is not as easy for the beavers to build back. Beavers, themselves, act as flood-control engineers, she added. They shouldn’t be relocated and have had enough harassment already, she said.
“If people don’t like beavers, they don’t know anything about them,” she said. “They are a keystone species, providing habitat for wildlife and stimulating growth of trees. This is an incredible opportunity. It can be a win/win, with a plan to make as minimal impact on the dam as possible….People are coming here to enjoy the wildlife. We have to plan around them….You have to have a soft touch, anytime you do anything with the earth. Bulldozers scare the snot out of me.”
Just a final note, when I was chatting with the filmaker yesterday about who she had talked to and who should be next, I asked about Sherri. She laughed, “Are you kidding? She was amazing, girlfriend!”.(Sherri often expresses her affection for friends by calling them “girlfriend”). I guess this impersonation was proof that they had chatted!
(I wonder how she’ll imitate me?)
You can read the whole delightful article article here.
Update from Skip: Now we’re heard from all out beaver friends post-Irene
We’re fine. Thanks. On high ground. The state got devastated though.
All of our b-dams held, absorbing enormous amounts of water, and taking the edge off below. All flow devices are fine, and many acted as debris catches, protecting culverts from clogging, and hence the roads.
Praise for beaver advocacy from Sherri Tippie is like having Picaso tell you ‘nice painting’ or Martha Stewart say she loves what you’ve done with the decorations. Okay, I’ll try not to over react, but still it’s very, very nice. Inside is a lovely article about the beaver conference (and by the way I have heard from Leonard that they have committed to a new one in 2013 and are finalizing dates) and this. Enjoy!
And if you want to read the whole thing, and support the remarkable, necessary and courageous work that sherri does and teaches others to do, sign up for her newsletter and throw something in the kitty. (Use the new address below). I promise you its worth it.
Her new address is 4905 W. Lakeridge Rd. Denver, CO 80219 303-935-4995.
