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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
