Tag: Stittsville Beavers

Sawdust everywhere…

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Who's Killing Beavers Now? November 1, 2012

Well something like beaver-scat appears to be hitting the proverbial fan. I got a call yesterday from Donna Dubreuille of Ottawa-Carlton wildlife centre in Canada who said she had just issued a press release about the shadowy fate of Lily and her two kits, the beavers living in Paul Lindsay pond in Stittsville, just outside of Ottawa. You will remember that they were slated to be killed, then saved by very heroic and loud protests for a summer, only to find their lodge ripped out by city staff on the national holiday weekend. Staff later assured local advocates that there were no beavers living there, and no beavers using that lodge, and the media was mostly convinced until Anita posted footage of the most adorable (and tiny) beaver kits that I have ever seen, and then photographed them nursing during the day with mom under a bush because they had no shelter.

You might remember that the mayor agreed to form a wildlife task force to find new ways of dealing with animals in the city and Donna and others were invited to be involved. Meanwhile myself and Mike Callahan exchanged countless emails with staff about flow devices and how they could work in storm water ponds. The city even hired flow device founding father Michel Leclare to build some much-proclaimed flow devices in experimental places where it turned out no beavers were actually living.

All of which is to say that the strategy of Ottawa under the leadership of Mayor Watson is a bifurcated path of transparency and deceit, where they ostentatiously appear to be doing the right thing, and the simultaneously continue merrily on their destructive course doing what they wanted all along. Apparently they have changed their weighty motto from Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (loyal, she remains) to the more stream-lined Mirus Illuc! (“Look! Over there!”).

Well, it’s not working too well with the locals. Donna and her wildlife counterparts resigned from the ‘pretend wildlife council’ and released a press release yesterday about the video passed off to Anita as the release of Lily and her kits.

Wildlife group accuses Ottawa of releasing fake beaver video

Not since accusations that the moon landing was faked has a video caused such controversy.

A local wildlife group accused the city Wednesday of duping them with footage said to show the relocation and release of three beavers that became the cause celebre of a Stittsville community this summer.

“We’re saying this video proves nothing, but raises more concerns about what happened to the beavers,” said Donna DuBreuil, President of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre, of footage released by the city to the group in early October. “This is not a video of an adult and a kit. These are not the Paul Lindsay Park beavers.”

So what did Mayor Watson & the City of Ottawa do with Lily theBeaver & Her Babies? November 1, 2012

CFN -Community members and wildlife organizations that opposed the relocation of a family of beavers, Lily and her two kits, from a Stittsville stormwater pond by the city of Ottawa in early September are up in arms.

Although Mayor Jim Watson and Deputy City Manager, Steve Kanellakos, attempted to portray the relocation at the time as a good thing for the beavers, no members of the media or the public were allowed to witness it.

Now, after much pressure, the city finally released a video last week that was supposed to reassure residents that the beavers had actually been released. Instead, it has fuelled concern and cynicism that the beavers may have in fact met a very different end.

The city’s video is purported to show the mother beaver with one of her kits in the water following release, indicating the other kit had dived under water.

OTTAWA BEAVER UPDATE

Is it a lie?

In a press release issued today community members who have championed the protection of a beaver family in the Stittsville (Ottawa, Ontario) region are condemning the government for what they perceive to be a deliberate attempt to hide the truth. The story is now gaining international attention as a popular California advocacy group has joined the ranks against the local government in Ottawa.

This scathing release comes only weeks after multiple conservation, wildlife and environmental groups walked away from the table with city planners when it was made clear – through inaction – that the groups were merely table settings and not part of the discussion.

Below is the release issued, along with links to the videos which purportedly show the beavers finding their new home.

Mind you all of these reports mention the ‘wildlife group from California” and the video they released arguing that beavers couldn’t possibly grown so big in such a short time. Gulp. One thing’s for sure, the city’s beaver smarts are definately not Worth A Dam.

I’m thinking it hath made a few people mad. I guess it’s safe to say I’m not going to receive an invitation from the mayor to visit Ottawa any time soon.

For our friends in Stittsville

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, Creative Solutions, Educational, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Who's Killing Beavers Now? October 21, 2012

“There were no beavers in that lodge“

There were beavers filmed the next night

“No beavers were harmed when we destroyed the lodge”

The male was not seen again

“We are sure there were no kits in that lodge”

There were two very small kits, now with no protection.

“Beavers will destroy the the trees”

Volunteers wrapped the trees.

“Flow devices can’t work in storm water ponds”

Beaver Solutions sent photos of flow devices in storm water ponds

“These beavers must be relocated…there’s no alternative, no not to that sanctuary you want, and not by Sherri Tippie…we picked someone better…much better…don’t worry about it being winter…everything will be alright…just close your eyes…don’t peek…are you peeking?….now…magic…..beavers are fine! See?”

Mind you, I don’t trot out Hamlet for just anyone. This is really, really upsetting. If you want to read something nice to get rid of that gripping pain in your chest, try this. It’s the update of our friends at the Sierra Wildlife Coalition, and it will take the sting away. For those of you following along at home, remember, they started out with some lying governmental beaver-killers and a failed effort to protect a colony, producing a response that eventually grew into this!

Which begs the question for Mayor Watson, do you really want to make Ottawa mad?

By the pricking of my thumbs…

heidi08 Beavers August 1, 2012

When shall we three meet again?

In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

: Three Otters – Photo Cheryl Reynolds

Is it me or does this craggy photo automatically conjure up the weird sisters from Macbeth? I guess its hard work being an otter, but they usually never look tired. There were six similarly-sized otters in our creek that day. They obviously were there to enjoy the new mysterious fish run…Something delicious this way comes, indeed.

More press for Anita and her band of merry protestors. They apparently made the evening news and local rag (24 hours Ottawa)

Do You Give A Dam?

Off today to the home of John Muir to teach 30 Mountain Day Campers about beavers! I’m planning to mention his very good friend who wrote a very famous book about you know what. Wish us luck!

Late-Breaking Beaver News….

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Educational, Environmental, Festival, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Who's Killing Beavers Now? July 26, 2012

Beavers saved by mayor now homeless thanks to city, says community

Neighbours Daniel Burns, Anita Utas and Anne Sturgeon spoke out for the mother beaver and her kits. They said the city needs to think up better ways to handle animals in a new Wildlife Strategy.

Lucky the beaver is missing and presumed dead by Stittsville residents who are looking to the city for a new Wildlife Strategy after workers destroyed a lodge he and his partner made for their two kits.

“I find it very odd that Lucky has disappeared,” said Anita Utas who lives near the storm water pond in a Stittsville suburb where the beavers make their home. “They are monogamous and the adults stay with the kits for two years.”

The beavers named Lucky and Lily have two five-week old kits and became a cause celebre in late 2011 when Mayor Jim Watson said the animals would not be trapped and killed as per city policy.

Well the media has finally come lumbering onto the scene, almost a week after the city ripped out the protection of 4 beavers who reportedly weren’t there at all. The Mayor keeps writing me back as if he were reasonable and interested in actual information, but I know he is making this decision with as much thought as you put into having your knee move when the Dr. taps it with that rubber mallet. Maybe less.

“You can’t come down this path with out finding someone who cares about the beaver,” said Anne Sturgeon, who lives near the site. “I don’t think it’s right they destroyed the home of a Canadian icon on Canada Day weekend.”

Nice! I’m glad to see Anita has some companions in this campaign, its hard work worrying about beavers when a city is determined to pretend they don’t matter. Anita is a beautiful artist who donated a lovely encaustic painting of a beaver to the silent auction, a painstaking process in which

Encaustic painting, also known as hot wax painting, involves using heated beeswax to which colored pigments are added.

See? Anita paints with hot wax. That must mean managing crazy lying city council members is child’s play to her. Keep up the good work Anita!

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In other news, I did an interview with Glynnis Hood Sunday who resurfaced after her relaxing sebattical and it will air on Sunday. It’s a great story and a behind the scenes look at her new book which we’ll also be offering at the festival. We were approached by the National Humane Society of the US who said that Stephanie Boyles sent them our way and they wondered if they could use photos from the website! Janet Snyder wondered if all these images of beavers were from free, wild beavers since they were so close? Ha. Yes, indeed, I told her. I’ll let you know what they chose. And if you’re interested in browsing more about next weekend’s festival, check this out! Didn’t Amelia Hunter do an amazing job? Maybe you’ll consider hiring her for your next graphic job!

Oh and speaking of amazing artists have you seen this? By our own FROgard Butler, who, as usual, will be helping children do amazing art at the festival,? Guess what her middle name is?

Little Ones

heidi08 Beavers, Beavers elsewhere, kits July 23, 2012

Brace yourself. This story will make your stomach lurch, your eyes well and your fists clench. Remember the Stittsville beavers that had the misfortune to settle in a storm pond in a suburb outside Ottawa? The city wanted them dead and then Anita Utas got some friends and made some fuss and got them to back down. The Mayor even posed with the giant stuffed beaver they had at a protest. The media went away, Anita got to keep her beavers, and everyone was happy.

Then last month, without notifying anyone who actually cared, the city sent in some ‘experts’ to rip out the lodge during the national holiday long weekend. They said it would ‘discourage the beavers from living there’. They swore there were no kits and all the beavers all got away safely. They said we know beavers do good things some places but not in storm ponds and flow devices can’t possibly work here, so we have to move them out.

So here’s what Anita filmed (press release here) in the pond where there are no kits and the beavers would move along.

For those of you who’ve never seen our beaver kits, believe me when I say these are tiny. When kits are born they are so fat and floaty that they are great swimmers, but they can’t dive without adult assistance. That works like a kind of natural childcare because they can’t get OUT of the lodge (or back into the lodge) unless an older beaver helps them through the plunge hole.

But thanks to the mayor the Stittsville beavers have no lodge. So they are out out way before they’re ready. And worse than this, they have no safe place to sleep in the day, and Anita took this photo of mom beaver sleeping with her kits off the path in the bushes. Dad hasn’t been seen since the destruction, and maybe he’s alive and looking for new territory to move the family to, but with the drought in the region there aren’t many ideal waterways nearby.

Mind you this isn’t out in some clearing in the middle of a forest. This is outside some townhouses in a subdivision and people walk their dogs on the trail every day. These beavers need triage, stat. You can’t relocate them yet because the male may come back. Mom can’t build a new lodge even if you hadn’t made everyone wrap the trees because she’s BUSY full time at the moment. And the kits are way, way, way too young to be of any help whatsoever.

What they need is a prefab lodge to make up for the destroyed home, that can keep them safe, give them some protection from dogs, (and keep dogs safe from them) and let the kits get bigger while you wait and see if Dad makes it back. If you MUST relocate, in about a month bring in Sherri Tippie and move the family to safer ground, and then sit down with Anita Utas and Donna Dubreuil and work out a plan to never…ever…ever do this again as a city. Send your protests and persuasions here: Jim.Watson@ottawa.ca; shad.qadri@ottawa.ca;Nick.Stow@ottawa.ca

And mean it!

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Now if you need a better kit story to get that Stittsville taste out of your mouth, you might read this where some 4-H moms and their kids rescued a couple orphaned beavers

Orphaned beavers rescued

KEESEVILLE — Kerri Lamarche heard something strange one evening when she took her children to play at a small pond near their house.

“It sounded like a newborn baby crying,” she said. It turned out to be to be two beaver kits.

NOT EVERY DAY’

The children won’t soon forget the experience. “It was fun,” Kylie said. “It’s not every day you get to save a beaver,” Kylie said.

“I have something to remember it for,” Tanner said. He brought the small log that one of the beavers had chewed on to school to show his class.

Tanner loves animals and seems to have a knack for caring for animals other than beavers, too. He won first place in novice showmanship at the Clinton County Fair for his handling of the Lamarches’ Silky chicken Fuzzy.

Kerri and Samantha lead their children’s 4-H Club, Keeseville Cozy Creatures, and on Aug. 17, the seven-member group will make a trip to the refuge center and present it with a donation they are now collecting.

“They’ve got their whole group interested in these beavers,” Kerri said.