Tag: Stittsville Beavers

Shocking things defend themselves…

heidi08 Beavers July 1, 2012

Dear Ms. Perryman,

Thank you for your email and I want to assure you that I do not take the matter of the beavers lightly. I have had extensive discussions with staff with expertise in this area along with Mayor Watson on this situation.

Please find the attached notice provided to nearby homeowners of the work that was undertaken. This notice provides background information regarding the reason that the work was undertaken and the special precautions that were taken into consideration for any possible kits.

On Friday the City’s stormwater services removed the beaver lodge from the Paul Lindsay Storm Water Management facility. This removal was done by professionals to ensure no injury to any potential beavers. During this time the beaver was not present in the lodge and did not appear to have been present in the lodge for several weeks. A beaver did make an appearance in the pond during the removal operation, but quickly move off. City staff believed that the beavers observed in the pond in recent days have been travelling to the pond from other areas (likely Poole Creek) to feed on water lilies.

i appreciate your concerns for the safety of the beaver. As this area is a storm water management facility the flood control for residents must be maintained by the City and that will mean continual removal of any attempt by beaver to build a lodge in the future.

Sincerely,

Shad Qadri

There is just so much to talk about in this email I’m like one of those ticks that just walk around on you for a half hour unable to decide where to bite first. I’m thrilled they cared just dimly enough to interrupt the long weekend and write me back. I already heard from Lory that she got a similar response, so lets hope he’s having a very busy sunday. You MUST go read the entire notice, but here’s some excitement.

The City of Ottawa would like to advise homeowners surrounding the stormwater facility in Paul Lindsay Park of its plans to remove the beaver lodge from the facility within the next two weeks.After careful review and consideration, the City has concluded that the activities of beavers in the stormwater facility interfere with its functioning, creating a risk of flooding to surrounding homes and degrading water quality in the pond and receiving watercourses.

Do you understand how important this ditch is? Yes we had been offered a free flow device built by Fur Bearer Defenders but we didn’t want one of those icky things in our precious drainage ditch.

City stormwater and natural systems staff have also concluded that retrofitting of engineered stormwater facilities with “beaver deceivers” or “beaver bafflers” is neither practical nor safe, and that it would not constitute good engineering practice.

Hear that, Skip and Mike? Not good engineering practice! Solving problems is NOT what Stittsville is all about. Don’t think we’re heartless. We saw the beaver on the flag and since all that public uproar we read something about why they’re useful. But they aren’t useful in drainage ditches.

The City does not take this action lightly. The city values beavers and wetlands greatly, not only for the many ecosystem functions that they provide, but also for their contributions to biodiversity and for their own sake. Ottawa has the largest rural area of any major city in Canada. Approximately 20 per cent of Ottawa is covered by wetlands, much of which is protected as “provincially significant.”

These wetlands both support and benefit from a thriving beaver population. However, engineered stormwater facilities are not designed to function as wetlands, and they do not provide suitable habitat for beavers. Nor can wetlands and beavers provide the same level of environmental and property protections within urban and suburban environments as do properly engineered and maintained stormwater facilities.

Let’s just review for a second. We like beavers, just not these beavers. What we did wasn’t sneaky, we told 10 people first. We’ve heard of flow devices but they aren’t safe for our uniquely unique culverts which have to process WATER – unlike other culverts why those tricks might be successful. And we didn’t hurt the beavers so stop saying that

This removal was done by professionals to ensure no injury to any potential beavers. During this time the beaver was not present in the lodge and did not appear to have been present in the lodge for several weeks. A beaver did make an appearance in the pond during the removal operation, but quickly move off. City staff believed that the beavers observed in the pond in recent days have been traveling to the pond from other areas (likely Poole Creek) to feed on water lilies.

Well, that’s a relief. The removal was done by professionals! Professional ‘what’ I wonder? Professional beaver lodge removers? And what made the lodge appear uninhabited? The fact that it was so clean? Remarkable how that happens! You say a beaver showed up while the professionals were ripping out his home? Funny coincidence! Obviously no one is living in the lodge. That must be why those sticks were laid there the next day.

So let me get this straight – the city warned every single resident of the property but not the people who advocated for the beavers or actually cared about them. They never sent this release to Anita or to the Press or announced it in a city council meeting. Honestly when I read his email all I could think of was this priceless scene from Douglas Adams’ unforgettable masterpiece.

“But Mr Dent, the plans have been available in the local planning office for the last nine months.”

“Oh yes, well as soon as I heard I went straight round to see them, yesterday afternoon. You hadn’t exactly gone out of your way to call attention to them, had you? I mean, like actually telling anybody or anything.”

“But the plans were on display …”

“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”

“That’s the display department.”

“With a flashlight.”

“Ah, well the lights had probably gone.”

“So had the stairs.”

“But look, you found the notice didn’t you?”

“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying “Beware of the Leopard!”

Oh and because they care so much about beavers up there happy Canada Day from Google!

For a bit of cheer to cleanse the pallate my very cool cousin who is now working as a ranger for the Oregon State Parks just sent this picture – that’s J.R. Beaver, who is the mascot for the Jr ranger program! I’m thinking J.R. wants to come to the beaver festival!

This is the mascot of the Junior Ranger Program. J.R. helps the children through their duties and delivers information about natural resources to them. J.R. has been pretty busy in other ways, too. The Beaver has been sighted in the last year at county fairs and expos, local schools and parades. Call your local park office about the possibility of a J.R. appearance in your neck of the woods

JR Beaver Ranger — My Cousin the Ranger with J.R. Beaver of the Oregon state parks Jr Ranger program.

Stittsville Eviction

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

Let’s say, (and why not?) that you’re the mayor of a nice little suburb to the west of the nation’s capital in Canada. You are generally well liked, get free lattes and get an excellent parking place. When the note crosses your desk that there are some pesky beavers in a drainage pond you barely register as you pass it along to public works to take care of it. Then you go back about your business, ribbon cutting the new showroom or securing school lunches or what have you.

Then SHE pops up in your email. Anita Utas. One of those animal-hugging artists. On your phone. In your paper. On your evening news. “Save the beavers” she starts saying, spouting nonsense like wrapping trees and flow devices. A neighbor says “kill the beavers” and since its one against one and one of them agrees with you, killing wins out. You hire the trapper and that’s that. Then she’s back with friends. SAVE THE BEAVERS! They repeat! Louder! If this story sounds familiar, it should. You can reread about the Stittsville beavers here to refresh your memory.

Imagine the mayor’s surprise when they returned with the media and cameras!

You start getting mail from all across Ottawa, then all across canada, you even get something from some crazy town called Martinez California 2300 miles away! You get tired of answering the phone to angry people complaining about killing beavers. You do what any normal man would do under the circumstances. You’re no fool. You know better than to blow against the wind. You save the beavers.

For a while.

You show up for the photo op with the rodent. You accept the gratitude and adulation from the animal lovers. You post a sign over your office that says “move along, nothing to see here” and you write back all the letter senders and say ‘don’t worry’. Then you wait and bide your time until early summer when the kits have been born, pick a national holiday long weekend when everyone will be out of town, and send your goons in on a friday afternoon to rip out the lodge.

This is the email I received from Anita Utas yesterday:

Ottawa – Today, Friday, June 29th, around noon, about a dozen City workers descended on the beaver lodge at Paul Lindsay Park Pond, home of Lily and Lucky and possibly two kits that were born in May. City workers tore out the lodge and removed the branches. Nothing remains.

The beaver had not been blocking pond culverts or taking down any trees. Many people enjoyed seeing them at dawn and dusk, eating the overabundance of lily pads, which is their favourite food.

One lone beaver is trying to rebuild the home. It is not known whether the mother and possible kits escaped unharmed, or whether they were killed during the destruction.

She was away when it happened. Someone called her to the scene where there was no lodge, no sticks, and a struggling beaver trying to rebuild. What an outrage! For the first time it almost makes me feel sorry for public works. City officials make the heinous decisions and send the dirty-work-crew out to implement it and get all the blame. Somebody knew this was the lodge, and it was a great way to get rid of the beavers after you persuaded Anita to wrap all the trees so they couldn’t possibly build it again. Who ever passed along this order knew did it to get what they wanted, avoid bad press and save what matters – the drainage ditch.

For the sake of our younger readers I’m going to assume that everyone sleeping in that lodge leaped safely into the water when branches started moving. I’m going to reassure myself that those beavers, like most all beavers, had bank holes nearby they had scoped out previously and retreated there and are taking their time while they think over what to do next.

Then I’m going to write letters. You should to. They deserve massive public shame for this underhanded eviction which is so cowardly and cruel it almost makes Martinez look saintly by comparison. You can email mayor Watson here (jim.watson@ottawa.ca) and councillor Qadri here (shad.qadri@ottawa.ca). Really. I know you’re busy, and it’s the weekend, but take 5 minuts and do it. Beavers may be nocturnal but apparently the constant application of daylight is the only thing that saves them.

Send them my regards.

Stittsville Beavers Chose their Champion!

heidi08 Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions January 30, 2012

Remember Anita Utas of the Stittsville beavers in Ottawa, Canada? The city was determined to kill some beavers in a “drainage pond” until she and her friends got them to spare their lives – at least temporarily. A young girl in the community named the beavers Lucky and Lily and Anita kindly agreed to guest blog the story. Here it is:

Lily and Lucky – a beaver update from Ottawa, Canada

The Paul Lindsay Park pond is now frozen, and Lily and Lucky are den and water bound for the next few months. Many of us are anxiously waiting for spring so we can see how they fared over their first winter here. Due to many trees being wrapped with wire fencing, I worry they might not have stored enough for this long, cold season. Some of us brought them some piles of birch and poplar branches during the unseasonably mild November we had, and they took them all.

It has been about two months since the City of Ottawa suspended the trapping and killing of Lily and Lucky, the two beaver who took up residence last summer at the Paul Lindsay Park pond in Stittsville, a suburb of Ottawa. At the protest in front of City Hall, Mayor Jim Watson also assured the public that the Wildlife Strategy (that was languishing on the back burner since being accepted back in February, 2010) would be fast-tracked. As of today, there has been no news from the City about the status of this Wildlife Strategy. I’ll be writing to our area Councilor and the Mayor for an update, and I’ll let you know what I find out. Suspending the trapping of Lily and Lucky was a smart move on the City’s part because it stopped the letters, emails, phone calls, media coverage and petition, and many people mistakenly believed that the problem was solved. The truth is that all of the beaver in our city continue to be trapped and killed while we wait and wait for the implementation of the Wildlife Strategy.

Many urban storm water ponds are attracting wildlife, and that means beaver. Due to the drastic loss of wetlands around Ottawa, wildlife is being displaced at an alarming rate. The water in storm water ponds is not sanitary, as it includes toxic run-off from winter road salts (sodium chloride, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, and ferrocyanide salts), and even overspill from sewers when the rain is plentiful. The City of Ottawa, as a matter of course, should be installing water flow devices in storm water ponds, and wrapping trees to deter beaver from moving in. But then what? Without wetlands and without city waterways, where are the beaver supposed to live?

Come the spring, these two beaver may have kits which would mean they would require more food. And if the water levels in the pond recede, they may try to dam the culverts. This would mean that their trapping will resume. However, with the lack of trees now available, the beaver may be forced to move on. Moving on means dangerous crossing of roads, or following Poole Creek further upstream or down where they are still not welcome and will be trapped and killed as soon as their presence is detected. The only way this can end well for Lily and Lucky is if they are relocated. But due to our Ministry of Natural Resources’ rules and regulations, we can’t relocate beaver. We can’t relocate wildlife unless it’s within 15 km of where it was trapped or caught. The MNR argues that animals will only return to their place of origin if they are relocated. How convenient is that? Let’s not go to the trouble of relocating, let’s create a regulation that makes it almost impossible. Instead, let’s keep trapping and killing our city wildlife. This is hardly surprising, given that over 70% of our Ministry of Natural Resources’ revenue comes from hunting, trapping and fishing licenses.

Our City dwells in the dark ages when it comes to coexisting with wildlife. City staff still ‘shoot, shovel, and shut up’- groundhogs have been gassed in their dens, rats poisoned in Confederation Park, stray moose shot, and some beaver were once bludgeoned to death with shovels when they were found near a culvert along a suburban street. It’s brutally barbaric here for any animal that dares enter the city. But the rural areas are even worse, with last year’s Coyote Killing Contests as just one example, but don’t get me started.

With the beaver as our nation icon, you’d think that it would be afforded some respect and protection. Not so. CBC News reported that in March 2011 “the provincial government of Canada had pledged $500,000 to help remove beavers and dams from areas where water-loving animals are causing damage. The money was matched by rural municipalities.” This means a cool million to slaughter beaver. And if that isn’t enough to make your heart sink, the Globe and Mail reported that, “Canada’s Department of National Defense has placed an initial order of 1,000 beaver fur-trimmed caps at a cost of $65,000. The hats are for use by guards of honor and Canadian Forces for winter protection.”

It seems to me that Canada has declared an all out war on our beaver. And then I see articles about Sherri Tippie, the wonderful, compassionate woman in Colorado who traps and relocates beaver. And I faithfully read Heidi Perryman’s postings on her amazing Martinez Beaver website, centering around the success story of how she rallied to protect a family of beaver who had moved into Alhambra Creek in Martinez, CA. Then I feel a little better, knowing that somewhere out there, beaver are not being prosecuted but protected.

When spring arrives, if the Wildlife Strategy is not in place, and humane methods for dealing with our wildlife have not been implemented, you can bet that our protests will start up again with renewed vigor because this will mean that the City made promises that they did not keep, and that Lily and Lucky will be on death row again. Our petition reached over 1,700 signatures in just two weeks, and we can reactivate it. For many reasons it is in the City’s best interests to adopt progressive, humane solutions for coexisting with wildlife and to protect our valuable wetlands.

If you want to keep up on Lily and Lucky’s story, Anita maintains the Stittsville beaver lodge website here. Thanks Anita, and we wish your beavers and their champion all the luck!

Beaver Friend Updates

heidi08 Beaver Art, Beaver News, Beavers elsewhere, Environmental, Friends of Martinez Beavers December 1, 2011

Happy December! There are several friendly new sprouts on the horizon that I thought I’d make you aware of. The first is an update from our artist friend Anita Utas who rallied to save the beavers in Stittsville Ottawa. Seems she has decided to celebrate their impermanent victory with a beaver blog to keep an eye on the situation.

Go check out the site and sign up for updates to support her efforts. ( Oh, and while you’re there check who’s on her blogroll!) As for Anita’s courageous endeavor I can only say two things. Congratulations! Good Luck!

And “Run Simba, run! Get out now while you still can!”

Next there’s the announcement about Jo Marshall’s recently published Twig tales where Goliath beavers help save the planet from climate change. It has made a fair splash in the eco-literary community and seems to be off to a great start. I especially enjoyed this part of the review.

Leaf & the Rushing Waters spouts a timely theme: beaver dams solve flood and drought made extreme by climate change. Goliath beavers must battle a glacial outburst. Not so fantastic—one beaver dam in Alberta is twice the length of Hoover Dam, and seen from space. The President of Martinez Beavers, Dr. Heidi Perryman, explains their endorsement, “With her Twig tales, Jo Marshall has done something amazing—tie a story of epic adventure to a naturally anchored account of environmental awareness – all tailored to the fresh, engaging mind of the youngster.”

I told her I hope Disney buys the story and in two years every child in America is going to sleep with a stuffed ‘Slapper’ under one arm. You can read the whole review here, check out the other books here, or buy a copy of your own.

Next come some old friends dressed in new clothes. Lisa Owens Vianni (Formerly of SFEP and now of Golden Gate Audubon) recently found this reference to an article she wrote a few years back for Terrain magazine. It is an interview with unique recycling artist Kathryn Spence who uses ripped portions of her clothing and various fabrics to create life sized wildlife.

In an interview with Lisa Owens Viani the artist explained her love and reason for choosing owls as her subject in her work: “There’s something about owls that just fascinates me. In a way I made them because it was a way for me to have more access to them. Since they are wild birds, I wanted to leave them alone, just look at them from far away and be aware of them, but not destroy habitat or bother them. Making them is my way of reaching them—and for other people to have access to them. It’s not about having an owl; that would be awful. But it was interesting to me to think about bringing these wild things inside—through my pieces—so that people could be with them.” Kathryn pays special attention to positioning of these creatures so they appear close to “the way you see them in the wild.”

Okay, I see owls, pigeons and coyotes. Hmmm what”s missing from her creations? The artist seems delighted to reuse old things in new ways. And the cyclical nature of art, our possessions and wildlife seems very important to her. How’s this for full circle?

What if you bought a bunch of old felt hats at thrift stores, shredded them into pieces and reshaped them back into a beaver! I’m sure we could help you find inspiration if you need it.

One for the Good Guys!

heidi08 Beaver News, Beavers elsewhere, City Reports, Creative Solutions, Friends of Martinez Beavers November 11, 2011

Our beaver friends in Stittsville Ottawa just got some very good news. Seems the day they were planning a street protest (including a giant costumed beaver)of the announced beaver killing the good mayor decided that they might need to look at actual options.

OTTAWA — Beavers living in a stormwater pond in Stittsville’s Paul Lindsay Park have been given a reprieve, city officials announced Thursday.

The city has backed down on intentions to trap and kill the beavers living in the pond near Abbott Street and Shea Road. The announcement was made the same day that a protest has been planned against the plans.

“We have heard in recent days that people would like us to have a second look at how we protect the integrity of our flood control systems and we are listening and acting,” Mayor Jim Watson said in a statement released Thursday morning, hours before the planned noon-hour rally at the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights monument at the corner of Elgin and Lisgar streets.

Hooray for tenacity and compassion! Hooray for actually using the internet(s) to do research and find solutions! Hooray for the folks who’ve been occupying Paul Lindsay Park at night to make sure the city can’t bring in trappers under the cover of darkness! Hooray for wikipedia Rick who put the Martinez Beaver story on the encyclopedia and got them thinking of solutions in the first place and Hooray for Mike Callahan who gave them advice and fed the info to the right people! And Hooray for the very nice CBC documentary producer who demonstrated interest in the story and probably scared the snot out of the mayor!

Hooray also for the Mayor and the Councillor Shad Qadri who even though they weren’t ready to hop on the beaver train eventually had the good sense to get off the tracks!

This is a case where there are a couple hard working women at the forefront, including artist Anita Utas who I mentioned before and Donna Dubreuil, the co-founder and president of the Ottawa-Carlton Wildlife Center. Well done, ladies! November is a fine month for heroically saving beavers at the last possible moment!

Councillor Qadri (who couldn’t be bothered to write me back when I told him about options) just wrote and asked me to share the city’s press release (aka “call the dogs OFF!“)

Thank you for your e-mail message. The following announcement has been released today. Please pass this information on to whomever you feel would be interested.

Lindsay Pond beaver trapping halted

Ottawa – Mayor Jim Watson and Councillor Shad Qadri today announced that the City of Ottawa will accelerate the development of its Wildlife Strategy. At the same time, the City will halt trapping activity in the Lindsay Pond area.

“We have heard in recent days that people would like us to have a second look at how we protect the integrity of our flood control systems and we are listening and acting,” said Mayor Watson.

Staff has proposed that the Wildlife Strategy include a re-evaluation of the City’s beaver management practices, including a development of a risk management evaluation process for responding to conflicts between beavers and infrastructure, such as municipal drains, culverts and storm water facilities.

“I am pleased that the City Manager has been able to act on my suggestion to explore alternatives,” added Stittsville Councillor Shad Qadri. “Flood control is a critical program for my ward and I am hopeful that we can find a way to protect residents from flooding and enhance our handling of wildlife at the same time.”

While even the most progressive experts in wildlife management acknowledge that lethal trapping of beavers is sometimes necessary to protect critical infrastructure and private property, the City recognises that advances in beaver management practices and technologies provide a range of alternatives to lethal trapping. The City recognizes that many of these alternatives are also more protective of aquatic and wetland ecosystems.

Again, I understand your concerns and I thank you for the opportunity to address this issue with you.

Regards, Shad

Oh and to celebrate we saw three beavers last night munching in the annex around 7:30. I haven’t seen three together since our kits were little!