It’s a pleasure to be reminded that SOME organizations and stream groups like beavers, especially the California Urban Stream Partnership. which just released their newsletter yesterday. It has a fine shoutout to the Beaver Summit AND a nice reminder about urban beavers. Enjoy and sign up for their next newsletter here.
Cusp is one of the few nonprofits that INCREASED their contracts and donations during Covid and was able to renew contracts with Contra Costa County as well. They also had the wisdom to co-sponsor the California Beaver Summit.
Hmm now what about that update on urban beavers?
Urban Beaver Update
BY HEIDI PERRYMAN, WORTH A DAM
Around the country, urban beavers are gaining recognition as important aides to stream health and biodiversity in the greenbelt. As climate change worsens folks are slowly starting to take beavers more
seriously: Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District just released a major study documenting how beaver dams can reduce flooding, and research into the benefit of beaver dams to water quality in retention ponds at NC just received funding from National Sciences. Recently beaver effect on fire received its own Op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle.!
Still in California, beavers continue to be seen mostly seen as a nuisance. A recent review of depredation permits found that in 2020 found more than 170 permits were given to kill beavers in 29 counties: authorizing the take of more than 2500 beavers. While beavers in Washington can be relocated to benefit salmon or streams, California is the only one of the 11 contiguous Western states where this is never allowed (except on tribal land) Our state seems slower than most to learn why these water-saving animals matter to our landscapes.
Once upon a time Martinez was the only city known to have urban beavers – but those days are long gone. Now there are beavers living happily in Napa, Sonoma, Oakley and Fairfield. Some of them are even welcomed by neighbors and city leaders, or close to it. While depredation still happens almost reflexively in Contra Costa and Solano Counties, I like to think the 16 famous yearlings that grew up and launched “
their beaver careers from our historic downtown had something to do with their numbers increasing and their reception improving!
Around the country, urban beavers are gaining recognition as important aides to stream health and biodiversity in the greenbelt. As climate change worsens folks are slowly starting to take beavers more seriously: Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District just released a major study documenting how beaver dams can reduce flooding, and research into the benefit of beaver dams to water quality in retention ponds at UNC just received funding from National Sciences. Recently beaver effect on fire received its own Op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle! Still in California, beavers continue to be seen mostly seen as a nuisance. A recent review of depredation permits found that in 2020 found more than 170 permits were given to kill beavers in 29 counties: authorizing the take of more than 2500 beavers. While beavers in Washington can be relocated to benefit salmon or streams, California is the only one of the 11 contiguous Western states where this is never allowed (except on tribal land).
Our state seems slower than most to learn why these water-saving animals matter to our landscapes. To challenge this, Sonoma State undertook the first ever “California Beaver Summit” this year, showcasing benefit beaver can have to salmon, streams, amphibians, birds and fire resilience. The virtual event drew more than 1000 registrants, a quarter of them state employees who wanted to learn more about their ecosystem services, in addition to interested registrants from 23 states and four countries. Keynote Speakers included the acclaimed Michael Pollock of NOAA Fisheries (known for his pivotal work on the relationship between beavers and salmon habitat) Joe Wheaton of Utah State (Napa reared fluvial geomorphologist known for process based stream restoration) and researcher Emily Fairfax of CSU Channel Islands (who’s work effect on fire prevention made National Geographic last year).
A focus on beaver benefits was punctuated with practical strategies for coexistence – the how and why of living with beavers – from Massachusetts expert Mike Callahan of the Beaver Institute, and Kevin Swift of Swiftwater Design. With fast-paced and wide ranging presentations by experts from CDFW, BLM, USFS and NMFS in two dynamic half day sessions, the summit made quite an impression on attendees.
Inspired by a similar event held in New Mexico earlier in the year, the California Beaver Summit stimulated another event to be held in Colorado in October. Hopefully as the beaver message makes its way across the states these kind of events will become more and more common. Improving water quality, restoring fish habitat, removing nitrogen and reducing the damage of flooding and drought, beavers continue to offer more than they ‘cost’ in terms of management. Since the tools of living with beaver are well understood, and the benefits of allowing them to occupy our urban creeks becoming more familiar, it is high time California “Makes way for beaver”!
Lovely to see beavers on the radar of urban stream folks. Hopefully this will get more, not less common, as events and groups like these continue their good work. Thanks Riley for making Cusp come to fruition and thanks beavers for reminding us that urban creeks are part of our neighborhoods.
