Yesterday was a pleasant mix of adults who had heard about our beavers on the news, or grown up with others on the east coast, or were just pleasantly curious about the story. The day was neither too hot nor too cold and for once large gusts of wind didn’t blow our belongings over or off the table. There were plenty of people who had enjoyed the presentation at Audubon and i was once again grateful it went as well as it did. The last presentation before the festival will be at Safari West in 2 weeks and then it’s serious buckling down for the big day.
In the mean time there’s lots to discuss, starting with this excellent article from the website “Resilience” which discusses the array of benefits rewilding can have in slowing the devastation of climate change,
The Wild Way to Rapid Transition – How Rewilding can Slow Climate Breakdown, Protect from its Worst Effects and Improve Biodiversity
Even as they fall under increasing pressure from human activity, the restoration of natural habitats like forests, is a key component of rapid transition. Not only is it a vital defence against climate breakdown, but it also protects the web of life and is beneficial for human well-being too. This ‘rewilding’ has caught the public imagination…
Charismatic animals like the Lynx, the wildcat and the wild boar are all candidates for reintroduction in the UK, but the humble beaver is currently the key species leading the way: its incredible engineering skills create a diverse range of habitats for birds, insects, fish, small mammals and plants; slowing down water flow; preventing flooding downstream; and storing water for use locally. Beavers are native to the UK but were hunted to extinction for their highly prized fur. In 1789, the last bounty was paid in Britain for a Eurasian beaver skull; today they are thriving again – some as part of highly controlled, fenced and monitored trials and some from unregulated releases.
Are you implying that beavers aren’t charismatic? Beavers? You know of course that they’re specifically described as such by numerous researchers. Besides, come on! They make infant bath towels and socks with beavers on them. Why on earth would that be true if beavers weren’t charismatic?
The beaver is native to the UK and made itself quickly at home; positive effects have been reported on water catchments and biodiversity in very short periods of time. Beavers are so good at water engineering, they have been proposed as a tool for implementing the EU Water Framework Directive.
Rewilding proves how good nature is at bouncing back to abundance, given the opportunity to thrive without human interference. This gives us hope for a future in which human populations could live in a more diverse environment, where the balance of nature helps mitigate our more destructive tendencies. Beavers had all but died out across Europe by the 18th century, but are returning successfully to manage waterways, ponds and whole water catchment areas. Most ponds used to be made by beavers, but are now man made. In the Devon Beaver Project site, one family of beavers made over 10 ponds in just three years, benefitting a huge array of dragonflies, birds and amphibians. The 10 clumps of frogspawn laid in 2011 increased to 370 clumps by 2018.
That sounds pretty impressive to me. At least the frog spawn thinks so.
The finances are important because rewilding is often predicted to be a costly effort, causing the loss of productive land for food and the death of livestock by large predators. However, for a fairly small amount of money and in the right place, big changes can happen that can offer enormous benefits downstream – literally. Research by the UK’s Environment Agency suggests returning England’s water bodies to a good ecological condition could generate benefits worth £21 billion over a 37-year period. Beavers could be part of this solution, restoring wetlands, boosting water reserves and slowing down flood water. Beaver dams also act as a filter capturing pollutants such as agricultural fertilisers.
The National Ecosystem Assessment highlighted that 30% of ecosystem services – the benefits and services nature provides society and the economy, such as clean water and flood alleviation – are in decline, and many others are impoverished compared to historical baselines. Soil degradation is estimated to be costing England and Wales £1.2 billion per year. The causes include: erosion, compaction, loss of organic matter, loss of soil biodiversity and contamination. Rewilding may be the fastest, most effective way of undoing some of this damage.
Yeah, beavers can help with that too. In between preventing flooding and species loss. And they do it all with SO much charisma! I can’t tell you!
Happy Mother’s Day to all the Grandma’s. Mom’s and about-to-be Mom’s out there. Of course we will never forget the amazing mother who started this all.
Honestly when I went down this morning I purposely decided not to bring a camera because I thought it would just be too sad, but I wish I had filmed it so you could all see how completely calm and unpanicked mom was. she just was in no condition to react, and if we had left her alone she was in such a visible part of the creek that people would have intervened and/or called animal control. This way she was completely protected by us and not at all agitated or frightened. It was almost like she knew we wouldn’t harm her, and it certainly felt right, after everything we have been through and all the mornings I have spent with mom to have her riding peacefully in my subaru. We will be out tonight to make sure the kits are feeding and happy. It was becoming clear that the family has already transitioned and the kits have been relying on the yearlings care more and more, which is just like we’d hope.
I’m very grateful for everyone’s help this morning, and grateful that mom gave us the easiest possible decision about whether, when and how to intervene. The saddest part for me is thinking about how hard she must have worked to stick around and care for those three new lives. We can all be grateful for her remarkable parenting and the 15 live births she allowed us all to enjoy.
I thought this morning of this quote from one of my favorite books ever written. It is an amazing tale of a young girl during the holocaust, fearlessly and compassionately narrated by “Death”.
Lastly; the Hubermans
Hans.
Papa
He was tall in the bed and I could see the silver through his eyelids. His soul sat up. It met me. Those kinds of souls always do – the best ones. The ones who rise up and say, “I know who you are and I am ready. Not that I want to go, of course, but I will come.” Those souls are always light because more of them have been put out. More of them have already found their way to other places. This one was set out by the breath of an accordion, the odd taste of champagne in summer, and the art of promise-keeping. He lay in my arms and rested.
Markus Zusak: The Book Thief
Come tonight if you want to see reassuring beavers and comfort your hearts. Thank you all for your caring and concern. I will make sure to update as soon as we know anything about mom’s health.
Heidi
