I’m going to be honest with you. I’m a terrible beaver reporter. And the years on the beaver beat have clearly made me lose what’s left of my mind. I admit it. Yesterday I wrote like a fool about not knowing Rob Walton and I didn’t follow my own CARDINAL rule. Which is to always use the search bar on the right hand top of the page to see if I ever mentioned him before.
(That search bar is the MOST important thing on this website. Various click bait will come and go, Lassie and self promotion and ideas that seemed irresistible at the time, but the search bar should ALWAYS be there. And it should ALWAYS be used. By me at least. Before I say I never heard about something.)
Here’s the headline I wrote about Rob on June 27th, 2019. To be fair. It was the day before the beaver festival. My circuits were a little – shall we say – occupied.
BEST BEAVER ARTICLE OF 2019
There now. With the fun stuff out of the way we have some serious work to do. In the form of appreciating the excellent, fantastic, wonderful article by retired NOAA expert Rob Walton. Who is going to write this article for California next? It MUST happen soon.
His opinion piece was called “The Beaver Conundrum“? Ringing any bells. Oh yeah I thought so.
Oregon’s law and policies allow private landowners, licensed trappers and pest-control companies to kill beavers. Only some of these activities are reported. The result is that there isn’t a reliable record of how many beavers are killed each year here in the Beaver State, and there isn’t an effective way to protect beavers, even when they are busy providing a low-cost, effective way to restore critical habitat for salmon and other protected species.
Be still my heart. This is everything I’ve been shouting for the last 5 years we’ve been reviewing dastardly depredation permits. It’s so comforting to read someone else write this about Oregon. I can’t believe it has taken this long.
A better approach is possible – one that allows and encourages beavers to help recover salmon runs, increase biodiversity and create more groundwater recharge and storage – while protecting private property.
When beaver-human conflicts do happen, it’s important that landowners – large and small, public and private – agencies and water and wildlife advocates work together to address and resolve these conflicts.
My experience suggests that Oregon’s Legislature and agencies have not been able to deal with this politically charged issue. But through a collaborative beaver management approach, we can protect and manage private property, allow beavers to help improve salmon and bird habitat quality, and allow legal, regulated trapping.
Here are steps that Oregon can take to address the state’s beaver conundrum:
· The Legislature should mandate that state fish and wildlife, agriculture, forestry, environmental quality and water resources agencies develop a beaver management plan, as Utah has. Oregon Consensus or Oregon Solutions could help bring interest groups on board.
· Develop an effective network of nonprofit and for-profit companies, tribes and local, state and federal agency staff trained in non-lethal solutions that can respond to complaints. This approach has a proven track record elsewhere, such as with Massachusetts-based Beaver Solutions and Seattle-based Beavers Northwest.
· Implement a statewide public relations and education effort to provide information about the benefits provided by Oregon’s state animal and how to responsibly address conflicts.
These low-cost steps could help us restore the high regard we have for that golden emblem on our flag.
So you see, of all the articles to ever forget, this is the very worst possible one. Rob wrote an op-ed saying exactly what I’ve been saying for years, only in a smarter, more convincing way. And I was as adoring of his wisdom as I have ever been about anything, Ever.
But the next day was the Beaver Festival. And pulling off an event like that is like taking your socks off over your head while being run over by a train. Twice. I’m not surprised I didn’t remember.
But I am very ashamed didn’t SEARCH.
Before I let you down again I thought you’d like to see a little news from the January 1st Telegraph.
Reintroduction of beavers could protect land against floods and climate change
The reintroduction of beavers into Britain’ streams and rivers could help protect land and communities from flooding and the impact of climate change, trials have shown.
Dams built by the creature, which died out 300 years ago through culling and hunting for pelts before being reintroduced in key areas over the past decade, are found to significantly slow the flow of water downstream and reduce peak flows after heavy rain.
This has the effect of protecting nearby land from flooding as well as retaining water in streams during droughts.
Research carried out during the five year trial on the River Otter, in Devon, has also found that the beavers’ dams prevent sediment and inorganic fertilisers being washed from farmland, causing plant life to flourish and boosting other types of wildlife.
Professor Richard Brazier, from the University of Exeter, said: “It’s an amazing story, it’s far more change than we expected.”
Ahh now that’s the way to start the new year! Go get another cup of coffee and come back and read the whole thing. It will make your spirit light and your step jaunty.
