Do you remember wayyyyyyy back in the seminal November meeting when we all gathered at the High School Performance Art building to make the wacky suggestion that Martinez keep its beavers? We had to march down to the microphone when our name was called and there was this slight dark young man who was actually filming the whole thing and checked the mic from time to time? That was Don Bernier, a documentary filmaker who had already started a project about Urban Wildlife, and won an award from HSUS in the process. Don just heard about the beavers on the news, and wanted to see if the story belonged in his larger project. It turned out that beavers would dominate his project, and he was in Martinez filming everything from the beaver festival to the very first meeting of Worth A Dam. He even had two friends filming the night of the April meeting when Mary Tappe wandered down the aisles with her white cardboard beaver displays.

Well, he’s in the stage of the project where you go around and tell people how cool it is and hope you get a buyer. He sent me a copy of the trailer a while back, but its finally online for you to see. Check out how charming Martinez looks on the big screen! This first interview was filmed in my living room, complete with those umbrella things that refract light and a wired microphone through my shirt. At the time it was a very unusual experience. Hmm.

TRAILER: The Concrete Jungle from Don Bernier on Vimeo.

I am reminded again what a long, successful story the Martinez Beaver Tail is, and how many, many voices it contains. Enjoy!

Day 1 of the flyway festival was amazing in almost every way, with fantastic connections between beavers, birds, salmon, and natural history. If you can’t remember what birds and beavers have in common look here. Details of the day will follow, but I thought I’d get you in the mood with some adorable footage of mom and dad trying to keep the young’ins in the lodge.

I started the day off with a note from Leonard Houston of the State of the Beaver Conference. He said the event was an incredible success, and thought that it seemed a good idea to announce our next beaver festival to everyone in the room! Which he did.

“Why Beavers Are Worth A Dam” Sunday at 1:30. Wish me luck!

Sample children’s creations for banner/quilt project

Join us for the flyway festival and understand what it means to be lifted by the winds.

Becky, get me gun I’m gaun’ to war!

Wow. Just wow.

I knew Pennsylvania was light years behind nearly every other state in beaver management, but I’ve never realized just how shockingly misinformed they were until today. Check out this article from New Castle News. Apparently beavers are blocking a culvert in Lawrence County and threatening the bike path there. The Conservation District of course has decided that the only solution is the final solution, and they’re bringing in a crack wildlife management team to solve the problem.

The oh-so subtly named, Crit R Done, was called. Wes Osborne was swiftly on the case. Seems Wes recently achieved fame when he trapped an alligator that was troubling firefighters in a burning building. imagine the footage! Fire! Gators! Chaos! Snakes on a Plane! The alligator was later blamed for starting the fire. (Smoking in bed?) But hero Wes was on hand to duct-tape its mouth and take it away. After admirable behavior like that, where else could anyone turn to solve wildlife problems?

Wes is the expert, so let’s see what he has to say about the soggy trail situation

Osborne’s intent is to trap the four ’soldier’ or worker beavers during the current trapping season that ends March 31. Then the rest of the colony ’ the grandfather, mother and young ’ will be moved to another watershed, with the help of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, she said.

Soldier beavers? Soldier beavers? Are you kidding me? Soldier beavers?  Look, Wes, I know your primary income is from termite control but these aren’t ANTS we’re talking about here. There aren’t warring colonies waiting just around the riverbend to throw mudballs at eachother that they then fight off with their clever dam structures. Soldier beavers? There are no soldier beavers. There are no worker beavers. There are only beavers. I’m reminded of a certain Carl Sandburg poem.

And Grandfather beavers? Honestly? Are you six? Where on earth could you possibly have acquired that notion if it wasn’t a saturday morning cartoon? Listen up, Wes. There are no “grandparent” beavers living in the colony with funny inter-generational sitcom dialogue being spoken in the lodge. “Eh! In my day we could fell twice that many trees!” Mature yearlings leave the colony to seek their own fortune, and the parents who no doubt become grandparents of sorts one day, stay behind.

Beaver behavior isn’t a mystery, (although I suppose if all you see of them is their broken neck in a snare it would be difficult to learn about). The idea that any public or private money would be paid to you so that you can continue to spread such spurious misinformation is horrific to me, and should be shocking to you. Every single person who has every gleaned any beaver fact EVER in the history of the world should write the conservancy and tell them so.

I did.

UPDATE:

Hmmm…the reporter wrote me back and is working on a follow-up for this story. Seems Mr. Osborne was upset by the misinformation in the article and swears he never talked about soldier beavers, and this is entirely the introduction of the conservancy. Oh so many people need to have letters from you today!

There is only one horse on the earth
and his name is All horses.
There is only one bird in the air
and his name is All Wings.
There is only one fish in the sea
and his name is All Fins.
There is only one man in the world
and his name is All Men.
There is only one woman in the world
and her name is All Women.
There is only one child in the world
and the child’s name is All Children.
There is only one Maker in the world
and His children cover the earth
and they are named All God’s Children.

Carl Sandburg, Windsong 1960

Well that’s a rare treat. I enjoyed Maine reporter Sue Pike’s recent article about the enjoyable aspects of living with beavers.Here’s a tidbit, but go read the whole thing.

While it can certainly be annoying to have beavers living in your neighborhood, just think of what wonderful creatures they are. They can cut down entire trees in minutes. They lop off the branches and sit, turning them in their front paws, gnawing off the nutritious bark as we do corn on the cob. They haul the branches under water to stash in a streambed for winter-time snacks. They build well-designed lodges that are safe from most predators, well ventilated, and warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Their dams are built to match stream conditions: slow-moving streams call for straight dams, while fast-moving streams require curvature to the dam to help dissipate the force of the water. Because dams are frequently built from wetland trees like willow, birch and poplar, the branches used to build them can take root under water and grow into hedges; this makes the dam that much stronger and provides habitat for nesting birds and insects.

I thought she needed a beaver-benefit-boost so wrote her with more facts and research. Did she know that beavers were a keystone species? And were credited for making essential habitat for juvenile salmonids? I sent her Michael Pollock’s article just so she’d know I wasn’t making things up. To my delight she wrote back very interested. Turns out she enjoys beavers. She said the article had generated enormous response, but all beaver-bemoaning. She was very interested in the relationship between beavers and salmon. She wondered if there was corresponding research for East Coast fish. She wanted to know more about beaver reintroduction around the country to combat the drought effects of climate change. She said she wasn’t given much time for research, and she would value whatever information I could send her way.

Ahhh, step into my parlor said the spider to the fly! Have I got information for you! I sent her questions to Michael Pollock asking about east coast literature. Also to the Fish & game friend of Brock Dolman working with him on a literature review of the issue.I sent her the video from the washington project, and the utah project, and introduced her to the document lodge at the Lands Council. I added Mike’s announcement for good measure.

I feel fairly certain that our interests have the potential to be represented in Maine. How cool is that?

How reassuring to know that both Carolinas are using our taxpayer dollars to eliminate a keystone species. Remember the outrage feigned by officials when Senator McCain scoffed about money going to beaver management in North Carolina? Well now South Carolina is ready to undertake what they’re calling a “million dollar beaver project”. (Looks like Martinez isn’t the only one who knows how to waste tax-payer dollars and blame beavers!)

Apparently Columbia has some sewer pipe line problems. Like most cities who have been around for 200+ years, their old system can’t keep up with the demand. They cleverly asked for stimulus money to foot the bill. Then their (argentina-lovin’) governor, came rushing back from the ‘Appalachian Trail’ and insisted his state would have none of it. The issue went to the state supreme court where they ruled that it was the responsibility of the governor of a state in crisis to accept the life preserver and help its citizens. He actually bemoaned the finding saying “This decision is terrible news for every taxpayer in South Carolina”. Then he got distracted by other pressing concerns.

So it turns out one of the projects slated to get that money was the Crane Creek Outfall Project, which was a line that needed replacing to the tune of 400,000 dollars. After the ruling in June, the project was supposed to get underway. In January the city suffered a disruptive (?) 3.18 inches of rain over 31 days causing the sewer line problems to become more acute.I guess if your used to yearly droughts you can forget that water sometimes comes from the sky.

However workers explained that repair on crane creek was delayed because City officials have been trying to replace the section of pipe for some time, but crews have been unable to reach it because of flooding caused by beavers along the creek, said John Dooley, the city’s director of utilities and engineering.January 26, 2010

Ahh! At last a villian we can all relate too! Blame the Rodent! Never mind that the money for the project itself was strangled by a governor whom we now know told his wife he wouldn’t promise to be faithful in his marital vows, at least we have some beavers to shoulder the guilt. Apparently the city liked the excuse so much that 6 days later they announced they had upgraded to the full package.

Because decisions like this deserve public mockery.

Tomorrow begins the “State of the Beaver Conference” in Oregon. I am beyond jealous of the great minds who will gather to talk about the valued relationship between beaver and salmon. Tomorrow at noon will be the Umpqua tribal welcome and conference overview. Then the entire event launched with John Hadidian of HSUS talking about Urban Wildlife. John is the author of “wild neighbors“, a friend of the Martinez Beavers, both our familiar flow-device installers, and generously sent me an autographed copy of his book when I initially wrote him in a panic two years ago. I am eager to have long conversations with him about my idea for a beaver management internship through AmeriCorp that would train half time with both Mike and Skip, taking care of beavers for generations to come. Next is a discussion of the beaver in Europe by Duncan Halley, who it says has a PhD in zoology and a BA in psychology. Coincidence? I think not!

But the star of tomorrow’s opening day will be Michael Pollock of NOAA Northwestern Fisheries talking about the relationship between beavers and salmon. Michael was the reason I was most willing to drive 8 hours to get to the seven feathers casino, and I was delighted when our wikipedia friend nudged him into contacting me. He said that he had family in the area and would be willing to come down at any juncture to give a talk or education program for us. He also said (and this sealed his popularity in my heart forever) that he was once a member of his city council and knew first hand how remarkably pompous and foolish their discussions and decisions could be. Be still my heart! He speaks at 2:45 and I’m guessing will be the recipient of many avid listeners.

Sigh, its no use. I better confess it now. I’m a beaver groupie.

It’s just as well I’m not there. I’d be in the audience with my cigarette lighter raised the whole time. Don’t even get me started talking about Mary O’Brien’s presentation Friday morning. I can’t possibly swoon this early in the morning…

I am very grateful to whatever thoughtful videographer placed this on youtube. It is footage of a beaver swimming from a viewing platform underwater at the Lincoln Park Zoo. (Apparently they can tolerate trapped beavers, just not free ones.) You see, there’s been some controversy about how beaver feet move underwater. Some artists show them moving together, like a kangaroo, instead of alternating, like we walk. See for yourself:

Case closed. Thanks “bairdfam“.

Look who was visiting the primary dam this morning! Fishing all around the tangled flow device with his greedy appetite. It’s been a good long while since I have seen cormorants that high up in the creek. I remember the eager one when staff first lowered the dam a million (pre-flowdevice) years ago. He came right in the middle of the crowd of workers, determined to be the only mouth at the damside when all those fish were pushed to the drain.

This morning was a foggy, peaceful, and beaver-less visit. I don’t know if I was too early or too late to catch the show, but several people assured me they had been there in the dark. I strolled down to check out the woodduck boxes, and stopped to listen for frogs. The third dam is looking fairly repaired, although the fourth is entirely gone. The damlet and canal were in stark relief because of the nicely low tide. There were plenty of cooperative beaver footprints in view.

Yesterday Jon tried something new to protect the chewed trees at the primary dam. Sand-painting. It has been recommended that painting the trunks with sand discourages beaver nibbling as they dislike the gritty texture. The paint is non-toxic and won’t harm them even if they persevere. We’ll see what happens. He had wire-wrapped them after the new year’s feeding frenzy but the wire disappeared,(whether by overly fastidious staff or beaver-defenders of grand compassion we couldn’t say). The sand isn’t likely to go anywhere, and as the color is matched to the trunk it shouldn’t be a problem for the city.

The year’s at the spring,
And day’s at the morn;
Morning’s at seven;
The hill-side’s dew-pearl’d;
The lark’s on the wing;
The snail’s on the thorn;
God’s in His heaven—
All’s right with the world!

Robert Browning: Pippa Passes