Heidi Perryman

The red sky at morning is from the day of the storm…like the old rhyme “red sky at warning, sailors take warning” only in this case more like…beavers take warning. Apparently they got the message because this morning there were major repairs to the primary dam and only a little corner left unpatched. The secondary dam was clearly not a priority. There was lots of beaver activity, cheerful and reminiscent of summer days where you could stand alone on the bridge and watch the kits in all their furry glory.

I’ve been thinking about those early days when they were just “beavers” (and not a campaign to save beavers) When they magically felt like they belonged to the viewer alone at that moment. The sense of ownership by each individual who encountered them in their daily lives was remarkable and actually instrumental in their rescue. People felt like “they” understood “their” beavers and told the story to enough people enough times that it got listened to. This feeling so powerfully reflects the wish that we all have to discover and touch wonder, to have some control over this wild world where we find ourselves struggling. Still, the ownership myth is just a myth, and I’m talking to myself here most of all.

Our beavers are “their own” beavers. They make choices independent of us and don’t take our needs into account. They are kind of like teenagers who are always our responsibility but never really under our control. If all goes the way we hope they will become “just beavers again”, and viewers can go back to that private wonder where we watch the world make a little more sense. This morning I watched several beavers paddle around the water, snuffling treats and checking the dam. It made sense to me.

The dam will probably need some repair after this weekends heavy rain.

Photo: Cheryl Reynolds

Gary Bogue has details of yet another sewage spill into the bay from Marin. The relevant public officials in Marin County have some explaining to do…

This morning’s visit to to pond showed the rain had raised the water level and slightly damaged the park side of the secondary dam, but was just flowing nicely over the top of the main dam. A quick glimpse of a beaver swish in the water, and everything looked right with the world. There are rumors of a giant beaver costume going to make its appearance on main street, I’ll keep you posted when I know more details, but I’m hoping the appearance will make it into the documentary! Made me think of a massive pied-piper type parade where droves of chanting school children follow the giant beaver and maybe the high school marching band plays the Beavers fight song. (Clearly the campaign has gone on too long…)

On a more studious note, beaver-loyalist Linda tracked down this brief article from the Audubon Magazine issue July-August 2007. Apparently a young male beaver made an unexpected appearance at the Bronx Zoo’s millpond. The article, by Ted O’Callahan states:

“The beaver is nicknamed Jose after US representative Jose Serrano who secured 15 million in federal funding for restoration of the formerly garbage-clogged waterway…Here is nature doing what we couldn’t even imagine, says Eric Sanderson, an ecologist with the wildlife conservation society that overseas the Bronx zoo. The rebounding Bronx river is now home to 45 species of fish and serves as a migratory corridor for birds.”

Catch that? Mo’ better fish with beavers, which is what Igor Skaredoff reported at last Tuesdays meeting after attending the beaver conference in Oregon. It has been shown that the standing crop of “plankton” in beaver ponds is 5 times larger than in the unaltered flowing stream. This means that fish life is denser and more varied…which means that the things that eat the fish life are denser and more varied too. Nice find, Linda. Let’s all get our bird books and start the count of what our beavers have added to the corridor. Here’s the picture that ran with the article…

This paper written for the USDA is a very useful look at the biology and management of the beaver. It was written by Steve Boyle and Stephanie Owens, Mr Boyle was kind enough to respond to my email asking about successful urban maintenance of beavers.

He directed me towards Telluride Colorado where the city’s geological “bowl like” structure means that the creeks collect massive rainfall in a hurry and raise concerns of flooding for weathy property owners. (Sound familiar?) He illustrated the management plan that Telluride uses for beavers and other wildlife which you may want to check out. A great resource that is not so far away from our backyard.

Julian Frazer

Wednesday morning I stopped by the beaver site. A group of children with their teachers were there, excited about the beavers. They came as part of a school field trip, riding the train from Sacramento. They seemed to know something about beavers as they were sharing a snack of apples hoping to entice the beavers to show themselves. It was nice to see the little park at the train station bridge filled will children.

Cheryl Reynolds
2.21.08
7-7:30 AM

It was quite and exciting morning at the beaver dam. It was a flurry of activity by the whole group, five to be exact. There was no mistake this time. The smaller beaver that I’ve always believed to be the loner was helping mom plug the holes.Jon was watching four beavers as I arrived and he ran down to the footbridge to see the last beaver as he came up from his evening rounds at the lower creek.

Back and forth they went bringing mud and cattails to the dam. Mom even came up with a plastic cup in her hands to add to the pile. Well, you know the saying, ‘One mans garbage is another mans treasure’. Maybe she was having her own clean the creek day.Just as the last beaver went in for the day at 7:30 ,in come the flotilla of Scaup to having their morning mussel feed in front of the lodge. What a great way to start the day.

On tuesday the SF chapter of the Sierra Club released a letter to the City Council indicating their support for leaving the beavers where they are and allowing them to continue their natural habitat restoration work. Wildlife chair, Terry Preston, had been to the site and interviewed residents, and made a recommendation for the chapter to adopt language supporting them.

The letter opens with, “The Sierra Club strongly opposes any attempts to relocate or euthanize the beavers that have colonized the downtown area of Alhambra Creek, as well as any attempts to irrepairably harm their lodge, dam or surrounding habitats” Now that’s a nice way to start a letter. They were in part motivated by the fine work of Gary Bogue in his coverage of the beavers, and his support for wildlife in general.

The letter ends with offers of help if the city should need information or consultation to access appropriate strategies. Finally it emphasizes how the dam provides a excellent opportunity to educate children and adults on the importance of habitat and ecology. The letter was mentioned by councilwoman Delaney at tuesday nights meeting, and sent to the entire subcommittee. Thanks Sierra Club, for helping take care of “John Muir’s Beavers”.

Linda Meza

And unlike the lyrics to the song of the same name I had plenty of people to talk to. I encountered one gentleman sitting along the banks of the pond and we struck up an easy conversation. As it turned out he was visiting from Philadelphia, attending an opening at the Martinez Gallery and heard about the beavers.

After answering a few obligatory questions he ended up taking a call and I politely excused myself and resumed my watch up by the lodge. Within a minute or two he found me standing besides the railing, chatted me up for a moment more and wandered off to find his friends. Not ten minutes passed when he returned with a very colorful, very artsy group of folks.

I wouldn’t have even considered this to be all that noteworthy were it not for my passion for Monet. There is a particular painting of his entitled “Morning on the Seine by Giverny” that is by far my favorite piece. When ever I find myself in Chicago I make a special point to visit the Art Institute where it hangs.

Wouldn’t it be something else if our little waterway, teeming with life, turned out to be the inspiration for Martinez’ version of a Claude Monet or even a Cat Stevens. After all where better to see the moon’s shadow than filtered through the newly budded leaves of a willow beside a quite body of water?