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On the Acceptance of Urban Beavers in Martinez, California

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On the Acceptance of Urban Beavers in Martinez, California ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF URBAN BEAVERS IN MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA By Zane Eddy A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Humboldt State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Natural Resources: Environmental Science & Management Committee Membership Dr. Laurie Richmond, Committee Chair Dr. Erin Kelly, Committee Member Dr. Barbara Clucas Committee Member Dr. Erin Kelly, Graduate Coordinator July 2021 ABSTRACT ON THE ACCEPTANCE OF URBAN BEAVERS IN MARTINEZ, CALIFORNIA Zane Eddy As ecosystem engineers, beavers construct complex riparian and wetland habitats that benefit many other species, including endangered salmonids. Through their landscape alterations, beavers also promote increased groundwater recharge and provide refugia during wildfires and high flow events by impounding water and allowing it to spread across the landscape. Prior to the North American colonial fur trapping campaigns, there were between 60 and 400 million beavers in North America. By the beginning of the 20th century, beavers were extirpated from many parts of the continent, however through human efforts, their population has since rebounded to between 10 and 15 million. The loss of beavers has significantly affected the arid west, including California where beavers had played an important role by impounding water in the surface and water on the landscape. Human tolerance of beaver behavior has been found to be one of the biggest barriers to increasing the number of beavers in California. Starting in the early 20th century, if beavers caused a disruption in human dominated areas in California, the most common action was to depredate the ii animal in order to prevent potential flooding or vegetation damage. However, in the past 40 years, there has been increasing interest in coexistence alternatives where humans mitigate potential damages through various methods, allowing beavers and humans to coexist. To better understand how social factors affect the decision to coexist with beavers, I conducted a case study of a high-profile event culminating in beaver coexistence which took place from November 2007 through April 2008 in Martinez, California. This was one of the first cases in recent California history where an urban community chose to coexist with beavers rather than remove them. I reviewed documents, transcribed recordings of city council meetings, and conducted 23 semi-structured interviews with individuals who could provide insights relevant to the Martinez events, including an understanding of the factors that contributed to the community’s decision to coexist with beavers and the legacy of the Martinez decision. I thematically coded these materials for recurrent patterns and themes. Key findings included: (1) the local history and experiences of those that lived in the area contributed to a sense of place which influenced Martinez’s decision to coexist with beavers; (2) the urban location and associated easy accessibility of the beavers and dam helped foster a relationship with the beavers; and (3) coexistence is more likely to occur when people can experience wildlife through non-conflict-oriented interactions before conflicts arise. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thank you to Laurie Richmond for providing guidance through this process. Thank you to my lab mates who have been going through the research process alongside me. Thank you to my committee members for providing useful feedback at crucial parts of my research process and teaching engaging classes that shaped my research. Thank you to all of those that gave their time by participating in my research; this project would not have been possible without their contributions. A special thanks to Dr. Heidi Perryman for providing crucial input and for her work advocating for an amazing rodent. Finally, thank you to my family, who have provided much appreciated support throughout my master’s program and in life more generally. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... v LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... ix LIST OF APPENDICES ..................................................................................................... x INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 Case Study Background .................................................................................................. 4 Background on Beavers .................................................................................................. 7 Ecology ....................................................................................................................... 7 History ......................................................................................................................... 9 Management .............................................................................................................. 11 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................. 14 Place .............................................................................................................................. 14 Wildlife ......................................................................................................................... 18 Shifting Public Perceptions of Lethal Wildlife Management ................................... 19 Human-Wildlife Interactions .................................................................................... 20 Wildlife in Urban and Human Dominated Areas ..................................................... 23 METHODS ....................................................................................................................... 24 Study Site Description and History .............................................................................. 24 COVID Changes ........................................................................................................... 27 v Semi-structured Interviews ........................................................................................... 28 Document and Meeting Review ................................................................................... 30 Participant Observation ................................................................................................. 31 Thematic coding Analysis ............................................................................................ 32 ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................... 34 Pre-beaver Place-narratives of Martinez ....................................................................... 34 An Environmental Refinery Town ............................................................................ 34 A Small Town in Economic Distress ........................................................................ 41 Challenging a Management Paradigm .......................................................................... 48 Institutional Bias Towards Depredation ................................................................... 49 Addressing Challenges Posed by Beavers ................................................................ 52 Building Connection with The Beavers .................................................................... 59 Public Role in Decision Making ............................................................................... 62 Setting an Alternative Example for Future Generations ........................................... 67 Impacts of the Martinez Beavers .................................................................................. 72 Local Impacts ............................................................................................................ 72 Impacts Beyond Martinez ......................................................................................... 85 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................... 94 Place .............................................................................................................................. 94 Wildlife ......................................................................................................................... 96 Lessons from Martinez ............................................................................................... 100 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................ 104 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................... 106 vi Appendix A: INTERVIEW CONSENT FORM ............................................................. 117 Appendix B: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ..................................................................... 120 Appendix C: CODING ANALYSIS CATEGORIES ..................................................... 123
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