European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 7, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                In let to he a Ltd amp science or Kyj i Sass a up Jav aah Viv. Vav t jux a a or Fri. 8 n Junr Quot a. Of Quot Quot a v v. A ,. -.5 v i ur.,. \ v to in a a ,. 1 a a it Ltd -. -. R a to let so v_1? a. I a i. A a i a wet a a a 1 a a v a it a a a a j v it / a it v a ._.s. By Ina a a a  v a 4 pie of twist Wood scraps and broken branches Mark the site of a Beaver dam in a Swift flowing Stream. Biologist outsmart beavers to keep water flowing around dam nuisance file g. Keel Kemper that Means about a Glenn Adams the associated press Aine s prolific beavers have been busier than Ever during the past months stopping up streams clogging culverts and flooding held and Woodlands. For state biologist pm half dozen phone Calls a Day from residents complaining about those Beaver dams. It s Kemper s Job to keep the Waterways open but with minimal disturbance to the beavers structures. Beavers Are especially Active in the fall when they build Homes and gather food a tree bark and Wood a for the Winter. Kemper however rules out relocating beavers in the fall since that would Force them to restart their Home building process and could in effect sentence them to a slow death. To Kemper the Beaver is too valuable a species to dislodge and Send packing just because it follows its instincts to dam up Waterways. Quot there s no question the Beaver is the most important animal to All other animals because he can alter habitats said Kemper Quot if i move him Down the Road i m just moving my problem Down the Road the Beaver dams preserve marshes which Are a critical habitat for a whole Range of creatures from Worms and grubs to ducks non game Birds raccoons skunks Deer and Moose. Repeated cycles of ripping out Darns Only to have them replaced by eager beavers cause rapid fluctuations in the level of marshes diminishing their value a master builder munches on fruit at a Beaver Sanctuary in new York. As animal habitats. And tearing out dams sends Silt downstream which is bad for fish Maine now has an estimated 70,000 beavers about the number it can adequately support. Signs of nature s most tireless builders Are evident along Many of the state s Waterways. But when those dams get in the Way of human development something must be done. That s where Kemper comes in. At Jean Pratte s spread in Sabattus in Southern Maine a 6-foot-High dam made of gnawed Sticks and branches tightly packed with mud spans a 30-foot-wide Stream raising the water level of an extensive Marsh by More than three feet. The Edge of the Marsh and a nearby Woodland Are marked by stumps efficiently gnawed by razor toothed beavers. Across the Marsh a Yellowish tinge on softwood Trees provides evidence that the High w Ater is taking a toll on the evergreens. Pratte afraid the rising Marsh would destroy up to 40 acres of commercial Timber called Kemper. Kemper arrived with an assistant a Canoe several lengths of perforated pipe and waders. Balancing himself in a Canoe with the Grace of a Tightrope Walker the wiry biologist swung a sledgehammer to drive several steel stakes into the Stream bed about 10 feet from the head of the dam. After attaching five 6-Inch diameter pipes to the stakes he rested the 20-foot-Long pipes of top of the dam. The perforated pipes prevent the beavers from undoing Kemper s work by blocking the intake end. Kemper and his assistant Steve Saucier then went to work with pick axes and their Bare hands digging troughs into the top of the dam. As they placed the pipes through the openings water gushed into the Stream below the dam. The level at the High water Side dropped a half Inch within an hour. The dam remained intact. Kemper said he was sure the Beaver would be Back to make repairs. Quot by their instincts beavers Don t like the sound of running water Quot said the biologist. Quot when he returns hell come Back with Sticks in his  to help get the Beaver started on the reconstruction Kemper and Saucier shoved a few Sticks into the top of the dam and placed some More limbs across the Structure. In the last year alone Kemper said the state put pipes through 48 Beaver dams and gave equipment to dozens of other landowners to do the Job themselves. The Federal government pays for the pipes because it endorses Maine s strategy to preserve Freshwater wetlands. Just wondering european diseases singing Birds at Dawn go if american indians died off because europeans brought diseases the indians had no resistance to Why did t the europeans die off because of Indian diseases the europeans were not resistant to in Quot there is no Short answer Quot said Alfred w. Crosby a history professor and author of the columbian Exchange the biological consequences of 1492, a Book about the Impact of european settlement of the new world. However he said there Are a couple of theories about Why old world diseases seemed to fell new world people and not vice versa. It is True he said that most diseases seem to have moved from East to West. Quot syphilis is the big nominee for one that went the other Way but that is still controversial Quot he said. The first possible reason for the virulence of old world diseases he said is that in the old world people lived with Many Domestic animals and their diseases shared ancestors with those of their animals. A comparatively Well known modern example is the idea that pigs and ducks form a Reservoir for new strains of influenza in Asia. Quot american indians did not have that kind of society Quot Crosby said. Quot they had few species of Domestic animals so there was not As big a 1 disease Pool Quot or animal Reservoir for developing disease microbes he said. Second Crosby suggested new world people  share their microorganisms with each other As much As was common in densely populated areas of Europe. The new world had areas of dense population but they were not As Large and not As old. He said that diseases take longer to develop and spread without such population concentrations. Q Why do Birds chirp before Dawn Birds sing or chirp in the growing predawn Light for the same complicated reasons that they do at other times of Day said Martha Fischer an education assistant at the Cornell Laboratory of ornithology in Ithaca . Singing in springtime by the male serves purposes like signifying the nesting territory and attracting females for mating. At other times chirping can keep the flock together or be a warning signal. Quot some Birds will continue All Day Quot Fischer said. Quot they just Start at  she said her guess was that Birds burst into song around Dawn Quot after some Down time so they Are thoroughly rested to Start anew re establishing their territory Quot in effect saying Quot in a still  in Spring at least in new York state Breeding Birds can Start singing at 4 30 a.m., with the Sun rising an hour or two later she said. Tuesday december 7, 1993 the stars and stripes 17