A sampling of support…

Carolyn Jones did a nice write up in todays chronicle, and even contacted Skip Lisle for background. Skip sent a letter today to the council advocating beaver management, and we will hopefully be posting that soon. In the meantime I thought I’d include a sample of support we have received from locals and not so locals. (We have one ardent supporter from New Zealand!)

To the Martinez City Council,

On behalf of the 1,200 families in the Concord Naval Weapons Station Neighborhood Alliance, I am asking the Martinez City Council to preserve the beaver colony in Martinez.

The members of the CNWS Neighborhood Alliance are local volunteers and residents in Concord and surrounding cities. We believe that 80% of the open space at the CNWS should be preserved as open space/recreation for Bay Area residents. We believe that we must think beyond our own city limits, taking our neighboring communities into consideration when making environmental decisions. We encourage the city of Martinez to preserve the beaver colony for the same reason we are asking the city of Concord to preserve 80% open space/recreation at the CNWS – so that Bay Area residents can enjoy the remaining natural habitat that has not yet been developed, now, and in future generations.

Kathy Gleason Co-founder, CNWS Neighborhood Alliance

Do not remove the beavers. We humans can and should learn to live with wildlife. They are doing what NATURE wants. Animals help bring tranquility to our busy lives.

Leave nature alone as much as possible. Thank you very much.

Mary L. Brown Clayton

We will be at the council meeting tonight. The beavers should be allowed to stay in Martinez. They, like all animals, even us humans, are just trying to survive the best that they can in an ever changing world. As we all know the environment for animals like the beavers is disappearing as the human population gets more and more out of control and greedy. I could never understand why so many people cannot learn to accept and enjoy animals sharing their immediate world. Some of these concerns are born out of fear or ignorance. Education is the best tool.

Debby Kirshen

What would you add? As always send your comments and thoughts to mtzbeavers@gmail.com. See you tonight!

In case you need a little reminder of how we got here, here’s a dose of inspiration:

The Wednesday evening city council meeting turned out to be a remarkable example of civics and community. The meeting was an electric combination of “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” and the final ten minutes of “It’s a wonderful life”. For nearly three hours the animated crowd expressed their wish to keep the beavers which have become a unifying presence in a town that can often feel uncertain of its center. Offers from the Sierra club, the Humane Society, the Superintendent and private residents stressed the easy implementation of flow-management techniques to control for the threat of flooding. Additional creative suggestions included using the beavers as a revenue building attraction for the city, allowing the environmental studies class to help install and maintain the devices, and the application of a live-action camera at the site (the aptly named “Dam-Cam”).

Council members were challenged for failing to understand the city’s attachment to these creatures and missing a golden opportunity to redefine Martinez and bring needed business downtown. (As one pithy comment put it “Maybe the beavers need to stay and you need to go”). Emphasis was made on Martinez being the home town of John Muir and an ideal location for environmental preservation. After hours of impassioned pleas, the council agreed to form a subcommittee to look specifically at the idea of keeping the creatures here. In the meantime, the city manager can work towards installing devices to lower the water level in the creek. Sharon Brown, a biologist for Beavers, Wildlife & Wetlands has been in contact with councilman Mark Ross and has made herself available for ongoing consultation. The first step in calming downtown flooding fears is to reduce the water level by using means that will not trigger the beavers rebuilding efforts. Then the dam can be safely lowered.

The amount of energy and dedication demonstrated at Wednesday’s meeting was remarkable in its singular focus. Certainly the town does not lack for enthusiasm or a sense of community spirit. Perhaps the most convincing aspect of the response was its breadth. The movement was almost entirely organic, with the youtube videos arising from this author, the vigil arising independently from resident Joey Piscitelli, the Sierra Club and Humane Society notified by other residents, and Superintendent Triolo responding on his own. This was more like a bee hive than a spear headed movement, and that helped convince the city to take resident concerns seriously.

Ahhh memories. And for another reminder of taking courage, check out the finest inspriation ever written. I would only change one line. “We few, we happy few. We band of beavers”.

Heidi P. Perryman, Ph.D.

\”St. Crispin’s Day\”