Today will be full of footage, flashbacks, flags and recriminations. Maybe some beavers can lighten your spirit a little. These were both weekend surprises, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy them.
The first was prepared by Mike Foster for our friends at Seventh Generation and introduces the idea of the beaver as a keystone species. There will be a permanent link to it on the website.
The second is Mike’s account of beaver reintroduction by the bureau of land management on the San Pedro River. It is a historically fun and nice to see.
Not Hollywood enough for you? Well my folks mentioned in passing that they rented the movie “Buffalo Girls” this weekend and that there were some interesting beaver parts. I waded through Wide Open Spaces where things like acting and editing should have occurred, and pulled together these gems. Don’t say I never did anything for ya.
This is a grisly look at the highway service in Johnsburg Illinois
JOHNSBURG — The town is weighing whether to crack down on private property owners who own regularly flooded areas that then damage public roads and bridges.Johnsburg Highway Superintendent Dan Hitchcock estimates Tropical Storm Irene caused $400,000 in damage to local infrastructure. Local highway crews had just completed some $370,000 worth of repairs from earlier spring and summer floods.
There really isn’t much worth mentioning in this article about the unique-and-never-before-faced-trauma-of-beaver-dams-flooding roads besides this pearl:
Hitchcock also fights an ongoing war against beavers and their dams. The local highway superintendent keeps a rifle handy and shoots problematic beavers.
That’s right. Highwaymen bring special rifles to shoot beavers. Protecting us all from rodents and the elements. Call me crazy but doesn’t any officer in this country already have a tool at his disposal for shooting beavers? Why does he need a special shotgun for that particular job? Oh maybe the other bullets are counted or something. Rifle shots are spare-time bullets?All this time I’ve been worrying about USDA, Fish & Game, Trappers, Public Works, Transportation Districts, City Councils, County supervisors and the like. It never occurred to me to worry about the Highway Patrol. I bet depending on the state they don’t even need to report it or get a permit. Just point and click and voila, a new set of orphans for the rehabbers.
Wow.
Given the circumstances, this was really unavoidable (unless your screen is alot bigger than mine you will need to click on the image to expand it…but do, this was a sweet project).
Gertrude Lathrop, designer of the 1936 Albany, N.Y., half dollar, kept a live beaver in her studio to serve as the model for the animal on the coin. The beaver is shown chewing on a maple branch. The beaver was instrumental in the founding and development of the city of Albany; the fur trade flourished there in the 1650s and 1660s. The town was once known as Beverwyck. To this day, the beaver is remembered.
Did you see a beaver kit was added to the Main street mural? I eagerly wrote delightful artist Mario Alfaro when I heard one was coming and suggested he look at the website for inspiration, or ask us if he needed more photos to work from
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It’s nice to know he found what he needed!
June 22, 2008 Cheryl Reynolds
Ohh, and here’s a great story to start your weekend early. This trailer by Don Bernier and Anna Fitch is just waiting for the right buyer. Interested?
The 1936 half dollar
