In the past few days we’ve seen some good beaver support from the beaver state. Their decision to UNprotect beavers on public lands really rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. And I’m glad to see the protest.

Readers respond: Provide protections for beavers

Devastating wildfires are becoming more frequent, and there is something our Legislature can do at little or no cost. Beavers are not protected on private land by state law because they’re considered predatory animals. Beavers create wetlands, store groundwater, provide salmon habitat and build effective firebreaks. By passing House Bill 2844, the Legislature can give the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife the tools to manage beavers more effectively. Beavers need us and we need beavers.

Melinda McCoy, Portland

Nicely said Melissa! You will want to bring all your friends and nonbelievers to the High Desert Museum down South in Bend where they are having an excellent exhibit.

How did I know about this ahead of time? Because Louise Shirley contacted me about using some of Cheryl’s photos and our ecosystem poster in the exhibit. That’s how!

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High Desert Museum to reopen interior exhibits, with timed tickets

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — With Deschutes County moving into the High Risk category for COVID-19 precautions, the High Desert Museum will welcome visitors into its indoor exhibits starting on Friday.

Timed tickets are highly encouraged, as capacity is limited. Tickets may be reserved at highdesertmuseum.org/tickets.

The Museum’s outdoor exhibitions reopened after a statewide freeze on activities in early December. The change means the public will get its first chance to view the new, original Museum exhibition Dam It! Beavers and Us, which had been slated to open January 30.

The High Desert Museum in Bend Oregon was my father’s favorite. I fondly remember him talking about the exhibits, and especially being moved by the young porcupine in the outside habitat. My Dad had been in every state and 65 countries so he’d seen plenty of museums. And this one impressed him. It makes me proud to think that our images are part of an exhibit in his favorite museum.

An estimated 60 million to 400 million beavers once lived in North America, fulfilling a vital ecological role by creating valuable wetlands and ponds. The dams built by these “ecosystem engineers” slow streamflow, raise the water table and reduce downstream flooding and erosion. Plants and sediment in a beaver pond improve water quality.

Beavers help birds, fish and other wildlife and native plants to thrive. Their habitats serve as emerald refuges during wildfire and also store carbon. Aside from humans, no other animal exerts such a far-reaching impact on the landscape.

Humans and beavers have lived side by side for thousands of years. This exhibition examines our coexistence with this herbivorous rodent throughout history.

Now that’s a great topic for an exhibit. How do we get every city to host an exhibit like that?

Central Oregon residents and visitors will find the presence of the exhibit throughout the community. Four beaver sculptures, each 4 1/2-feet tall, have been transformed by High Desert artists and placed in community spaces around the region. Participants in the project are artist and educator Andries Fourie, mixed-media artist Sweet Pea Cole, Indigenous artist Ellen Taylor and artist and ceramicist Jess Volk.

Dam It! Beavers and Us features immersive scenes to delight all ages, inspiring new appreciation for this resourceful animal. Grownups and kids alike can marvel at how beavers were once parachuted from the sky in wooden crates in an attempt to relocate them in an Idaho wilderness. They will also be able to view a riparian scene, experiencing how a beaver colony can transform the landscape.

“This exhibit tells an inspiring story of turning around our relationship with the beaver,” said Louise Shirley, High Desert Museum Donald M. Kerr curator of natural history and curator of Dam It! Beavers and Us. “It explores the surprising power of the humble beaver to help us combat some of the impacts of climate change, such as drought, wildfires and biodiversity loss.”

Now why doesn’t this article have a photo of the exhibit or the artwork? I’m dying to see the four foot high sculptures! I will look around the internet and hope someone shared an image. And in the meantime, this is for my Dad.

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