So on thursday of this week three very important things happened at once. The first was that I finished writing about American Prairies suggesting beavers live in the dam and got a few comments from kindly readers who thought they were well meaning and my post was too snarky and should be softened.
Well yes I am snarky about beavers not living in the dam. it’s a failing I cannot fix. Unless they fix it first I offered helpfully.
At at the same time I was reading Ben’s fantastic article about google and realizing what that meant for California and then the phone rang.
And it was Virginia Holsworth sitting in a tree in the beaver dam because the city contractor was trying to cut the willow out of the dams and what did I thmk she should do?
Because its the week between Christmas and New Years and if there is one thing I learned in my many years battle with the city over beavers is that this is the week city contractors are brought in to do squirrely bullshit to the beavers because staff will all be gone, people are sleepy with eggnog or visiting relatives and the city phone lines are going to voicemail.
I told Virginia to call some friends and send me a photo of herself in the tree.
Advocates for Laurel Creek beavers concerned with tree removal
FAIRFIELD — Virginia Holsworth had planned to go shopping on Thursday.
Instead, she found herself sitting on a willow stump – the remains of a tree the local Laurel Creek beavers had built a dam around – and watching the city’s contracted workers as they cut down a second tree that was not part of the dam structure.
I think it would have looked a lot different,” Holsworth said if she had not protested to keep the beaver dam from being compromised.
She said the workers told her they were just paid to do a job by the city, and she told them she was not moving until the Fairfield representatives came out to talk to her.
Sniff, I’m do proud of Virginia She is a beaver heroine! Better than that. A Willow heroine! See that tree was sitting smack dab in the middle of one of the largest dams. It was the dams anchor and without it, well things just might wash away, lowering the water level and uncovering the beavers lodge.
Holsworth has been advocating for the local beaver population since 2020.
“I came out, sat down and they stopped working. The city manager came out and talked to me and a few neighbors, and the end result is they stopped cutting down trees that could compromise the integrity of the dam,” Holsworth said.
She said over the years she has developed a pretty good relationship with Fairfield, and was very pleased with the response from City Manager David Gassaway and the offer from Public Works Manager Daniel Camara to continue the discussion at a later date.
One thing Virginia is excellent at is incorporating very polite smoothness into her resistance. She acts like a professional and like a mom and city leaders aren’t sure how to fight back.
City officials could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
ead out of Laurel Creek in Fairfield, Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. (Aaron Rosenblatt/Daily Republic)The offer to do a walking tour of the creek area and to talk about their differing perspectives on the creek and beaver issues came after another creek neighbor, David Pratt, started asking questions about the city’s rational for cutting down the trees and about why those particular trees were selected.>Holsworth said Pratt has a history in the forestry industry.
The dam is still up. We did stop them,” she said.
Hurray for tree roots that hold dams steady. Hurray for Virginia and all the residents of Laurel Creek that care about beavers and trees in their neighborhood. We are with them in spirit!
Heidi Perryman, leader of Worth A Dam, a beaver advocacy group out of Martinez, also was on site.
“Residents are concerned that the trees anchor the dams and their removal could cause a washout – threatening the beaver safety and wildlife that depends on the dams … Research has shown that willow trees actually increase flow and help prevent flooding,” Perryman noted in an email to the Daily Republic.
Ohhh well if we have any weight to toss around we are happy to do it to save beaver dams and beavers. To be fair I didn’;t actually say I was THERE but maybe in some sense I was.. I was on the phone. :Listening to Virginia and the contractor. I was on facebook., Posting about it so that folks in Fairfield could know what was happening. Maybe I’m like Elijah, The unseen guest at every water table..
“Where ever there’s a city taking out a dam and a woman sitting in a tree, look over your shoulder and I’ll be there”
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