A while back, maybe even before Covid became our new best friend, I was contacted by Catherine Arnold, a writer working on a beaver story for the National Wildlife Federation. She wanted to talk about the good things beavers do and the good things that happened in Martinez lo these many years ago. Of course I talked sweetly about both. The way publication dates work this article has been waiting in the wings for a while. Which makes its August first publication all the sweeter.
Click on the image to go to that page in the issue where you can read it full screen.
Here’s the blurb in case you can’t see it:
Residents of Martinez, Califor-nia, saw this firsthand after a beaver pair settled in local Alhambra Creek in 2007. A few years earlier, those waters had been a mere “trickle,” says Heidi Perryman, founder of Worth a Dam, a Martinez group that sup-ports beaver restoration. After the beavers’ arrival, the wetlands they created attracted at least 20 wildlife species that were new or uncommon mals like moose, otters and muskrats. They truly are a keystone species.”Residents of Martinez, Califor-nia, saw this firsthand after a beaver pair settled in local Alhambra Creek in 2007. A few years earlier, those waters had been a mere “trickle,” says Heidi Perryman, founder of Worth a Dam, a Martinez group that sup-ports beaver restoration. After the beavers’ arrival, the wetlands they created attracted at least 20 wildlife species that were new or uncommon in the area, including steelhead trout, mink and river otters.
Give me just a moment to say a few things. First, that is Suzi’s photo of OUR BEAVERS at the start of the article. And I had nearly forgotten about that that huge wood burl that floated down stream in August of 2015. It kept crashing into things and getting stuck but eventually found its way over the secondary dam. It’s so nice to see it again and be reminded.
Second, this I realize that in the vast scheme of things the Martinez beavers are just a blip of a paragraph of a story. But now we are a paragraph in the NATIONAL magazine of NWF which means the Martinez beaver story is a NATIONAL story. As in something that all 50 states will find interesting.
And third something happened yesterday that is EVEN BETTER THAN THIS and I can’t tell you yet, but I will soon. I promise.
Oh and I found this awesome photo at a sight Rusty of Napa pointed me towards. All in all, it was a helluva day for beavers.
It’s a great day to give a talk to the Lindsay Museum about beavers. Now if I can just wipe that smug smile off my face.
