Badgering the Media

I’m sure that you all remember our badger friend, Susan Kirks, who has been working to save their habitat by protecting open space in Petaluma. She was at the beaver festival and made a slew of connections. The city of Petaluma is partnering with her organization Paula Lane Action Network (P.L.A.N.) and is negotiating a deal to purchase the land for a community wildlife corridor and educational center. There is just a little more fund raising to do to make it possible.

Carolyn Jones, the reporter from the Chronicle who has almost always been kind to us, met up with Susan and ran a nice story this week on the Petaluma Badgers. To my mind it has too many quotes along the lines of “beavers flood creeks” etc, and not enough about the good that they do, but still it got people’s attention and it was good press for her cause. Because of this I was able to send it along to our friends at Bay Nature, the Daily Planet, and the SF Bay Wildlife Info who can’t wait to follow up. It’s exactly the kind of story that gets written about because who thinks of badgers in Petaluma?

Susan writes excitedly about her week since the article came out:

So far — I came home Tuesday and there was an envelope in my little black mailbox from a woman who lives in Paradise, CA – with a handwritten letter and a check for $25 – thanking us for all we are doing to help to save the badgers. I do not know her and called yesterday to say thanks. Then, the Open Space District a call (and referred her to us) from a woman who’s the Chair of the “North Bay Badgers,” the alumni group for Univ. of Wisconsin (“Bucky Badger” is their mascot) and she thinks the Bay Area Badgers might want to do something to help, very enthusiastically said maybe they could do a fundraiser to help us with the land acquisition costs – or something! And this morning there’s a message from our local paper, the Press Democrat, saying they heard about the story and [finally] want to do a story.

THANK YOU for being you and being where you are. I had no idea a simple request for doing an article on badgers, to connect with beavers and other wildlife, might lead to this. I’m hoping for all positives! The City of Petaluma is abuzz. People are being very nice to us! S