Beaver, Urban Settings & You (B.U.S.Y.)

Yesterday was the first official conference call for the urban beaver chapter of Pollock’s next restoration guide. While I was eagerly waiting for the call I made this very fun graphic and fielded dates for the followup meeting of the art committee of the PRMCC. Then I met my coauthors, Greg Lewallen and Kaegan Scully Engelmeyer. Greg is a Master’s of Environmental Management student at Portland college one of the four authors of the initial guidebook. Kaegen is the Urban Land steward for The Wetlands Conservation, which is partially funding the paper.

I should have known the conversation was going to be  weirdly ideal when it started out with an alarmed discussion of two beavers that were mysteriously killed on conservancy land, and how upsetting and confusing it was. It would be Kaegen’s job that day to go find out what he could, and we discussed bringing our kits for necropsy at UCDavis and whether there was an equivalent facility in Portland.

As the conversation proceeded, I found out what was expected of our 20 page segment and when the important deadlines were coming. We went over a rough timeline and I mentally marked those places where I would disagree or have something to add. I didn’t say them aloud of course because my coauthors were so new to me I wanted to get a read on them before I leaped into the fray. I always struggle with myself to sound science-y and not too beaver-huggy, even when I’m conferring with people I regard as friends. I needn’t have bothered. Every single contribution I offered was listened to and regarded as important.

I was regarded as important.

The work we had done in Martinez, all nine grueling years of it, was regarded as groundbreaking. All the ways we had focused public support and educated about beavers. I was an expert – THE expert – on urban beavers. If I had been anyone else I’m sure I would have been suffused with satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.

Instead I felt like this:

Jon had zero idea how to reassure me afterwards, because he was enormously excited and thought I should be. I tried to explain that I had cultivated my beaver acumen entirely in opposition. Raiding information stores and firing blasts of information at slow-moving establishment tanks like a rebel on the run. It’s a vast, vast understatement to say I’m unused to being a welcomed voice among brilliant beaver colleagues.

By the end of the two hour conversation, I had signed up for the introduction and lit review, the segment on outreach and education, and the segment on beaver challenges, and obviously any beaver photos that might be needed. We are supposed to have a rough version by the first of the year. We set up another call and they wondered what financial arrangement I would need to be willing to come to Portland next year to present our work in person because there would be so much interest in the work we had done.

So I guess it was a good day for urban beavers.