Wednesday’s have always had a special place in my heart ever since Nov 7, 2007 when I tremulously attended the very first city council meeting on beavers I believe Martinez has ever held. It definitely changed the fate of this city and it certainly changed my life. It may have been the first meeting about beavers but it apparently will not be the last. Tonight the city moves to approve the plan for the Lower Alhambra Creek Watershed Management, which discusses guess WHAT?
One of the most luminous stories of victory from the Martinez Beaver drama came at the end of a 6 months battle. beaver subcommittee meetings were over, the flow device was working, and reporters were still coming to film what they hoped would be the catastrophe. And Mitch Avalon from Flood Control asked me to come speak at the watershed meeting and present the beaver issue to folks. I was a .little lost. The meeting was held at the county watershed facility where I had never been and was packed with serious folks I didn’t know that weren’t exactly beaver fans. I took a deep breath, showed my little powerint and films, and said the usual arguments.
There were plenty of questions when I was done. I definitely wasn’t preaching to the choir. But I steadied my quavering voice and answered them the best I could. And then it was over and I folded up my laptop and went out to the dark parking lot and sat in my Subaru under the streetlight all alone. No one was there, No Worth A Dam or Jon or beaver believer. And a realization came over me. All at once. Not like a victory. Not with trumpets and a sense of accomplishment but with the strange unfamiliar absence of dread.
We were going to win.
It was the weirdest thought I had ever had and I’ve had some odd ones I can tell you. But it was as cold and clear as a ship sailing out of the fog. We were going to win. After all the scars and damages and battles were were going to get what we wanted. What I wanted. It was really going to happen.
I thought of a line from the Buffy Musical. And I’m thinking of it still today.
“The battle’s done and we kinda won so we sound our victory cheer
Where do we go from here?”
Which I kind of think applies this morning to surviving Covid this long. The mask mandate is being lifted and my home tests are being delivered by the post office tomorrow. No one in my family died and Jon and I are well. There is enough toilet paper to go around. So I timidly poked out of my cage and asked about the merest possibility of a beaver festival this year. Folks were all over the map with the idea, but Cheryl was ready, and Amy agreed, and Amelia offered to help and last night the irreplaceable sound man John Koss agreed and our exhibitors are mostly ready, and Fro is mostly ready and so….
So. So So…
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Very good! And just a little bit of stupid at the end.
There are few things I enjoy more than stories of nice people whose lives were completely transformed by beavers. It’s sort of a motiff I understand, so to speak. So this story of our buddy Mike Digout made me grin from ear to ear.
On April 1, 2020, Digout spotted a beaver in the river and decided to follow it to see where it would take him.
“There was a beaver lodge, and there was like five or six beavers swimming around. And I was so fascinated,” he recalls. After that sighting, Digout started going out every evening, searching for beavers along the river so he could observe and photograph them.
A few months into his beaver-watching hobby, after spraining an ankle while looking for beavers, Digout decided to check out a beaver pond along the Meewasin Trail, about 500 metres north of the University Bridge.
“The second I was there, a beaver crossed the sidewalk a few feet from me, and then I was hooked.”
Isn’t that a great beginning? It seems lately like all my favorite stories start exactly the same way!
Digout now goes to the beaver pond daily in nice weather. He still watches for beavers along the river in the winter, when the pond has frozen over, but the pond has become his favourite place.
“I know if I go sit at the beaver pond at dusk, it’s only going to be a few minutes before I get to see some beavers.”
Digout has gained enough of a social media following with the photos and videos he shares that people all over Saskatoon are familiar with him.
“It’s kind of exciting. It’s like we have a celebrity and we ask him for his autograph sometimes,” his wife Dawne says.
His youngest son, Zach, who attends the University of Saskatchewan, has often met people who recognize Digout.
“He always gets a kick when people realize his dad is the beaver guy or ‘Saskatoon bald guy’ on Reddit. He really likes the attention that my beaver hobby has given me,” Digout says.
Ahh the beaver celebrity! Martinez sure made it’s share of them. I’m sure Moses remembers those days fondly.
Digout loves to share his beaver knowledge and observations with families out on the trail.
“I get to point out things that I know about from being there every day and help the children spot the beavers and show them their dams and the lodge and tell them about things,” he says.
Through his hobby, Digout has learned a lot about these semi-aquatic rodents. A recent discovery is how harmful artificial lights, like a camera flash, can be to nocturnal animals at night.
After sharing a night video from the beaver pond on social media, Digout was contacted by a few members of a beaver-related Facebook discussion group. They told him about studies showing the harm of these lights, which led him to read more about it.
“Their eyes are just not designed for bright lights at night. It can disorient them, it can temporarily cause them to have vision issues, and it can mess with their natural cycles if there’s light when there’s not supposed to be,” he explains.
I don’t actually have any memory of that discussion. Or real faith in it. I saw our beavers respond to artificial light – or more pointedly NOT respond to it – and they chose to live near street lights and a train station so it couldn’t have been that upsetting. Besides old trapping journals describe beavers sunning themselves on their lodges so light can’t be THAT much of a problem.
During the pandemic lockdown in 2020, Digout and his wife were working from home. Two of their four sons were also home, working on university classes.
“It was quite crowded,” Digout recalls. “Me leaving the house for a couple of hours was really good for all of us.”
Dawne says it was especially beneficial to her in the evenings when she would get some time alone.She adds that the family can see how happy this hobby makes Digout.
“Sometimes his pictures are amazing and these experiences that he’s had are amazing,” she says.
Ahh I like the family angle. Good to include the misses and the 4 sons.
Digout shares his content on dedicated Facebook and Instagram pages, a YouTube channel where he shares his best videos and a Reddit account, where he posts less often.
“I always laugh when I get referred to as a photographer or a wildlife photographer because I’ve never considered myself that,” he says.
Digout sometimes gets negative feedback online from people who don’t like beavers in the city and find them a nuisance.
“I respect those opinions. I completely understand why someone would be upset if a beaver took down a beautiful tree. My own take is the beavers were here long before the people, and it’s hard to begrudge them being beavers and doing what their instincts tell them to do.
Well I don’t respect those opinions if that’s any surprise. Disliking beavers for chewing trees is like disliking florists for digging up the ground. They have a job to do. And its a beautiful job.
Digout gets the occasional comment from someone accusing him of harassing the beavers or invading their space.
“I usually just explain I am in their habitat, but I make a point of trying never to be in their way or upsetting them.”
Digout hopes his content helps people to appreciate the beavers in Saskatoon the way he does.
“I hope that people realize what beautiful, unique, interesting animals beavers are. And I hope that people realize that they can coexist in our urban environment.”
“It’s a great educational opportunity … Beaver ponds are exciting places. Beaver don’t hibernate, so they are out all winter long. And you might get a chance to see some amazing nature right in the heart of our city.”
Yup. I couldn’t agree more. Thanks Mike.
This may be the most alarming photo I have ever encountered. Brace yourselves.
It is real and was taken in 2014 by a kindly soul who was avidly watching an earie. You can read about the adventure here.
