Category: Why We Care

Relocation: A One Time Only Good Deal

admin Why We Care July 3, 2008

The day of our tree planting, June 7^th, was such an awesome day for me personally that I dismissed the one cloud that threatened to rain on my parade. That cloud came in the form of a man intercepting me as I walked to my car and attempted to diminish what we all had just accomplished by referring to our efforts as ‘encouraging a problem’.

There’s a quote from John Muir that I find fits: “Why should man value himself as more than a small part of the one great unit of creation?” Those of us at Worth A Dam couldn’t agree more, which is why we fight and will continue to inform the populace of what is going on behind the scenes.

The City of Martinez and the special interests that are pushing for relocation of our beaver colony aren’t and haven’t been upfront from the beginning. I know this isn’t a revelation to most. However, the volume of misinformation doled out to the citizenry astounds me.

Take this Pollyanna idea of relocation. I hear wistful would be do gooders at the bridge tell me how wonderful it would be to relocate the beavers to some clean, clear mountain stream. I even recall one subcommittee member using that same argument as he admonished those of us who claimed to want what was best for the beavers. What that individual and our city leaders have all failed to mention, which was confirmed by John Krause wildlife biologist for the Department of Fish and Game, is that relocation is a one time only good offer: “It is not the policy of the Department of Fish and Game to relocate problem wildlife”. In other words, when more beavers move in the only course of action provided for by the Department of Fish and Game will be to kill them.

So for all those who want to be viewed as humane because your only desire is to see the beavers relocated not killed, you are merely postponing an action you didn’t want to be associated with. Rest assured there are more beavers in the immediate vicinity that very well could move in once the area is abandoned. The creek has already proven to be habitable to beavers and the scent mounds that dot the mouth of the creek will no doubt act as a beacon.

The discoveries of two beaver carcasses close to the waterfront made by individual Martinez residents over the past three months prove my assertion. None of us wanted to believe these might have been our beavers so we kept a close watch on the count of our colony and once we had video or film confirming that count, we knew these creatures were unfortunate sojourners just passing through.

Not only is relocation no guarantee of a beautiful life for our blue collar beavers, but it will not absolve the folks who say they only want what’s best because now we all know this supposed easy way out wont be available next time around.

Linda Meza

Beavers Change Things: It’s What They Do

heidi08 Educational, Friends of Martinez Beavers, Why We Care June 25, 2008

This is the introduction I wrote for Penny & John Weigand’s newly released book”The Comeback Kids: The Martinez Beavers.” I thought we could all use a reminder of how and why we got here this morning.

A simple dam of mud and sticks alters the flow of water in the stream, enriching sediment, increasing insect life and changing the terrain. Better bugs mean more bug-eaters, and soon there are fish, turtle, otter and heron at the site taking their share. Native Americans called the beaver the “Sacred Center” because his dam created habitat for the other creatures that followed. Ecologists call Beavers “A Keystone Species” because when we remove them from the habitat the entire ecosystem collapses.

In a little town in Northern California, beavers have been changing things plenty. Historic Martinez is the County Seat of Contra Costa, and although it became a refinery town in the 1900’s, it was once considered the “Gateway to the Gold Rush” where it was the final home of renowned environmentalist John Muir. The beavers moved into Alhambra Creek in 2006 selecting the middle of downtown to set up their lodge and dam. Businesses and residents worried about flooding, because the town’s narrow creek was already working very hard keeping up with the runoff and rainwater. Like many cities, Martinez didn’t understand much about beavers, and the initial decision was to exterminate them. When people got upset by that idea, the city obtained special permission from the Department of Fish & Game to relocate them instead.

The city’s officials may have had a lot to learn about beavers, but they had even more to learn about its residents! The sleepy town quickly changed into a town that demanded to keep its beavers. Residents held a vigil and hundreds attended the council meeting to protest the beavers’ relocation. The organization “Worth A Dam” was formed to help advocate for the beavers and handle any beaver-related costs the city might incur. In a short time, a town where very little ever happened changed into a town visited by local and national news cameras with a host of reporters at the dam site, all waiting to find out what the city would decide.

Beavers change things: it’s what they do. Although at the time of this writing a final decision has not been reached on their fate, our beavers have forever changed Martinez into a national news story, put watershed issues on the forefront of everyone’s minds and shown us how to be a leader in ecological solutions. Our beavers have transformed a fragmented city into a dynamic community where attention to education, the environment and the concerns of property-owners are respected with equal weight. They have bridged gaps, made friends, and inspired children and adults alike.

Maybe beavers will come to change your town soon.

Heidi P. Perryman, Ph.D.

President & Founder Worth A Dam

The Secret Garden

heidi08 Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Why We Care June 8, 2008

Did you have a favorite book as a child? I had lots of them, but one that I returned to again and again was the remarkable work of Francis Hodgson Burnett called the Secret Garden. It was written in 1906, so this original cover didn’t look anything like my copy, but her very mundane and highly magical story captured my imagination as a child, and grew up with me into a more complex understanding of the relationship between humans and nature.

If you never read the book, here’s the cliff notes version: A neglected, unpleasant little orphan is sent from India to Yorkshire to live in the nearly-empty mansion of her only remaining relative who pretty much ignores her and leaves her to wander the large empty gardens. She is an unloved and unloving child, whose first glimmer of curiosity is awakened by a story she hears about a “mysterious garden” locked up and unvisited for more than ten years. With that act of curiosity she begins to transform from a spoiled miserable creature who thinks only about herself, to a child capable of the greatest of all human acheivements:

Wonder.

Mary was an odd, determined little person, and now she had something interesting

to be determined about, she was very much absorbed, indeed.

Wonder takes her out of herself and allows her to stop thinking about being hot, tired, bored or lonely, and start thinking about “maybe” and “what if”. The story of the garden was the first and most important signpost on Mary’s journey from self-preoccupation to compassion. A common robin becomes the second, and she is startled out of herself into watching this beguiling and plucky creature.

She heard a chirp and a twitter, and when she looked at the bare flower-bed at her left side there he was hopping about and pretending to peck things out of the earth to persuade her that he had not followed her. But she knew he had followed her and the surprise so filled her with delight that she almost trembled a little.“You do remember me!” she cried out. “You do! You are prettier than anything else in the world!”

Mistress Mary forgot that she had ever been contrary in her life when he allowed her to draw closer and closer to him, and bend down and talk and try to make something like robin sounds. Oh! to think that he should actually let her come as near to him as that! He knew nothing in the world would make her put out her hand toward him or startle him in the least tiniest way. He knew it because he was a real person–only nicer than any other person in the world. She was so happy that she scarcely dared to breathe.

Now the psychologist in me recognizes that this is a parable about the way humans can awaken their awareness and interest in others by contact with the natural world. This is solid science, and it’s why we get our children goldfish and hamsters and eventually dogs. It’s probably why children with a vocabulary of less than 500 words still spend hours learning what a pig says and what a duck says even though they no longer live on the farm. We learn about our impact on others through the natural world. The gentleness and ruthlessness of nature prepares us for the complexities of a lifetime of socialization. Nature is a bridge that stretches from our deepest self to the benign awareness of others. That’s why cruelty to animals is one of the early signs of sociopathy. Lucky humans travel that bridge and come out better on the other side.

The psychologist in me understand this, but the child in me just wanted to find that garden.

Which is what most of us wanted the first time we went to see the beavers. Somehow we heard about them and wanted to see for ourselves. Curiosity made us seek them out, but wonder made us come back.

The child in the story becomes curious about a walled garden, and this matures into curiosity about the things that live in that garden. At the end of that book her entire interpersonal world of four gathers inside that garden and we see she is fully anchored not just to her environment, but also to her new and emerging sense of self, and ultimately her community.

Sound familiar?

Heidi P. Perryman, Ph.D.

Another voice speaks for the beavers…

heidi08 Beavers or Social Ambasadors, Why We Care April 15, 2008

This mediator for Family Court Services and beaver-appreciating Martinez resident sent me a copy of her letter to the council and I thought it was worth sharing. Remember that Martinez is the County Seat so we get beaver supporters in Family Court, Juvenile Court, Criminal Court, Law Enforcement, Social Services and Water Quality (to name a few)..
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Dear Martinez City Council Members,

I am a Martinez resident. I am also one of those lucky rare-breeds in the Bay Area that gets to work in the same community in which I live. I work in downtown Martinez as a family court custody mediator for Superior Court. There is much that I love about Martinez. I love the farmer’s markets every thursday and every Sunday. I visit Starbucks each sunday and then take a stroll around downtown and up in the hills. I walk daily at lunch. I play on a bocce league every sunday evening. I ride my bike downtown. I attend the Willows Theatre cabaret and Armando’s concerts. I frequent local restaurants. I attend downtown street festivals and other special events. And always, I hope for a resurgence of downtown, to somehow capture and add to all that I find magical about this town.

In spite of all of that, this is only the 2nd time that I have endeavored to write to you. The first was last fall, when the fate of the Martinez beavers became a hotly contested public issue. The second is now, as we approach the revisiting of the fate of our now famous beaver family.

I am a beaver fan from afar. I am not an involved activitist, as sadly my schedule allows for little of this. I have expressed interest in helping in some small way, if possible, perhaps as a beaver docent, but as yet the opportunity has not yet formally arrived. And yet I feel myself very connected to our furry downtown family.

My daily walks take me by the beaver lodge and dam each day – and sometimes twice or three times. I am a regular visitor of the beaver website and a supporter of those who have photographed, videotaped, and written about them. I wear my “save the beaver” t-shirt to the gym and always receive approving nods, smiles, and questions. My office in family court displays a “save the beavers” cap, and I am often fielding questions about this from the families that visit me. I have pointed many a parent and child in the direction of Bertola’s and the beaver lodge.

I am writing to express my hope that the city council does the right thing. You have been given an opportunity, a fabulous opportunity, perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to forever change and shape the future of Martinez. All of this may rest in the fate of one family of beavers downtown. Do the right thing.

Much has been written and said about the revitalization of downtown Martinez. Yet one family of hard-working beavers has accomplished more for a city then any fancy developer or organized planner ever could. We owe these beavers a great debt. They are not even on the city payroll!

Martinez needs to realize this opportunity and capitalize on this. Any monetary investment in the beavers to support willow restocking and dam flow plans will be more than regained. We have the public interest, we have the non-profit formed. Martinez- home of John Muir and one hard-working Beaver family. I see “Beaver Park” signs by the lodge. I see an organized education program. I see educaitonal opportunities for students from grammar school on up. I see a town logo. I see signs on the freeway. I see an organized marketing campaign throughout downtown stores and restaurants. I see a beaver festival. (I see Bertola’s perhaps quadrupling their cash flow). This is money and time well spent. Wasn’t it just New Year’s Day 2008 when the Contra Costa Times, in their annual “welcome to the new year” article, stated as an aside “whoever could have guessed that Martinez and Beavers would become synonymous?”

I will be out of the country at the date and time of the next City Council meeting where the fate of the beavers will be discussed. You can bet that I will check the news the instant upon my return. I am hoping that the City Council does us all proud.

Thank you,

Martinez Resident and Worker

Thank YOU for sending this letter on our beavers’ behalf and for agreeing to let it be posted! I especially like the rousing “I see a beaver festival” section…which is a fantastic improvement on downtown’s current sixth sense impersonation…(“I see dead people”). Not to mention that since beavers mate for life there is an obvious subtext to a divorce mediator suggesting we need more beavers! Of course we do.

Beavers change things: it’s what they do. Part I

heidi08 Beavers or Social Ambasadors, pictures, Why We Care April 13, 2008

As I stood at the dam this morning, watching junior working on some finishing touches, I thought about the idea of beavers being a “keystone species”. This is an ecological term coined in the 60’s which means basically that certain animals create a broad impact on the habitat where they live and that the ecosystem wouldn’t be the same without them. A more detailed description of this concept is in the report under the environmental section and it’s a good idea for all beaver advocates to be familiar with. Obviously the dam increases rich sediment which increases insects, which increases fish, which increases the things that eat fish (birds, mammals, turtles and so on).

Remarkably, an opinion was added to the conclusion of this section that while other beavers may well be considered a “keystone species” there is no evidence to suggest that these beavers are having an impact on Alhambra Creek.

(Other than the photos and the movies and the daily witnesses, you mean?)

Obviously we’ve seen the beavers change Alhambra Creek, and the media section of this website will help document those changes. Still the idea has gotten me thinking about some other ways beavers have changed Martinez; the community, the politics, the visibility. Beavers change things. It’s what they do. I myself had never written a newspaper article or made a video before the beavers came. I had barely ever attended a city council meeting or spoken to a stranger on the street. I had never had a documentary filmed in my living room or started a non-profit. More importantly, I had never realized how many people around me cared about the very same things I cared about.

How did beavers change you? I know some have told me they hadn’t spoken up at a meeting, or actively campaigned before. Some have said they hadn’t really noticed the creek or followed the wildlife on their way to work. Others started reading the Gazette or talking to their neighbors, and some just changed their dinner plans to visit Bertola’s in the evening. If you have some thoughts you want to share, send them to mtzbeavers@gmail.com. I’d like to follow with up with a tapestry post of how these beavers have impacted our lives.

My reflective morning visit to the dam ended with a chat with the now famous beaver-rescuer “K” while we watched Dad pull mud from the bottom and reinforce the downstream side of the dam. After he left for work I heard a whisper to “come look” from an unknown gentleman who had spotted this great display near the secondary dam. A cyclist paused to see what I was photographing, and commented that he had never seen such a clear view of these (or any) beavers.

I thought about how seeing beavers in our creek had changed my morning, and those three watcher’s morning, and wondered how many similar changes were waiting to be learned about.

Heidi P. Perryman, Ph.D.