Of Not Voting on the fate of the beavers, Martinez City Council! And Happy Anniversary of saying the beavers were leaving any moment, Mary Tappel. It’s been a heckuva year.
Happy Anniversary! It’s been a year since the city of Martinez heard the report delivered by the beaver subcommittee, and a year since the city’s “expert” reported that the lodge was abandoned and the beavers were leaving the habitat. During that time Martinez enjoyed a beaver festival, beaver presentations at the elementary and High Schools, and the publication of a beaver book. Worth A Dam has lectured at the Audubon Society, the Sierra Club, and will be teaching a class for Wild Birds Unlimited. In twelve months Worth A Dam raised over ten thousand in donations to maintain the beavers, planted 30 trees, developed a popular web site, pursued a grant for interpretive signs, and had original photos entered in the EPA curriculum for state wide use.
The city, for its part, installed a sheet pile wall through the beaver lodge and still hasn’t voted on their continued presence.
The 2007 yearlings have officially “dispersed”. Three 2008 kits are alive and well. Mother is quite pregnant with the 2009 brood, and father and is seen daily. Stop by Earth Day at the John Muir Site, or visit the dams and wish the beavers and their supporters a happy anniversary.
