Exactly one year ago tonight beaver supporters gathered at the Alhambra High School Performing Arts building and delivered a three hour, 50+ comment sermon on why the city should do right by our beavers. It delivered enough of an impact to stop the steaming locomotive of a plan to exterminate, and even to relocate. It frightened our previous city manager into retirement, and it made 150 residents feel that maybe the people have some power after all. Keep in mind that this was before Worth A Dam, and before the existence of this webpage. The support for these creatures arose from all across town and a hundred different voices. The night is well worth remembering.
Last night’s talk on beavers to the Mt Diablo chapter of the Audubon society was also well attended and appreciated. I had expected a few scruffy retirees around a dim table. I found a huge hall with microphone and chairs for 100. The many gathered faces spanned the age spectrum and were quite knowledgeable. There was particular discussion about the poisons being used to control rodent population in Shadelands, and the subsequent impact on all animals including birds. More on that soon. These were people who were used to working hard for a cause, and I felt a certain respect that we had given so much for the beavers. There were several knowing nods in the environment-savvy group when I talked about beaver impact on the riparian ecosystem and the animals that depended on it, and cheerful speculation on whether the city would appreciate our efforts to put them on the map. It was a delightful evening, thanks Alison for inviting me.
My apologies to Nancy Skinner from the EBRP, who was the second speaker and asked to review the passage of WW. She was very grateful for the support and the opportunity, and felt that it was a good time (with the economy tanking) to pick up regional land sales. Unfortunately, she decided to try her presentation on my computer, and it wouldn’t run. She said she’d come back another time to walk through the presentation, and was pretty sanguine about it. EBRP has been very kind to the beavers in general. Over a year ago Ted Radke, Board member Ward 7, wrote me a card thanking me for the youtube videos, which he had presented to the board. (He was very surprised to see his handwriting in the scrapbook when he stopped by the beaver booth at the farmer’s market!)
To celebrate our anniversary night, I recommend you replace your latest netflick’s with this. I still am blown away by the depth and breadth of comment. Since then our beavers have made national news, a documentary, a children’s book, had a festival, won first prize at Art in the Park, worked over 50 farmer’s markets, Earth day at the Muir site, and the Bird show in Pleasant Hill . Worth A Dam has raised over 10,000 in donations, and received global support. We presented for all the elementary summer schools MUSD, ESA students, the master gardners, the MDAS audubon society and the Sierra Club. Our photographs will appear in the state wide curriculum from the EPA, in the Cornell University Bird Calendar, and in the Creek calendar for Watershed. We have been featured twice in Bay Nature & the LA Times, as well as the SF Estuary Project October issue and state of the Estuary.
