Our upcoming festival did fairly well with media attention this yea so far. Patch, Daily Republic, Diablo Gazette and now the Pioneer! Not exactly sure why Concord gets two papers and Martinez can’t even keep one but I guess that’s for another day.

Let it Beaver! Martinez celebrates its 15th beaver festival June 29

MARTINEZ, CA (June 16, 2024) — What started off as a controversy ended up becoming a teaching moment for how an entire state can cooperate with beavers.

Now valued for their benefit to water storage, wildlife, and­­­ fire prevention, beavers will celebrate their 15^th festival in the city that was first to learn about them. On June 29, over 50 nature groups will gather in historic Susana Park to celebrate urban wildlife.

Amy’s picture and Amelias cover was pretty irresistable and folks couldn’t resist. I thought it was especially nice of the Pioneer to take a crack at the history on their own.

Why does Martinez celebrate beavers?

Way back in October 2007, some beavers built a dam on Alhambra Creek. This reportedly posed a flooding hazard to downtown Martinez. The solution at first seemed simple and the animals were slated for extermination. However, a flood of public sympathy led the City Council to form a “beaver subcommittee” looking at the possibility of allowing the beavers to stay.

This committee brought in a beaver expert from Vermont. He reviewed the situation and installed a flow device so that the pond’s water level could not become excessive. Debate on the impact of the animal’s activity continued. Soon, beaver supporters formed a non-profit organization called Worth A Dam. This group advocated for co-existence between the city and beavers.

Worth A Dam helped with habitat replacement and community education. They also created the beaver festival in 2008 to foster continued support for the animals. They even offered financial assistance and education to other cities figuring out how to co-exist with beavers.

Isn’t that nice? A real reporter who looks into things. Good work, Pioneer.

There has been progress along several fronts regarding beavers. First the state of Oregon finally laid its ridiculous dual beaver policy to rest meaning they are protected furbearers everywhere and there are actual rules about killing them.

Commission adopts rules to implement the “Beaver Bill”

CHILOQUIN, Ore.—The Commission today adopted rules to implement HB 3464 passed by the 2023 Oregon State Legislature, aka the “Beaver Bill,” which remove the complicated dual classification of beavers so they are now solely managed as furbearers (rather than predatory animals in some situations).

The new approach encourages coexistence (and less lethal take) of beaver and provides tools to more effectively manage and prevent damage caused by beaver.  The rules establish a permitting process for take of beaver that are causing damage, require reporting of all beaver take and provide an opportunity for ODFW to give guidance to landowners on non-lethal methods for reducing conflict. They will help close data gaps by collecting more information on damage, complementing the agency’s Beaver Action Plan. Data collected will help determine beaver distribution, identify conflict hot spots, quantify when take does occur and reasons why.

Suzanne Fouty said it was imperfect news adding what the cheery reporting omitted:

They also approved 2 more years of allowing folks to kill beavers on public lands as a recreational activity.  More later. 

Rats, but it’s slightly better than it was, You know how it is. Two webbed  footsteps forward, one back.

Also on the progress meter is some movement on the google action to develop tools to count beaver populations as shown with this article on Saturday:

Former Google engineer partners with scientists to create groundbreaking tool to ‘spy’ on beavers: ‘It’s really exciting’

A few years back, former Google employee Eddie Corwin started a passion project centered around the most unlikely of subjects: beavers.

As Wired reported, Corwin was looking for a way to help the company become a better steward of water. After researching the sizable impact of beaver wetlands — they can hold millions of gallons of water — he and a sustainability consultant who worked with Google, Dan Ackerstein, started sculpting an ambitious plan to use satellite imagery to detect beaver dams and ponds. 

The pair eventually teamed up with programmers to develop an algorithm. Then, in May 2023, a team of beaver researchers published a scientific paper showing that the model was correct 98.5% of the time.

The applications are numerous and could help scientists estimate beaver populations and calculate these rodents’ ecosystem services — among other things, beaver ponds can provide other species with refuge during wildfires and can even stop fires in their tracks. 

It’s June so you know what that means. Time for kits and father’s day. I honestly don’t know which one I miss more.

Just a reminder that the first time I saw our beavers I was with my own father walking by the creek.

On Thursday I was happy as a cloud because this article appeared and I knew everything about the festival was going to work out fine. Two wholly unexpected compliments were dropped in my lap and I started to feel uneasy. When is the other shoe going to drop?

I got my answer the following day when a key player withdrew from the festival and I was left scrambling to cover. Everything felt bleak, like the festival could never succeed, like it wouldn’t even happen.

And then I remembered the annual bipolar event planning.

‘Let It Beaver’: Popular Wildlife Festival Returns To East Bay