I am suddenly imagining our entire city council and pubic works crew sitting in the front row in horror. That’s probably not a typical reaction to this movie, but I’m clearly a special case.
Milwaukee-area filmmakers Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews have been making videos together since they were 14-years-old at Whitefish Bay High School. Over the decades, they’ve made about 50 videos together, but the film Hundreds of Beavers is the pair’s second feature.
The film follows a drunken applejack salesman named Jean Kayak, who must go from zero to hero and become the land’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers. Except in this movie, all of the animals are played by humans in mascot costumes. If that plot doesn’t intrigue you enough, it’s also a silent film shot in black and white, making for a bizarre yet entertaining comedic mix of influences such as Buster Keaton, Looney Tunes, and the Mario video games.
Oh man what I wouldn’t have paid to be a consultant on this film. It might have had a different ending than was planned, but it would have been hilarious!
This article made me very happy yesterday. I had once believed that the plight of salmon would change things for beavers immediately. I had no idea it would take this long/ But I’m glad we finally are getting there.
Newsom’s new plan puts the governor’s guarantee on actions that only a few years ago appeared radical, such as taking down multiple old dams, or building infrastructure that would allow salmon to skirt them and reach the streams where they lay eggs. The plan also emphasizes creative means of restoring salmon habitat. Many of the projects build on long-term efforts by tribes and conservation groups, and some, like a program in which Central Valley rice farmers allow their flooded fields to be used as rearing habitat for fish, offer hope that agriculture and restoration can be combined.
Well yes there’s a lot of ways we can help are struggling salmon, but here is my favorite way:
The plan emphasizes that dam removal and other salmon restoration efforts should be done collaboratively with tribes. These activities include an idea that came from the Karuk Tribe, as well as other Indigenous groups, to reintroduce beaver, which act as natural engineers of stream habitats that benefit fish.
Chuck Bonham, director of California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), acknowledged that this is a major shift for his agency. Until recently CDFW refused to treat beaver as a species native to California, despite ample historical and biological evidence.
IN OUR PAPER WHICH WE MAD HAPPEN BECAUSE HEIDI MET AN ARCHEOLOGIST THRU WORTH A DAM’S EXHIBIT AT THE FLYWAY FESTIVAL.
When I die just make sure someone says that at my funeral. Okay?
I don’t think, in the history of this website in 17 years there has ever come a day when I was forced to choose between TWO fantastic articles about managing beavers by using flow devices and keeping their benefits on the landscape.
TWO!
Same day. Different countries. Different problem solvers. But since the first is from the Sierra Club about Vancouver and we’ve covered that story many many times I will focus on the second.
Last week I got an email from Felicia Evans who was looking for ways to mitigate beaver issues and help her students using Stem learning principals. I wrote her back and introduced her to some local resources and told her about Martinez and also that the next beaver con will be held in Colorado.
I’m guessing she and the students found their way.
(DENVER) — Students from a STEM Launch program in Denver are attempting to help a family of beavers that live in a creek that flows behind their school.
The third and seventh-grade students of STEM Launch K-8 of Adams 12 Five Star Schools in Thornton, Colorado, are teaming up to find solutions that will preserve the beaver family’s habitat while also protecting the ecosystem. Beaver dams can add stability to—and also inadvertently create problems for—their surrounding environment. The kids are looking for ways to support the ecosystem without disturbing the beavers’ peace.
Third-graders in the STEM Launch program are focusing on understanding ecosystems, and how the beavers fit into, and affect, their surroundings. Seventh-graders are looking at how beavers’ dam-building activities inadvertently affect their surroundings. The kids are studying a specific family of beavers who have made their home in Niver Creek.
How many parts of this story am I in love with? First that the creek in question is by a SCHOOL and that the two groups are third and 7th grade respectively. What a perfect mix. Old enough to help wrap trees and young enough to still be cute. Perfect!
According to a press release from STEM Launch Coordinator Felicia Evans, the kids are learning something from this project that goes beyond science. They are learning responsibility and kindness.
The students are preparing to present their findings on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 2024. “While their dam-building activities are causing environmental concerns, our students are exploring solutions that protect both the beavers and the local ecosystem,” explained Evans. “What better day to showcase their love for nature and wildlife than on Valentine’s Day?”
i am thrilled that they found solutions, and thrilled that someone understood this well enough to involve young people. Remember Colorado is where Sherri TIppie has worked for decades so if there aren’t some hearts softened towards beavers there there is zero chance for the rest of the nation.
Good work, Felicia!
Martinez Children watching Beaver- Suzi Eszterhas Children watching beaver in urban environment Martinez, CA *Model release available – #Martinezbeavers_3
Someone wrote me yesterday about how sorry they were to find a dead beaver on the shoreline back in December. They were wistful about finding live beaver and being able to watch them.
I personally was delighted. Point Pinole is in the middle of San Pablo Bay which is just a short hop from Marin where they are waiting impatiently for their beaver delivery. Although we don’t know where this little guy died in transit of was washed downstream in a storm I’m going to take it as a good sign.
This to me is the best beaver photo I have ever seen. It is from Pamela Adams of Beaver Insights in Oregon. She maintains several trail cams to observe beavers living near her home. I just can’t believe this is from a trail cam, do you?
Milwaukee-area filmmakers Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews have been making videos together since they were 14-years-old at Whitefish Bay High School. Over the decades, they’ve made about 50 videos together, but the film Hundreds of Beavers is the pair’s second feature.
The film follows a drunken applejack salesman named Jean Kayak, who must go from zero to hero and become the land’s greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers. Except in this movie, all of the animals are played by humans in mascot costumes. If that plot doesn’t intrigue you enough, it’s also a silent film shot in black and white, making for a bizarre yet entertaining comedic mix of influences such as Buster Keaton, Looney Tunes, and the Mario video games.
