Councilman Tonini – Worth A Dam

Members of the St. Matthews city parks committee plan to meet this month with St. Xavier High School student Ian Timothy to further discuss strategies for dealing with beavers in Draut Park, which also serves as a water retention area for flood control.

The dam is back, and councilman Rick Tonini said it, too, will be cleared away. “I understand your love of beavers,” Tonini said. “But it’s not a beaver park.”

Okay, the Courier-Journal has given very specific instructions that they are not to be quoted in any way unless dollars change hands, but I must risk the full wrath of Kentucky copyright law to share with you councilman Tonini’s breathtaking explanation of the issues, in which he considers civic hydrology, cultural demand, and agrarian richness and boils it all down to the Hallmark-worthy greeting, ‘Son, its not a beaver park”.

Wait, does this mean that the City of St. Matthews is going to build a designated ‘Beaver Park”?

In the mean time the councilman should know that every park with trees and water is potentially a “Beaver Park”. Since the dam is back again two months later and you’re going to use manpower hours and the bulldozer again to rip it out, I have to ask is it a “Department-of-Public-Works-Overtime Park“? Is it a “pay-to-relocate-beavers-every-12-months park“? Or maybe a “Generating–bad-press-for-the-city park”?

The article (which you really must go read in its entirety) describes the AWARD WINNING Ian who has lobbied long and hard for a flow device (in his enviable earnest and snark-free manner), talked about sand- painting trees, and pledged support including this lovely sentence:

The Worth A Dam group in California would match the city’s contribution to the $500 cost of a “deceiver” structure, Ian said.

Gosh, those meddling Worth A Dam folks are everywhere! Now technically, we are generally trying to keep the scholarship in California but this is IAN we’re talking about and there’s no question its the best place for it.

At the moment there are two comments for this story, one from me and one from Sharon Brown of Beavers Wetlands and Wildlife.Why don’t you go leave one too?

Of course I sent a letter to the editor – since it has not yet been printed I have no qualms about quoting it.

By now the city of St. Matthews easily has enough public support to get 25 young people working to help wire wrap or sand paint trees in Draut park by this time tomorrow. The city already has matching funds pledged for a culvert protecting flow device. It has been provided an award-winning DVD to teach them how to do this work themselves, and the city is just 15 hours away from the top experts in the country if it wants to bring help in to do it for them.

Surely Mr. Tonini understands that any park with water and trees is potentially a ‘beaver park’? Even if the city could get rid of these beavers, with adequate habitat you can be certain that more will move in to take their place. Why not solve the problem for the long term, and use our matching funds to install a flow device?

At this point the notion of beavers at Draut park is looking pretty IANevitable.

And speaking of our own ‘beaver park’ this morning, there were some very lovely looking dams, a million swallows, several landing mallards and two happily munching beavers.

St. Matthews gains attention over beavers in Draut Park

UPDATE: The courier Journal has very politely invited me to pay them for the privilege of quoting their article, which seems odd considering they were allowed to quote me for free. However, since I am burdened with a massive super-ego I will comply by removing the quotes and summarizing the content in red. Those of you that are highly motivated to read their sylvan prose may click on the link yourself.

The article describes young Ian Timothy and his concern about beavers at Arthur K Draut Park where the lodge was recently bulldozed. It introduces readers to Ian the naturalist and explains his award winning films. Then says he emailed a ” beaver protection activist” in California about the situation.

Nice invitation to the story and into Ian’s award-winning films! Hmm, what kind of intro does Worth A Dam get? Beaver protection activist? (People for the Ethical Treatment of Beavers?) I guess I’ve been called worse. I really see myself as more of a educator actually…or missionary….maybe a free-range guerrilla missionary educator with a blog?

The article describes how I, said beaver protection activist, sent Ian’s letter to all our beaver friends and the city desk was flooded with emails from as far away as New Zealand. In an interview with the reporter I explained that beaver was well known by us. (Gosh, do you think I have to pay to quote them quoting me?)

I guess the “BAT SIGNAL” really worked this time. The emails from around the world caused a bit of a stir apparently. Not sure why a mortified councilman would forward his stack of accusations to the press, but I certainly wish it happened all the time. I guess he was saying that he had never killed beavers and all those crazy people from PET-B were being mean to him.

To which I can only say: BOO!

The councilman is quoted as being shocked that beavers chew trees and Ian is quoted describing the function of coppice cutting. Guess which one sounds more informed?

Go Ian Go! What excellent phrasing and communication! Teaching folks to see the ‘forest’ for the ‘trees’ is a huge step in beaver advocacy! The fact that this photo ran in the article means that your message definitely sank in.

Ian says he wants to help the council understand about flow devices, and the council says we have to examine costs.

Absolutely councilman Tonini. Consider the cost of beaver control measures. Add up manpower hours and fuel costs for ripping out the dams a few times a year, planting a few trees, and while you’re at it figure in your own time you spent talking to the media about this and answering emails. Then compare it to the cost of installing a flow device for which we here at “PET-B” have already offered to match your costs with a scholarship. Sit down and do the math and let me know what you come up with.

Ian was interviewed on Agents of Change last week and has been involved in several film festivals.

Just in case we have some new visitors from the article, go here to listen to the amazing interview. Ian did an excellent job, and we are enormously proud of his first foray into the beaver trenches! Thank you Martha for writing such a compassionate, thorough piece, and thank you Karen and Joel for producing such a creative and heroic citizen of the natural world.