I’m off tonight to give my third beaver talk in six weeks, which is a little more than I bargained for when I accepted this remarkable gig. Besides preparing and adapting there’s been other beaver demands. Requests for interviews, help getting the word out, connecting professionals who should know each other but don’t, and generally pushing beaver chess pieces around the board. Just last week I talked to a producer from Oregon Public Radio about an Urban beaver project they’re working on, and introduced a woman from the laplands (who was the first to document beaver sign in her country) to the researcher from Norway who’s studying this.
It’s been a journey.
Which might explain why I’m feeling a little beaver-fatigued at the moment. And thinking about all the time I spend talking to people who don’t listen anyway. I never really noticed it so obviously before. But there are people (ahem, men) who have an idea of what they know is true, and even when I tell them with video and research the opposite they STILL think it’s true. It’s stunning that you can say something very clearly and a second later someone can ask whether the opposite is the case.
Just look at this comment from the man who hosted me at the salmon talk at SARSAS two weeks ago. At the time he asked about dams blocking passage, and I and others explained why this was not an issue. In fact there was a very knowledgeable chorus from fish biologists on the topic all saying the same thing. I sent him the great article from Oregon yesterday, and HERE was his comment.
James Haufler says:
Please let me know how many salmon are able to get up over, around or through the beaver dam when they come upstream to spawn later this year.
Argh. I was just there! Talking about this very thing. Why did I spend four weeks preparing and get up at 6 and drive to Auburn so you could have the opportunity to NOT listen to me? Couldn’t I have just stayed in bed if we all wanted for that to happen? Unpreturbed by the question, the author gave a really beautiful answer in response.
Bonnie Henderson says:
Thompson Creek has long had the largest run of spawning salmon among all of the Neawanna Creek tributaries and has also had beaver dams as a part of its ecology. The dams make ponds that create wonderful calm-water nursery grounds for baby salmon to grow in, and by the time the rains come and the spawners return, the water overtops the dam readily and fish can jump it and find little overflow channels around it. So I think that 100% of the Thompson Creek spawners get past the beaver dams to spawn. And this year, most of the dams are on the off-channel wetland areas so are not in the path of spawners at all. (Answered by Katie Voelke)
So do you think James will ask this question again in five minutes? Or do you think having a fish expert packs more power than a beaver expert and he’s finally seen the light? And I don’t want to pick on James. It happens ALL the time. People’s minds are made up before you talk to them. And Damascus moments happen less often than you might think.
It’s not just about fish issues. People have ideas about population expansion, tree felling, and flooding that are impervious to what you might say to the contrary. If I say “We’ve had 20 kits born in Alhambra Creek over the years and our current population is 3”. It is not at all uncommon for a listener to nod and then say “so you have too many beavers now, right?”
Sometimes you can get them to stop talking about their very firm opinions just long enough to listen to your presentation, but sometimes you can’t. And they mumble to a friend through the whole thing. And then when you’re done they raise their hand in what appears to be a question, but is really just an opportunity to disagree with you in a public way, parasitically exploiting the attention of the group you assembled.
(Do I sound bitter?)
I have one more talk after tonight but that’s not until June and should be a good crowd. The Friends of San Pedro Visitor’s Center in Pacifica who specifically want beavers in their park as soon as possible. And tonight I will get to sit in the tent and listen to animals calling at Safari West, so that’s easy enough. But it’s surprising how long it takes to change minds though. Even with good video and pithy facts and 8 years more experience behind you.
To be honest, that was my strongest feeling when I was on the beaver subcommittee. Just disbelief that it took so LONG. That even if I said the right thing, in the right way, to the right people, over and over. They still didn’t change their minds. Did my city eventually change its mind about beavers? I don’t think they did. I think that changed their minds about how easy it would be to keep saying “no” to the voters. And the flow device seemed to work, and has seemed to work for seven years. But I don’t think really anyone’s mind was changed. I’m not sure if they moved to a new city they would ever consider this again, or if new beavers moved into another creek they would show anything resembling a learning curve.
This work is a marathon, not a sprint. Brock Evans famous quote is
“Endless Pressure, Endlessly Applied“
Not “adequate pressure applied for a little while.”
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Cheryl and Lory are tabling at the Wildbirds Event today in Pleasant Hill, and we are off to Santa Rosa for the big night. I feel like seeing something wonderful and I’m happy to share. So here’s a rescue video from Wild Heart Ranch in Oklahoma. The doting voice you here is that of Annette King Tucker who is the heart and soul of the operation. I especially love what the kit does around 38 seconds. Ahh!
