There was a rickety bridge I used to cross when I walked across the creek to my volunteer job back in the long-agoes. Every time I did so I began by carefully considering whether  the rotten old thing would be strong enough to hold me one more time.  In the back of my mind I knew I should give up and go the long way – but the long way was very long. And the parts of the bridge without holes were pretty sturdy looking. Eventually I would pick my way across the strongest bits surprised that the thing which looked so worn out still had strength left in it. In all those years I never fell 25 feet to my death and it never failed me.

I’m hoping that our democracy is like that bridge this morning. Meanwhile, let’s talk about beavers.

Beaver Phys.org has a very nice story about climate change and our favorite topic, so this article about the Wildlife Conservation Society is exactly the right place to start. I especially love the title:

The latest weapons against climate change: The beaver, the oyster, cold water and more…

Beavers, high elevation streams, and oyster reefs are just three of the weapons in the fight against climate change discussed in 14 Solutions to Problems Climate Change Poses for Conservation, a new report released today by WCS.

From re-introduced beavers restoring the water storage capacity of ecosystems in Utah and Washington, to redesigned culverts that accommodate flooding in Upstate New York, the report showcases 14 inventive “real-world” solutions to a warming climate threatening wildlife and ecosystems worldwide.

Solutions profiled include traditional and innovative conservation tools applied strategically to address climate change impacts such as decreasing water availability, increasing risk of flooding and wildfires, rising sea levels, direct effects on species and habitats, and changing land use and human behaviors.

WCS Climate Adaptation Fund Program Director Darren Long said, “We are thrilled to share our ’14 Solutions’ report, and for others to learn from the adaptation work of those whose projects are showcased here. These solutions are on the leading edge of a field where traditional conservation work is no longer sustainable or strategic in light of climate change.”

One of those fourteen solutions was a grant to the Methow Project in Washington, another was building pretend beaver dams in Montana. Go read the report here, and just be grateful there are little steps we can make to  help ourselves, and organizations like WCS to help us do it.

Time to visit Boston College where Beaver researcher Peter Busher has some interesting desk-o-rations. HDr. Busher hasn’t always been what I call a beaver believer, but he’s always been interested in the animal.  Go to the website where you can see an interactive page that allows you to click on specific items and learn why they’re on his desk. I am currently wondering if this intriguing fact is true:

You know I’m already off to examine ALL the beaver chews in our house and compare incisor width. I asked a few experts whether they agree, because it’s nothing I ever head before. Oooh interesting.

Now onto Nebraska where their Ground water festival is in full swing. It’s been going on since 1988 so okay, they have us beat. But I’m not exactly impressed with the activity or the teaching about beavers! (Troubling statements will appear in red!)

Fourth-graders learn of key role of beavers and wetlands in nature

Build, Beaver, Build was a new activity presented by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission at the Children’s Groundwater Festival on Tuesday at Central Community College in Grand Island.Monica Macoubrie, wildlife education assistant, quizzed Boone Central fourth-graders about beavers and why they are critical to groundwater.

After her instruction, the kids enjoyed making an edible beaver lodge out of pretzels and chocolate frosting.

“We talk about why beaver dams are so important for groundwater and all the other species that use the wetland areas,” Macoubrie said. “Then they make their own beaver lodges. Lodges are different than dams, and we want to show the kids the difference.”

Macoubrie passed a couple of props, including a beaver skull, around to the students. She told them that beavers are members of the rodent family and that the unique orange coloring of their teeth is characteristic of rodents.

Really? Are rabbit teeth orange? Prairie dog?

Scientists classify beavers as keystone creatures because the ponds and wetlands created by their lodges are also used by many other animals and plants. Macoubrie quizzed the students about what kinds of creatures depend on the wetlands created by beavers.

“Keystone species are anything that affects other animals,” she said. “Without our keystone species, those other animals would not be as abundant as they are.”

Another reason beavers are a keystone species is the fact that half of all threatened and endangered animals in North America rely on wetlands.

“Without those beavers, we would not have half of those animals,” Macoubrie said.

Which half, the front half?

She said beaver populations are doing well in Nebraska.

“They are considered a least concerned species, so we have a lot of them,” Macoubrie said.In fact, Nebraska Game and Parks officials are sometimes called to help relocate beavers when their dams present a flooding problem for property, she said.

Okay, in a metaphysical way, death IS a kind of relocation. The last relocation.