No rmore room at the end! The beaver festival exhibits are just about full to the rafters. What with with displays of fish, birds, bees, bats and snakes, not to mention lots of conservation friends. One group that I’m excited is joining us for the first time is Defenders of Wildlife. They didn’t have much of a footprint in California but now they’re big and they are standing up for beavers. So that seems a perfect time to connect.

Their location is listed as Washington DC. This is by their CEO.

Opinion: Congress must address the biodiversity and climate crises in the farm bill

We’re in trouble: biodiversity loss and climate change are reshaping the world as we know it. We are losing species at an unprecedented rate, and climate change is causing a myriad of harmful effects that impact everything from Wall Street to Main Street. We need an all of government response to these challenges, and Congress has a key role to play.

Though reauthorization of the farm bill has been significantly delayed, Congress has a window of opportunity right now to further empower and support our nation’s hardworking farmers, ranchers, and private foresters — many of whom care deeply about wildlife conservation and are taking proactive steps to combat climate change — to conserve the invaluable habitats that support productive agriculture operations. This critical opportunity to improve the farm bill only comes about every five years and cannot be missed.

In New Mexico, with the help of EQIP, one farmer restored habitat that now supports beavers. Beavers create wetlands by building dams, which provide habitat for many other fish and wildlife species. It’s a synergy that is paying dividends, as nearly 50% of North America’s threatened or endangered species rely on wetlands for their survival, and those wetlands are also helping keep that farmer’s soil nutritious and livestock healthy.

So welcome to the beaver festival DOW! We are happy to have you aboard and have lots of things to share. It’s funny that you are talking about biodiversity because our theme this year us that beavers build  neighborhoods and I’m sure you’ll enjoy our puzzle activity.