Just got word this morning from Leonard Houston from SURCP who is organizing the 2010 State of the Beaver Conference, that we are invited to come talk about the impact of beavers in neglected urban creek. I can’t wait to show off our photos and stories, and I’m hoping I can contaminate lots more cities to take our particular brand of action. Thanks Leonard for the chance to make friends and tell tales, while we’re learning so much from everyone else. Remember our heroic Skip Lisle, HSUS John Hadidian, and Michael Pollack of NOAA will be there as well so it will be a meeting of very like minds.
Speaking of Oregon, you just have to read this story. Seems there was a conference in Salem about the value of beavers to the watershed, and the suggestion of using reintroduction to increase salmon. A poster was there as a visual aid with two photos. One of an actual beaver from the Illinois Department of National Resources. And I bet you can JUST GUESS what the other one was.
Our old friend the imposter-nutria. Someone with eyes and a brain raised their hand and pointed this out, the presenter defended himself bravely.
“I’m not a wildlife biologist, so I’m not really qualified to make that distinction,” Gilbert said Friday. “I’m not an expert, by any means.” Gilbert said he snagged the photo off the Illinois Web site while searching the Internet for a beaver photo.
There you have it. He’s not a biologist so we can’t expect him to tell the difference between say, a dog and a cat, a bird and a bat, or a beaver and a nutria. The article emphasizes the whiskers of the nutria, which are indeed very different from the beaver, but to me the obvious clue is the nostrils which are nothing like our beaver’s noses. I cannot tell you how often this lazy mistake is made, even by news media which should at least be more cautious if they don’t know better, I realize the internet allows us to snag photos for free, but try and snag them from the right places, will you?
On a final note, think about joining JMA for the conservation awards this year held November 7th at the Willows Theater. Lee Stetson (the voice of Muir for the Ken Burns documentary) will be the host, and everyone whose anyone in conservation will be there. For a measly 20 dollars you can have appetizers, wine and some amazing conversations with folk who are making a difference all around the state. This event always sells out, so why not get your tickets now?
Worth A Dam at Native Here Nursery today in Tilden Park! Stop by and say Hi!
