This is a FANTASTIC story from Idaho of all places. I know there have been some major inroads with the work of Jay Wilde but even urban beavers are really starting to get noticed. Let’s all say it together: It’s about DAM time!

A Hidden Family Of Beavers Is Helping Dozens Of Species Thrive In East Boise

Four years after he left the Zoo, Burns has a new passion — helping people find nature and learn how to conserve it.While the scene in front of me is quite pretty, I’m not seeing a beaver.

“Now, is there a beaver in the beaver house?” I ask.

Burns assures me there really is a beaver in there.

“The other night I came out here and the beaver was sitting right there and kind of looked at me and then had this look like, ‘well time to go to work,’ and dove in and off he swam. Or her. I’m not sure which one,” Burns laughs.

In April, Burns co-founded a new nonprofit called Wildlife Conservation Enterprises with Liz Littman, who also worked at Zoo Boise. They take people on “Backyard Safaris” which are sort of super-charged nature walks.

This is a wonderful report and Backyard Safaris are doing FANTASTIC work. I’m writing Steve and Liz right now. Make sure you listen to the entire report. Urban wildlife is about more than education. It’s about community engagement and social cohesion.

I especially love this quote at the end;“And you don’t have to be Jane Goodall to be a wildlife conservationist. You have to know just enough and then pick one piece. You’re not going to save the entire world but we ask people to pick one piece”.