The last 24 hours were very good for beavers, and their advocates. The drive to Safari West is always such a delight – we went up through Napa- past the wine train and countless tasting rooms, and came down by the way of 101 where we stopped off at artist Molly Eckert’s magical home in Sebastopol. (More about that later.) In between we stopped off at Safari West where Marie Martinez personally greeted us and showed us to our room before bringing us a $1000.00 donation to Worth A Dam from the foundation.

In the evening we had dinner at the staff table an got to chat about beavers and hoovestock, and hear about the baby giraffes and wildebeasts born this season, all while sharing a fanciful and rugged buffet cooked by their expert chefs. There was even a coloful sign announcing my talk in the courtyard. Then we headed into elephant room to set up my presentation, which was attended by available staff, curious guests and families with children. One very nice asian family spanned three generations at the table, with the children and grandma asking about the beavers afterwards.

There were thank yous and questions followed by a nice glass of wine on our open porch listening to flamingos, hornbills, night shrieks set their paces to the african drummer who played for an hour or so by the fire. It was windy and colder than you can imagine but the sky was crisp with stars and we slept like kings directly under the big dipper in our thickly covered tent.

There was no Wifi in the tents so I tried to stay in bed as long as I could, where it was warm. Before seven we had coffee and bagels on the deck again. Later we explored the bird enclosures busy with brightly colored wings, displaying, flying and courting. Some porcupines were excitedly waiting for breakfast and a kookaburra was hiding in the bushes behind them. Woodstorks and spoonbills shook their prodigious beaks at the water. There was a large nest in the upper treetops guarded by scarlet ibis, and we learned that the flamingoes were trying once again to lay eggs because the last clutches were unsuccessful. The iconic rugged vehicles were lining up to take guests on their adventure through the back country and many animals there when we stolled over to visit the lemur island, moated by hungry fish, and met the a sweet family who had attended my talk and still ha questions about the beavers. Then we packed up from our short stay, slipped onto the road and came back through 101 this time.

We were headed to artist Molly Eckert’s home to pick up her donation to the silent auction. It was an easy drive off 12 past Guerneville to her eclectic home at the end of a wooded lane. She met us saying they had just finished some yard work and invited us in. The entry way was adorned with a line of perfectly round stones, every wall was covered in her art, and the ceiling shafted with brilliant skylights that made the home burst with light.

She gave us 10 copies of the 1988 poster she made for Point Reyes, and delighted us with stories of how this once happened before photo shop so she had to insert all the individually painted wildlife by hand. We sat in her living room chatting with her and her very nice husband while she signed every last one. Our hosts were eager to hear the beaver story, and heartened by the public response. She admitted ruefully that she had not yet turned her artistic skills to beavers, but her husband showed us some sketches she had done of animated prairie dogs playing instruments that were so enchanting I could barely keep from stealing them and saying “you MUST do this for beavers, beavers, beavers!” Instead we showed her the ecosystem poster and the children’s banner and they were very impressed. Her husband was an elementary school teacher, and a big admirer of the children’s artwork and Fro’s sewing skills.

I would be very surprised if beavers were not in her future, at least! She was looking at the newsletter intently when we left. Fingers crossed.

Other additions to the silent auction this week came from the Oakland Zoo (two adults and two children, plus free parking!) and the California Academy of Science (4 tickets!), which have both been wonderful supporters of the beavers in the past and are fantastic ways to keep yourself and your family curious and learning during the long summer months.

Six Flags unfortunately declined to donate but forget them anyway. There will be plenty to entertain!

sidse by side — *Mom and Junior: Rusty Cohn*

Finally I heard from Rusty Cohn of Napa that he saw three beavers last night for the first time in a long while. In addition to their being a definite size difference in these beavers there is something else you should take note of. Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

napa mom — Mother beaver with visible teats: Rusty Cohn

We had a great day yesterday and were especially happy to meet four separate people before 1 who started out by explaining that they attended “that big meeting to save the beavers way back when.” I was especially happy that the four strangers all said they didn’t speak because everyone there was doing such a great job already. I am always very happy to meet people that didn’t speak at that meeting. Because it means there were so many more people there that I even knew about.

No wonder the city council looked pale!

More good news about the Beaver Institute, still in it’s formative stages. Director Mike Callahan wrote me this week that he had just finished the first grant application.

Yesterday I sent in our first grant application for the Beaver Institute. Hopefully we’ll be awarded $10K from the Animal Welfare Institute, with us providing an equal amount for a big website, training webinars, getting the DVD on-line, and training and certifying flow device installers in 5 states, with a 5 year goal of a network of certified installers in all 49 beaver-inhabited states. We’ll see. Fingers crossed.

I love love LOVE the idea of certified installers. That means no more lying public works employee saying they installed a beaver deceiver because they inserted a broken pipe or half a straw. Will it be like a drivers test? Will their be a written portion?

I heard yesterday that Worth A Dam was awarded our grant from the CCC Fish and Wildlife Commission for the beaver festival activity that will let children earn their wildlife tattoos. Hurray!!! That’s 1000 dollars we won’t have to pay for. Something in me must have wanted to educate the commissioners as well, because this was the opening paragraph of the application:

The importance of beaver and their dams to salmonids, biodiversity, nitrate removal and water storage is becoming ever more widely recognized. In a recent article about restoring beaver populations in the United Kingdom, science writer Alex Riley aptly observed, “A beaver is not just an animal. It is an ecosystem.” This quote starkly illustrates how dramatically beaver presence enriches our creeks, and conversely, how severely beaver removal depletes them. Despite this, and despite the success of management techniques demonstrated for a decade in Martinez, beaver depredation remains common. Last year in this county alone, the 7 beaver depredation permits issued included three for an unlimited take. We do not emphasize enough that every time beaver removal occurs there are significant consequences for fish and wildlife, something that ecological education should strive to correct. With this in mind, our project was designed to teach children the importance of beavers’ role in the ecosystem, highlighting the direct impact they have on other wildlife.

Sometimes I get the weird feeling that getting a PhD in child psychology was the perfect training for doing a kid’s education beaver festival grant. Maybe it was destiny after all?

More good news, there was an excellent article in the Sunday Times yesterday in the UK. The paper is mostly behind a subscriber wall but I could tell from the first two paragraphs I wanted to see the rest. I of course went begging from my friends for help and the Scottish professor from Edinburgh was happy to assist. Thanks!

Busy beavers shore up our defences

If only someone in authority had had the foresight to call for beavers, thousands of flood victims across the country may not have ended up forced out of their homes with nowhere to go.

A new report by Devon Wildlife Trust uses scientific data from a pilot scheme to reveal that the rodent engineers are able to staunch floodwater by using their dams to store it in pools and canals, thereby lessening the impact downriver. The dams, constructed from mud and sticks, leak a continuous stream of water, which allows the ponds to refill during heavy rainfall. Beavers constantly adjust their water systems, increasing the number and size of dams, pools and canals to accommodate the volume of water.

The statistical data, gathered in what is believed to be the only scientific study of its type in the world, reveal that beavers could also be an alternative to hosepipe bans in times of drought because the dams continue to leak water downstream, even when upstream ponds have run dry. In dry parts of America, Coca-Cola has successfully used beavers to replenish water. The trust’s report also found that as water progresses through the beavers’ dams, it is purged of contaminants such as farming fertilisers and silt.

Isn’t that wonderful? Just in case you don’t have a Scottish professor friend, you can go read the whole thing here. But the upshot is that beavers make water better, and we need them in the places where we live because they will help waterways behave better. Ahh!

Finally a wonderful donation to the silent auction came from the Sonoma County Regional Parks Foundation this week. I originally glimpsed this wonderful 50th anniversary shirt on photographers Tom Rusert’s FB feed, and then asked friend Susan Kirks for an introduction to the group producing it, who was able to introduce me to the director, who in addition to promising one was kind enough to introduce me to the artist, Molly Eckler, a local artist in Sebastapol that has done amazing work for Point Reyes, The Laguna Foundation and others. Molly was kind enough offer a slough of posters as well. In fact we’re picking them up this weekend on our way to Safari West and I can’t wait. It’s kind of incredible how the intricate path we have walked these past 10 years links everything so seamlessly together. Thank you to Everyone!