This weekend’s flyway festival saw a couple thousand birders exploring Mare Island’s hidden treasures and rows of environmental displays from wildlife groups around Northern California. There was deliciously expensive optic equipment for sale, mountains of federal employees charged with protecting wild spaces, every conceivable Audubon incarnation and, oh yes, the good folks from the Martinez Beavers!
What surprised me wasn’t that all these many birders were so primed to hear the message that beavers improve birding habitat, or that very few people strolling by hadn’t heard the story of the famous beavers, or how many people crowded together for my talk on Saturday, or that lots of folks were still giggling about the chronicle story of the disappearing beaver in the city mural – what surprised me was how many USFS employees stopped by to thank us for our work, express a real interest in restoring beavers, and scoff at the idea that they didn’t belong in every single waterway in the state.
There were lots and lots of these who came by to draw residents of the beaver neighborhood on our new flag. It was designed by our resident artist FROgard Butler who ended up being too sick to come help this weekend. Lory and Jon bravely filled in for her and we ended up with many young artists engaged in the task while I was busily making friends for the beavers, chatting about beaver benefits, explaining how to wrap trees or install a flow device, and plugging this years festival which will (unbelievably) be our FIFTH.
You can see we found many young artists to volunteer! Once it is finished being readied for hanging by FRO we will think about its display. Maybe we can get NPS to fly it at Earthday? Or Public Works to fly it at the beaver festival!
Hopefully lots of good stories will follow this weekends contacts. I’ll be sure to keep you posted! In the meantime, I would just say that the author from the book featured Thursday has arranged for me to receive three copies of ‘the three little beavers’ as a donation for the silent auction of this years festival! Our senior author and wikipedia friend sent off the historic prevalence paper this weekend for eventual publication, Brian Murphy sends this STUNNING photo from his wooduck box project in downtown walnut creek and San Ramon Creek,
and our European beaver friends tipped me off to this bit of beaver delight from Belgium.
