To date the beavers have endured a massive scrape of the lower floodplain, and the installation of sheet pile through their lodge, but that is not the last injury the city of Martinez intends to offer. Since October there has been an outstanding grant application to widen the creek between Escobar and Marina Vista, and to lower the road so that high waters can overflow across the street and re-enter the creek just after the Marina Vista bridge. Like the sheetpile, the plan is a long overdue opportunity seized with beaver momentum.
Here’s the problem: Their new lodge is on the remaining bank slated for removal.
Obviously the beavers needed a new home, and thank goodness they had enough foresight to sneak one on the west side of the bank. It is hidden under sparse trees whose tops were cut when the crane needed to reach over them, but it is a secure location that the beavers have learned to call “home”. If the plan is executed as outlined in the grant, it, and the few remaining trees that shade it, could be threatened.
We haven’t heard anything about the status of the grant since way back in October. I was hoping the shrinking economy would put that particular plan on a back burner for now. Yesterday our eagle scout candidate met with city staff and the city engineer to discuss the location for 18 new trees, but every single one was on the park side, none were near the lodge. This despite the fact that their own biologist, Skip Lisle, told them that the lodge needs to be shaded, and we have asked permission to plant specifically on the west bank. My guess is that they are seeing down the road the need for that bank to be removed and they want to resist planting trees in an area that is going to be demolished.
It’s not hopeless. The grand widening scheme could still take place and the beaver lodge and trees could be left in island formation in the middle of the creek. But for that to happen the city would have to have a sense of responsibility for their well-being and at least a commitment to their care, which they have resisted every step of the way without massive public pressure.
So, the honor of your presence is requested once again, at the Wednesday night city council meeting where our eagle scout candidate will present the tree planting plan to the city council. and we will specifically ask for a few trees near the lodge. Come do the right thing for your beavers.
Again.
