Lots of great news this morning, the most exciting of which is that Worth A Dam and the Martinez Beavers will be on the KQED science blog tomorrow morning, and I couldn’t be happier that they have decided to feature what happens when you decide to live with beavers, not just when you relocate them! Stay tuned for a link tomorrow.

The schedule for the Salmonid Restoration Federation conference is out and I see that my two presentations are on the first day and the last day which means that beavers will be the Alpha and the Omega of this year’s discussions and also means I have to take 5 days off work and spend a grueling week in Santa Barbara. Go beavers!

Finally, this story from the Czech ministry may be the funnest beaver report ever. Apparently the newest plan to get people to appreciating nature includes a big request for funds to – well go read it yourself.

Environment Ministry ends year with beaver underwear

The list of items the ministry wants to buy for this money sounds a bit like a well-known song The Twelve Days of Christmas: six thousand pens, crayons, bags, umbrellas and stickers, two hundred cufflinks and scarves. And the item that has got many riled up is the order for one thousand pieces of underwear with a picture of a beaver on women’s knickers.

Jaromír Bláha, photo: archive of Hnutí DuhaJaromír Bláha, photo: archive of Hnutí Duha Critics have noted not only the inappropriate connotations of the images, but also the unlikely promotional value of the items. The outgoing Environment Minister Tomáš Podivínský is convinced of the opposite, with the news server Lidovky.cz quoting him as saying that this is a way to make the media talk about the environment and that it will help people realize that we have to continuously care for our beavers.