Let’s say, (and why not) that an unnamed city a fair drive from Martinez had some beavers that were blocking a culvert. Not surprising yet? Here’s the fun part: through a weird accident of fate they didn’t want to kill them. (Yet.) They wondered if they could solve the problem another way, and wrote Wildcare for help.
Wildcare didn’t know much about fixing beaver haitat but they had recently published my article about it and sent their SOS my way. I followed up and talked to these folk about the issue and arranged for Cheryl to go have a look at the habitat. Gasp-inducing fact #1: when I mentioned the value of beavers to the watershed and all the wildlife they’d produce, the person on the phone said “Oh you don’t have to convince me! We know!”
Let’s say that when Cheryl was out scoping the habitat she met the man behind the beaver-savin’ campaign who happened to have installed a camera to keep watch on them. Lets say he was actually employed for this unnamed city and asked if we could do a site survey and tell them what they might need. Let’s say at our yearly new year’s dinner,Cheryl arranged for Jon and Igor to come traipsing around the habitat and look around.
Now let’s say that the habitat turned out to be the most magical beaver wetlands imaginable. They had a delightful morning following the twists and turn of a perfectly meandering stream and identifying 6 dams and countless chews. There were cheerful conversations, otter scat, paper whites, and more secret dams to uncover than they had time to track down! A second visit was planned. Mike’s DVD was given along with two Worth A Dam hats, at which time the resident beaver saver offered his card.
Gasp-inducing fact 2: his card said he was from an undisclosed department that had greatly balked about saving our beavers, lo these many years ago.
What happens next? Well, Igor and I may be requested to present a plan to the city council, (no names until they’re on board) and detail the reasons to live with beavers, of which I can tell you right now the biggest one is that this habitat is so beautiful that even if they trap every single one they’ll be more in 6 months anyway. We discussed the Worth A Dam scholarship and having Mike or Skip come do it and we’ll see what happens next!
All in all a pretty remarkable start to the new year. And I am in wonderland.
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Martinez update: Beaver visit last night saw no actual beavers but plenty of work on the primary dam, nothing on the secondary
And lots of work on the possibly to be renamed ‘third dam’.
Remember, beavers change things. It’s what they do.
