I invited a new team member onto the urban beaver chapter because they told me I could. I felt we needed more water weight in our cluster, and first thought of good friend Ann Riley who is too busy with her third book to help. That of course meant I needed to ask Dr. Ellen Wohl who was surprisingly interested and willing to assist. In case you’ve forgotten who she is, shes a professor of geo sciences at Warner College in Colorado who has written a great deal on beaver, rivers, and climate change. This audio is a great introduction. It’s taken from a few moments of her interview on Santa Fe Radio, and happens to be the smartest most tightly packed summary of beaver benefits I’ve ever heard.
Ellen suggested we consider using a tool for analyzing the likely role of a beaver dam risk and contribution of woody debris. Her paper on the topic is coming out soon and she attached a copy for review, with sections about the value of woody debris to invertebrates and fish that immediately translate to beaver dams. I thought for sure it would interest Michael Pollock and sent it along to him. He got very excited and thought it was a great idea to inform our paper.
Which just goes to emphasize that they are all super smart in their relative fields. And I just make connections. Because its what I do.
