The beavers have drawn together some remarkable supporters. From the Martinez Early Childhood Center’s preschoolers performing the beaver chant for the mayor, to the EAS students committing ongoing maintenance before the s/c, to the Sierra Club offering support and guidance, to the busy County Workers who nevertheless stop by the dam every morning. Our beavers have friends in the court system, the penal system, the fire department, the sheriff’s office and the Martinez Unified School District Office. All kinds of people have made the difference. None of this could have been possible without broad public interest, creative engagement and the willingness to get involved.
Behind the scenes in “Worth A Dam” the efforts are no less dynamic. Wildlife VP Cheryl Reynolds’ picture of the pregnant mom will likely be featured in this weekend’s Gazette, and help raise awareness of her condition and the possible risks of relocation. This shot from the same day proves that this was mom, showing clearly the chip in her tail. moms-tail.jpg
Linda Meza, VP of public relations, and a frequent contributor to this blog, is working on a dynamic press release about the launch of Worth A Dam, and also strategizing how to increase attendance at the April Meeting. She has written the council about this issue and challenged them to improve public notification as other cities do.
Lastly, Donna Mahoney, CFO is working on a fantastic project documenting the beavers’ fiscal contribution to the city. She is contacting the local news stations and asking about cost for city advertising based on prime time rates. KTVU, for example, outlined a cost of $ 2500.00 for a 30 second time slot. It is possible to go back through a google search and document every time the Martinez beavers’ story ran on the local news. (Nov 6, December 18, Jan 2 etc.)
Each time a report ran it was repeated morning, noon and night, and was usually longer than 30 seconds. Multiply that figure times the other stations covering the story, (KPIX, KCBS, KCRA, KGO) and you see a truly staggering figure of advertisement that the beavers have purchased for Martinez — a city whose charms have often gone unnoticed. The goal is to weigh this figure against the reported costs for maintaining the beavers, and ask the city to do the math.
The advocacy efforts for the Martinez Beavers have gotten attention at the local level, the state level and the national level. The last hurdle will be forcing this issue to the forefront again before the April meeting. Maybe November 7th was just the rehearsal dinner…
Let’s make the April the wedding.
