We’ve done a couple events with NWF refuge folk there as a neighboring booth. They have nice uniforms and look official. They are generally politely amused by our beaver booth. But despite the government issued equipment they always seem to struggle to find a way to relate to the young people. Maybe they are so busy filling out forms that they don’t get a lot of practice. or they just aren’t sure what makes an impression. Generally we find they have that ONE idea that they cling to and can’t easily adapt to other settings. You know the old tool of dressing kids up in a fur coat and goggle to let the ‘be’ a beaver. Or for example, the few times they came to the beaver festival and insisted on bringing a massive red speed boat to display.
Why bring this up now, you ask?
Mammal Madness: Who Gets Your Vote?
Poor basketball fans. How do you cope with having just a month to go wild over contests between, say, wildcats and wolverines, or cougars and tigers?
In the National Wildlife Refuge System, celebrating its 115th birthday on March 14, Mammal Madness isn’t just a spring event. Refuge mammals draw attention all year. We can root for our favorites whenever we like, just by visiting a national wildlife refuge — online or in person.
Which of the animals in these pairs gets your vote?
Get it? Instead of March Madness it’s Mammal Madness! Isn’t that c-l-e-v-e-r? Probably someone with respected government title like educational outreach coordinator thought that up specifically to relate to all those young people. Now that our curiosity is peaked, let’s see what is among their match-ups.
River Otter vs. Beaver
You like your wildlife sleek and slippery, equally at home on land or in water? Got it. So which team do you favor in a matchup between river otters and beavers?
If there’s one thing river otters seem to like better than rolling on logs and sliding on their bellies, it’s doing it in groups. Play is a social activity for these semi-aquatic animals. Dense fur containing nearly 160,000 hairs per square inch insulates otters in cold waters.
Busy as a beaver is more than a saying. The thick-haired rodent incessantly gnaws trees and builds dams for dens and lodges. One of the largest beaver dams — seen on a satellite image in 2007 in Alberta, Canada — reaches more than half a mile deep. Dams help protect beavers from predators and keep their lodge entrances ice-free.
Because their fur pelts were so prized for hats, beavers were almost wiped out in North America. If silk hats hadn’t come into fashion around 1900, beavers might not have survived. Beavers can improve water quality; boost water retention; and create habitat for many other species.
Gosh that’s a toughie. I mean who would we pick between something that rolls on logs and something that actually creates habitat for the things that roll on logs? (What value is there in rolling on logs anyway?)
I say no contest.
Of course they picked an adorable photo for the otter with a family members being all playful, and a lumbering dull photo for the beaver that doesn’t even show his tail. I’m thinking this is a push poll and not a fair fight. We would have made a better choice. Just in the interest of fairness of course. 
The other thing I would do if I were the FWS refuge biologist that came up with this brilliant “Mammal Madness” idea, trying to get people to vote in a contest, is actually make a web page where people could, you know, actually VOTE. So they would share it with their friends to get them to vote and see the progress of their favorite species over time. A simple Doodle poll or Go Daddy Poll with real time results to entertain the kids. And maybe the winning species had a runoff for mammal of the year or something.
Do you think this site has a place where you can vote? Don’t be silly. Of course not.
Even with our shoestring budget and lack of uniforms and boats, Worth A Dam is generally a little better at engaging the youngsters. We’re already planning for the Earth Day event with a strategy that will boost the festival as well. In addition to the awesome new festival banners that were madefor the park we bought 3 blank ones as well, and yesterday Jon and I taped of 5×5 sections for kids to draw in with bright sharpies. This means that at the John Muir Earth day celebration, in addition to promoting the festival to the 3000+ kids and parents who visit, the center of the beaver festival park will have banners made by those children themselves.
I added just a few virtual kids drawing so you get the idea.
In case you’re not sure how kids drawings can come together and fill up a space in a way that’s both artistic and educational, here’s a great example we did at the girl scouts 100th anniversary event starting with a plain old beaver dam.
Time to talk about a favorite donation for the silent auction, this one from a talented carver in Massachusetts who gathers beaver chewed sticks to turn into picture frames, wooden bowls and other treasures. Karl Bunker turned his passion into an Etsy shop and was happy to donate to our saving beavers campaign.
I’ve been working in various crafts and art fields for most of my life. Lately I’ve found my greatest joy is in creating objects in wood that emphasize the beauty of wood in its natural forms. And to my eye, some of the most beautiful and charming forms of wood to be found in nature are those that have been “worked on” by beavers. The stumps of trees felled by beavers, logs and branches with beaver chew-marks or with their bark gnawed off by beavers, and sticks with the characteristic cut ends left by beavers.
In addition to this truly unique and tooth-defying base, Karl was so generous that when he heard I have a collection of beaver chews from around the globe, he generously included a couple of Bay state specimens along with package!
Massachusetts has a complicated beaver history, with so much controversy over the animals that it gave Mike Callahan a new career and all of us a great beaver hero. It’s wonderful to meet another man who appreciates their special kind of art work.
Go check out the fun items in Karl’s shop and thank him for making a donation to our Martinez Beavers. Think how wonderful your grandaughter’s photo would look in a beaver frame!
