Did you see our nice article in the Gazette? Apparently beaver art is officially launched! Monday’s school board meeting will start with a short presentation on the mural by EBAG artists FRO and Randy. Hopefully we’ll generate more interest in the beavers - their impact on the habitat and the community. It’s a busy night. I can’t be there (day job!), Jon can’t be there because he has to do a “beaver tour” which someone bought at the silent auction. FRO and Randy will carry the night and Kathi will be there in her ’school board capacity’. Worth A Dam is apparently in high demand at the moment.

Speaking of which I got a nice response from the columnist in the Missouri Bambi-myth article saying he was actually pro-beaver and ‘never lose your passion’ (!) and then a cordial letter from the trapper in question whom I had never written. He explained that they do use flow devices in public lands but offer only trapping on private property. He assured me that they offered information about wrapping trees and told people that trapping was a short term solution.  I’m not sure why writing an unknown woman who had never contacted him was a good use of his time, but there it is.

To tell the truth, the website has been getting a weird amount of traffic lately. I got an offer to host adds for pay and a threat for an international lawsuit for writing about a certain iconic-bra-appearing product. I did what I could to talk my way out of both for the time being. The really exciting news is that beaver-friend and Worth A Dam benefactor Scott Artis is going to begin an upgrade to the site Sunday. Site designer Michael Cronin taught me as much as he could before he moved away, but he never taught me how to do an upgrade. Now technology has moved forward without us and this website is like a tricycle on the freeway. Hopefully we’ll get new wheels soon. There may be moments of the look of the page changing but don’t worry, we’ll be excitingly upgraded and restored eventually!

Children’s Mural Available for Display

Worth A Dam is proud to present the children’s Mural for Alhambra Creek. This colorful and engaging diptych piece was created by a hundred young artists at Beaver Festival III in downtown Martinez and is now available for loaned display. FROgard, of the East Bay Artists Guild, painted the background with help from Randy Stansberry, based on graphic artist Libby Corliss creek map for the area. FRO provided guidance, instruction and a little judicious editing to help the mural come to life.

Each segment is 36″ x 48″and the pair should be hung in tandem. Imaginations were allowed to flourish letting each child share his or her own vision for the beaver habitat: a close look at the artwork shows that in addition to the green heron, baby ducks and beaver family, there is even a pirate beaver with a “hook” claw! One pragmatic child painted a golf bag with a ‘hole in one’ just in case dad would like to play a few rounds at the Beaver Park.

The hidden treasure of Martinez, CA is revealed not just its famous beavers but also in the delightful and caring children that respect Alhambra Creek and its wildlife. Funds and materials for this mural were donated by generous supporters and it is the hope of the children, the artists, and Worth A Dam that it will be seen around the downtown area in Martinez, inspiring each of us to see the wild beauty of the world around them.

If you would like to display the mural in your office, foyey, stairwell or gallery, contact Heidi Perryman at (925) 283-4499  to make arrangements.

This notice went out as of 3:00 pm Wednesday.As of 9 pm last night we already had expressed interest from the superintendent of schools, the Contra Costa Bar Association, and Superior Court. Worth A Dam is feeling like Scarlet at the ball! Thanks FRO and Randy for your outstanding work on this project. Thanks Mitch Wagner (long time hero of another very famous beaver case) for the generous donation. Worth A Dam promises never to let generous donations go to waste!

Back when I was trying to prove the number 1 picture of a beaver on (the) google was actually a nutria (I’ll wait while you go check). I started noticing that beavers have unique whisker-like hairs above the eyes. If the lighting is right and you look close you’ll see them. Artists almost never include them but I made sure Libby added them to the beaver festival flyer. Apparently these are called “superciliary tufts” or “superciliary vibrissae”

Your cat has them and they tell him to blink and react to changes in the air flow to catch things. Whiskers in general are incredibly important as guides to tell an animal how close things are and whether they can squeeze in between them. Our wikipedia friend researched the issue and found a 2009 article saying that the neural information communicated by the vibrasse in aquatic mammals was so significant it deserved its own sensory name.: “The Vibrassal Sense.”

Behaviour and ecology of Riparian mammals

By Nigel Dunstone, Martyn L. Gorman

While beavers don’t have to worry so much about trees getting away from them, they do need to detect small changes in flow and water motion to know when and how to make repairs to their dam. Skip Lisle writes this about superciliary tufts in beavers:

Beavers have a phenomenal ability to find their way around a pond underwater in the pitch dark—-in deep water, under ice, at night. They know every square inch of the underwater world, all learned by touch. Various hairs must play an incredibly important role.

This makes total sense. When our very first kit got sick years ago and was found out to be blind we realized that his ability to navigate in water was never notably affected. Yesterday I realized I had never seen these ‘tufts’ on our kits, and lord knows I had been looking at them long enough to notice. Did that mean they get them when they got older? Could they be a mark of maturity? In scouring through photos it seemed like dad had more than mom. Maybe they get more as they aged? Could they be used to tell the maturity of a beaver? Who knew more about this mystery and who could help? I wrote every beaver expert I know to ask their thoughts and I’ll let you know what I learn.

Then I got out our heavy duty binoculars and went down to the dam for some tuft-hunting. Guess what I found our kits have?

Click on the picture to enlarge it. They’re there. While I was down there solving my own mystery, I heard some activity behind me downstream and saw some big wave action. As I was trying to find out who was below the dam, I saw a hulking furry figure scurry over it, dunk immediately underwater and run a steady line of bubbles all the way up to the lodge.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It has been almost two months since we saw him, but I kept telling myself he was most likely still here. Where would he go? I was by myself at the dam last night for most of the evening and maybe that’s why I saw him. He’s a wary beaver who stays away from commotion. I was sooo happy to see him, and know that our three lovely kits have at least two defenders to look after them.

Whatever you were planning on reading this morning, put it aside and go check out this fantastic guide to ‘working with beaver’. It was written by Sherri Tippie in conjunction with Mary O’Brien and the Grand Canyon Trust. It has a detailed account of how to protect trees, install beaver deceivers and configure flow devices. It very pragmatically talks about the benefits of beavers and even talks about relocating the ones that just can’t be tolerated. This is the kind of smart, complete guide to dealing with beavers that 200 people attending a certain November 7th, 2007 meeting would have been very grateful for. I put a link to it on the resource section of the website as well.  If the names involved sound familiar, they should. Sherri Tippie is the top beaver relocation expert in the country located in Colorado. I called her the day before that meeting and asked about the potential hazards of relocation and what she’d charge to come out and move ours if we had to take that route. Mary O’brien is the true beaver believer from my favorite ever beaver article “Voyage of the dammed“. Honestly, you just don’t assemble a better beaver team than this. Go read it and the next time we write the city of St. Paul or Juno or Chicago trying to make them think twice about killing beavers, we’ll make sure to send them a copy!

When you’re done marveling at their good work, take a moment to consider ours. My meeting with city staff went amazing yesterday and they are undertaking the installation of the beavers on the sheetpile themselves. Check out this press release for details. It’s perfect timing, because Mom beaver died on a Saturday morning exactly two months ago today. Doesn’t it seem much, much longer? (Maybe I am just much, much older.) Well, soon there will be a reminder of her impact on Alhambra Creek forever, and that greatly heartens me. Thanks Paul Craig for your generous artwork!

If you need a reminder of how things used to be, check out our New York friend Bob Arnebeck’s lovely footage of his new kits with mom. He’s been watching for them all summer anxiously waiting for the launch and they just made an appearance. We know how that is!

Remember Ian Timothy’s wonderful packaging of his five part claymation series “Beaver Creek” that he offered for the Silent Auction? Well he was pretty happy with how it turned out, too. Amidst the flurry of launching episode V he generated lots of new viewers and interest. I received an email yesterday from Joe Cannon of the Lands Council in Washington State. As you might recall, the Lands Council is the powerful information and advocacy group behind the “Working Beaver Conference” a few years back and the “Beaver Solution” production last year. It also has two Americorp positions teaching beaver management and stream solutions.

My Americorps coworker and I are coordinating a film fest themed on environmental issues and sustainable living.  We’re showing several films, including the Imax “Beavers” film, and would like to show Ian Timothy’s Beaver creek animations series shown on your website.  I’m so glad you’ve promoted his talents!  These episodes are really great, and would be perfect for short segments between films!   What would the best way to coordinate getting the DVD from him?  If nothing else, I can try to connect with him through Facebook.  I’m pretty sure the theater we are coordinating with can show DVD format.

Thanks! Joe

So of course I got pretty excited and did a “Ian this is Joe, Joe this is Ian” email. I just hope Ian isn’t so bogged down with the beginning of the school year he can’t get to the post office! An environmental film festival is a great and well deserved honor to add to his resume. You know, of course, there should be an “introduction to the artist” segment included in the series, with some footage of him painstakingly fixing the clay scene, photographing and then moving it a fraction of an inch, and doing the whole thing again. It could show him doing his homework and sitting with his friends at high school and maybe it could say how he got interested in beavers?

Our beaver-friend Ann Riley sent me the July issue of “Mother Earth News” with a four page article on beavers and a nod to our friends at Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife. It was fun to read about their activities from someone who appreciates them, but I had mixed feelings about parts of the article. My sense was that the author advocates for keeping beavers in the same way that a bud light commercial advises you to “drink responsibly”: they have long figured out that you won’t do it anyway.

My sensibilities were particularly ruffled by two parts of the article: the first was that damming was entirely ‘based on instinct’, which if it was true, why would beavers stay with their parents for 2-3 years? And why does a particular beaver’s damming behavior get better over time? More importantly, his statement that beaver populations have ‘recovered’ is true only if you use the kind of mindset that the Bush Administration did when they took bald eagles off the endangered species list. (”Well there are so many in Alaska!) It’s ‘recovered’ in the sense that they probably aren’t dying off any time soon, but it isn’t ‘restored’ to its original numbers by a long shot.

Here’s my letter to Mr. Krautwurst. I haven’t been able to find an address to post your own but you can use the form at the website if you’d like.

This morning 30 more children are eager to learn what a Keystone Species is and earn the last of our charms for a bracelet. I’m off to the John Muir Mountain Day Camp to teach about beavers and make bracelets. It is my grand fortune to be there with Frank Helling who cheerfully portrays Muir every year and talks to the kids about his life. Fortune is contagious apparently: he came down with Igor after the 2008 Earth Day event and watched a half dozen beavers with Cheryl Reynolds on hand to explain what he was seeing. He still talks about that magical night!

Since there are less of us this time to go around I thought of a new plan. I’ll do the presentation for the first “tribe”, and ask questions at the end. The lucky 6 answers will become “charm captains” (you know a beaver captain, a salmon captain, a key captain, and so on) and then they’ll go off to make sure the other 9 children ‘earn’ that particular charm. Jon will be there to link them onto a bracelet and the lucky kids will get a shiny souvenir of their day learning about beavers. Meanwhile I’ll be presenting to the second ‘tribe’ and getting new charm captains for the second wave. Repeat this three times. This way the children teach each other and the odds of being remembered go wayyyyyy up.

We had just enough for 30 leftover which means I did 95 bracelets at the festival. No wonder we felt busy! Here’s a nice ‘teaching children’ video if you haven’t seen it in a while.

We were strolling along– Alhambra Creek
We could hear the people saying–Oh my, Oh dear
Folks are coming to see Alhambra Creek
And it’s thanks to Worth a Dam that they come here

See the heron and mink, the otters too 
They have come because of beavers –that’s something new 
They have stolen our hearts 
We’ve come to view 
And it’s thanks to Worth a Dam Who saw it through

Sung to: “Moonlight Bay”  Lyrics by ‘Granny Gail‘ for whom we are Grateful.

Yesterday’s event was a rousing success by every measure: great attendance, excellent Music, remarkable children’s art, beautiful wildlife, a busy membership booth and a momentous silent auction with only one item remaining by the end of the day. Adorable children learned beaver facts and more than a couple whispering parents coached them with the wrong answers (”beavers eat fish!”). I personally made sure that everyone wearing the keystone charm bracelet knew better. Thanks to our amazing volunteers who worked tirelessly all day linking things together and thanks to our fearless displays who answered the same questions again and again.

Three highlights of a million will stay with me for a good long time: The Morris Dancers procession with the children’s banner trailing behind, The Raging Grannies touching verse about missing Mother Beaver, and Mission Gold Jazz Band playing the song I listened to over and over while the beaver battle was raging — imagining a day when the beavers were loved and protected in Alhambra Creek - like they are today.

We are just ten days away from Beaver Festival III, an event that began as a very local effort to pressure our stubborn council to do the right thing and became an inspiration for similar events in other cities — two in Canada! This years festival will draw visitors from all over california, and we know of at least three that are coming from out of state! The picture above is from the truly unique event brochure designed by our volunteer graphic artist Libby Corliss. (Check out the “V” in beaver and let me know if you recognize that tail!) There will be five hours of live music, environmental displays, children’s activities, beaver tours, unique gifts and education. A children’s procession at noon will unfurl the very beautiful “beaver banner” which was created by child artists at the flyway festival and earthday this year. It will be carried through the park and then hung on the footbridge through the day in celebration. Get your cameras ready!

A much anticipated part of the day will be the Keystone charm bracelet activity - free for the first 100 children. (Up to 25 adults who can’t bear to be left out can participate for a $5 materials fee.) This enormously popular activity was hatched at the flyway fiesta and adapted especially for this unique event. Children learn facts about the way beavers affect their habitat and earn charms by explaining how it all works. Friends of Alhambra Creek will have the dragonfly charm. Salmon Protection And Watershed Network will have the salmon charm. Native Bird Connections will have the Bird Charm. Lindsay Wildlife will have the Otter charm and Worth A Dam information will of course have the beaver charm. There will be a ‘linking station’ where children can go to have their charms added and at least 4 girl scouts guides roaming and explaining to make sure everyone understands.  At the end of their activity the children will have a truly unique reminder of their day, that they can use to explain the value of beavers in the watershed to their friends, or their class mates, or their parents.

Meanwhile, our delightful and talented artist Frogard Butler will be helping children work with acryllic paints to populate a two sectioned mural of Alhambra Creek. She created the diptych basis for the creek design with the help of another artist from East Bay Artists Guild and children will be invited to add beavers, birds, willow, catails — as they see fit. The finished panels should make a lovely and movable display, and can hang alternately at the library, the city building, the district office or even the train station! Smocks, brushes and guidance will be provided, and all artists (young or old) are encouraged to participate.

Beaver tours will be lead throughout the day by close-observor, Jon Ridler. Learn about the primary dam and secondary dams, new lodge, how the flow device works, and see actual sign of beaver chewing. Maybe you’ll spot a resident muskrat or green heron! Remember everything so you can come back after dinner and see the event for yourself. The steel beavers created by Paul Craig for Mom’s memorial will be on display, and mom’s unique tail will be on the back of every Worth A Dam t-shirt. Visit Kathi McLaughin at the membership booth to see that this year we are also offering baseball caps and bumper stickers as thankyous for donations. The boy scouts will offer water for sale and Luigi’s popular store will offer a satellite for drinks and beaver memorabilia. Local vendors will include Wildbirds Unlimited and Divine Creations. Facepainting artist Alana Dill will be there to turn your child into a beaver or wood sprite, and when you’re done with all that stop back at the silent auction and increase your bid so that you can be sure you get what you want! Don’t forget to pick up a free beaver (temporary) tattoo from the information booth.

Top auction items this year include an overnight, dinner & tour at Safari West, tickets to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, San Francisco & Oakland zoos and a host of generous donated wildlife puppets from Folkmanis. If you’re lucky you might pick up a unique framed photo from Cheryl Reynolds that will be a permanent reminder of the Martinez beavers. The silent auction closes at three, and when you’ve picked up your winnings and said your goodbyes at four, head over for an leisurely dinner at Lemon Grass Bistro or La Tapatia so that when you finish at 7 you’ll be ready for some actual beaver viewing! What a better way to end such a unique day!

Click on the photos or video to hear some of our musicians!

The summer osprey are back in the west hills of downtown Martinez. (Remember the false alarm “eagle nest” in the football field last year?) The Osprey roost in the evenings in a large dead tree near the top of green street and fish during the day at the Marina. When I get home at night I can hear their piercing chirp to each other. Sometimes if I imitate it just right I can lure their flight circles right over my house. Jon saw the young one begging for food from mom in the air over the beaver dam. (Don’t worry about our kits, though, these are strictly fish eaters!) If you’ve never had the remarkable sighting of an osprey catching a fish check out the video below. Imagine how much better it gets in the middle of a lake of forlorn and unlucky fishermen.

A wildly beloved female osprey “Lady” is the oldest known Osprey in the UK and has returned every year to her webcam nest to raise 56 off spring. This year she got very ill, and supporters worried she would die with no new eggs, or not survive to see the offspring fledge. Her rally to health was celebrated accordingly.

An osprey thought to be just hours from death a few weeks ago has survived to see her chicks leave the nest.

The first fledging took to the skies at the Loch of the Lowes centre in Perthshire on Sunday morning, the Scottish Wildlife Trust said. The second made its first flight at 1000 BST on Monday. The chicks’ mother, a 24-year-old osprey called Lady, suffered a bout of ill health in June. Experts feared the bird would die when she stopped eating.

But thousands of webcam viewers witnessed her sudden recovery days later.

Female ospreys live an average of eight years and produce about 20 chicks in that time.

But Lady - the oldest breeding osprey in the UK - has produced 56 eggs and has now seen 48 fledge.

The bird has developed an international following through the webcam trained on the eyrie throughout the breeding season.

Wildlife centre manager Peter Ferns said: “We are overjoyed that our female breeding osprey has once again been successful in producing and raising chicks which have fledged the nest.

“This is the 20th consecutive year we have watched over this bird at Loch of the Lowes and it’s certainly been one of the most dramatic.”

Mr Ferns said it was an “emotional moment” for staff at the centre and webcam viewers when the chick fledged.

He said: “A few weeks ago we didn’t think we would see this day after the female became so ill. Since her remarkable recovery, she has amazed us all again with her tenacity and dedication to her chicks.

Sound familiar?