MartinezBeavers.org

Our Story

The Beavers in Downtown Martinez are refusing to go away quietly.You may recall that back in October 2007 their dam was reported to pose a flooding hazard and the animals were slated for extermination. Although the mayor was able to offer relocation as an alternative, the huge public response at the November 7th meeting pressured the Council to form a “beaver subcommittee” looking at the possibility of allowing the beavers to stay. This body consisted of Councilman Mark Ross and Council woman Lara Delaney along with five interested residents: Creek expert Igor Skaredoff, County Flood Control District Engineer, Mitch Avalon, attorney and property owner Al Turnbaugh, and local beaver advocates Julian Fraser and Heidi Perryman.

One of the subcommittee’s first acts was to bring on expert Skip Lisle from Vermont to review the situation and install a flow device that could manage dam height and maintain safe water levels. In early January a “Castor Master” was installed, which is basically flexible tubing that moves the water from upstream to downstream.It is designed to disguise the source of the leak so that hard-working beavers are not triggered to make repairs to the dam. Skip stayed in town long enough to make adjustments to the device so it was sure to survive the heaviest storms.The dam has since been successfully maintained at a much reduced height. During hard rains the dam simply washes out and the beavers later rebuild.

The subcommittee report was released in early April and addressed issues such as hydrology, saturation, environmental impact and beaver management. It stresses reasonable means for stewardship and emphasizes that the any steps undertaken should be for the good of the city overall, regardless of beavers. Importantly, after the dam height was lowered, the Hydrology report by PWA estimated the impact of the beaver dam as of minimal significance.

The report was presented at the April 16th 2008 meeting, where 6 out of 7 subcommittee members recommended endorsing strategies of successful management for allowing the beavers to stay in Alhambra Creek. The council declined to vote and deferred to a later meeting pending more information on the soil saturation and city liability issues. In a surprise move Mayor Rob Schroder had invited Mary Tappel to the meeting to rebut the report and challenge its findings.

Ms. Tappel serves on the state water board and was involved in the Elk Grove action resulting in the extermination of 51 beavers. She stated that every flow device she had observed had failed, and included Martinez in her calculation noting the beavers had built a secondary dam.

While experts Skip Lisle and Sharon Brown state that the secondary Dam is not a “do-over” but rather a terrace that allows a broader feeding area, Ms. Tappel argued that it meant the beavers were moving after having depleted their food supply. None of her predictions proved correct. The beavers now have three “secondary dams” and are still based in the same pond.

Means for successfully managing the beavers are already in place. A non-profit organization (“Worth A Dam”) has been organized to help shoulder responsibility for habitat replacement and community education. Cooperative funding and assistance has already been offered by the Urban Creeks Council and the John Muir Association. Worth A Dam has held community education events, visited class rooms and  organized the first annual ‘beaver festival” in 2008. The beavers have become a unifying symbol for an expanding town that can often be uncertain of its center. This represents a unique opportunity to demonstrate humane environmentalism in the home town of John Muir.

Worth A Dam

Dedicated to Maintaining the Martinez Beavers in Alhambra Creek through responsible stewardship, creative problem solving, community involvement, and education.

President: Heidi Perryman, Ph.D.

VP-Wildlife: Cheryl Reynolds

Treasurer: Jon Ridler

Donations: Lory Bruno

Education: Kathi Mclaughlin

Art & Activity: Frogard Butler

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