In L.A. Beavers v. City: Beavers in the lead

by SEA STACHURA
Nov 9th 2008 @ 3:26PM

Filed under: Plants and Wildlife

The Beaver Haters and the Beaver Lovers have been at war in Martinez, Calif. The beavers have been in the middle, but they seem to be ignoring the rocket grenades overhead.

Martinez, Calif. is a short drive north from San Fransisco, and it's also home to a relatively new family of beavers. In 2006 a pair of beavers took up residence in Alhambra Creek in the oil town. They dammed; they had babies; they brought tourists and then came the Beaver Haters. 

The Beaver Haters is a pseudonym for a group of property owners who felt the beavers were digging under a retaining wall. They wanted the beavers removed. Immediately. The Beaver Lovers were offended by the Beaver Haters demands. They felt the beavers weren't doing a damn thing to the retaining wall and formed a group called "Give a Dam." 

The city went for a middle ground and spent $400,000 to reinforce that wall just a few feet from the beavers' home. Beaver Lovers worried this would prompt the beavers to leave. After three weeks of rumbling, noisy, and what might even be considered to a beaver violent construction the beavers are okay. So far, they are sticking around. 

No word on whether their reproductive systems may have been shocked or whether toxic materials were leaked into the creek and will later poison the family. Who knows. But for now, the beavers are safe. They are burrowing, and they are in the lead.

As an aside, Give a Dam discovered information that indicated the beavers had not dug under the retaining wall nor done any damage to it. The damage predated the beavers. Like they said, the beavers don't give a damn about the retaining wall.