Hello to you beaver-believing and beaver-curious New Mexicans,
The New Mexico Beaver Project is kicking off our springtime activities as the weather warms (alarmingly!) and what little snow we have begins its downhill journey as water.
On April 7th, we are hosting a free, public event at Keeping Together Brewery in Santa Fe, at 5:30pm. Not only is it International Beaver Day, but it is also National Beer Day. We’re hosting an incredible panel of local experts to discuss how these ecosystem engineers are making New Mexico more lush, resilient, and hospitable for us all.
Stick around after the talks for a community hang-bring your best beaver stories, burning questions, and a thirst for fantastic local beer!
Speakers include:
- Leia Barnett – Life-long resident of the Sangre de Cristo mountains and New Mexico Conservation Lead for WildEarth Guardians.
- Laura Paskus – Longtime writer and producer based in Albuquerque. She’s the author of At the Precipice: New Mexico’s Changing Climate and editor of Water Bodies: Love Letters to the Most Abundant Substance on Earth.
- Lina Alegre – Local willow basket maker and beaver-enthusiast from El Rito.
- Jess Gantos – Fishing guide, hunter, and builder. Becoming a beaver believer created a sturdy foundation for the intersection of her passions with conservation. She’s particularly thrilled that beavers are basically nannies for fingerling trout.
We are also starting our work to help New Mexicans coexist with beavers as we share landscapes and waterways. We are a small crew, but will be drawing on volunteers to help install coexistence devices to keep beavers and people happily coexisting and avoiding conflict.
So…
- If you have a beaver issue that you want help dealing with, please reach out. We cannot remove beavers, but we can do a site assessment to see if some clever devices would help resolve any threats to infrastructure, crops, trees, roads, etc. We can’t respond to every situation, but we will try our best.
- If you want to help with these coexistence projects, let us know. You may already have expressed an interest, but it helps us to know where you are, and what you can offer in terms of time, tools, physical abilities, and experience.
Thanks,
Chris Smith
New Mexico Beaver Project