October 5th Fundraiser for Salinas River Center : Register Here
September 17th and October 28th, 6:30pm ,Atascadero Library
May 18 2024 Seminar
Bringing Beavers Back to the Morro Bay Watershed?
Saturday, May 18, 2024 10:30am-2:30pm
In-person & on-line seminar
Where: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Baker Science Building
Hosted by: SLO Beaver Brigade and the Morro Bay Open Space Alliance
You’re invited to join us and the Morro Bay Open Space Alliance for an interactive seminar on bringing beavers back to the Morro Bay Watershed. You can attend this event either in person at Cal Poly campus or by viewing virtually (both in-person and virtual registration links coming soon!). Lunch will be provided for those who attend the physical event. The next day, May 19, we will be leading tours out to the beaver habitat on the Salinas River in Atascadero so you can see with your own eyes the habitat that the beavers can create.
Beavers are native to the creeks that flow into Morro Bay, but they were hunted completely out of the area well over 100 years ago. Now, we are seeing the environmental challenges facing Morro Bay such as:
- Steelhead trout listed as a threatened species
- Sedimentation into the bay
- Sea water intrusion
- Incised, degraded creeks
- Poor water quality in some tributary creeks
And, we at the Beaver Brigade see the potential for beavers to directly address many of these challenges. By their natural action of dam building, here are some of the environmental benefits beavers can bring:
Catch and accrue sediment in creeks, reversing process of erosion
- Increase freshwater infiltration into groundwater table
- Hold more water in creeks year round
- Improve habitat for fish, as well as plants and other animals, thus increasing biodiversity.
- Improve water quality by filtering water through their dams
- Increase natural carbon sequestration
- Improve fire resiliency
So, how do you go about setting the stage for beavers to safely and sustainably return to the watershed?
Especially when the land use and human population has changed so much since the beavers were there? We think the first step is education and public awareness. We’ll have some presentations, as well as time for breakout sessions and interactive discussions. This way, citizens of the watershed and Cal Poly students alike can get an understanding of not only why beavers are important to our watershed health, but also realistic answers on what it looks like to coexist with beavers and how to facilitate restoration projects.
Join us at the Charles Paddock Zoo Party For The Planet for the Unveiling of the Beaver Mural By Chumash Artist John Khus-Zarate. April 20th, 10:30am, 9100 Morro Road, Atascadero.
March 23rd Beaver Festival
Saturday February 10th, 9am, Interpretive Panel Unveiling
Atascadero
Juan Bautista de Anza Trailhead, 8005 Gabarda Road, Atascadero.
March 23, 2024 The Second Annual SLO Beaver Festival
January 19, 2023 Webinar with Ben Goldfarb
Webinar with Ben Goldfarb on how Beavers Can Benefit the Morro Bay Watershed, January 19, 2023.
State of the Beaver Conference 2023
Come visit the SLO Beaver Brigade and other organizations will at
Saturday, November 04, 11am – 4 pm
Patagonia Ventura Presents:
Unite for Water Rights! A community Gathering with Quail Springs
A Celebration of Water, Land and People!
When: Saturday, November 4th at Patagonia Ventura
Where: Patagonia Ventura, 235 W Santa Clara St
Location: Courtyard behind Patagonia Ventura Retail Store
Time: 11:00AM – 4:00PM
*Event is open to the Public and first-come-first-served.
Ben Goldfarb Book Signing, October 23rd 6:30pm, SLO Library Community Room
photos by Brittany App of the First Annual Beaver Festival, April 1st, 2023. Read more about it HERE!
Fundraiser Night at Castoro Cellars
Join us for a Citizen Science Beaver Survey
No experience needed!
We will be walking the rivers and creeks in the County gathering beaver data with iNaturalist. You just need iNaturalist downloaded on your Smart device. We will give a short educational intro on what to look for and then we’ll all head out to the waterways. Come join us for 1 or all 3 dates!! Meetup locations are different for each date, so sign up and receive the specifics about each date via email.
- October 23, 2022
- November 5th, 2022
Sign up here!
Join Cooper Lienhart and Audrey Taub on one of their monthly walks out to a beaver dam complex in San Luis Obispo County, learning about beaver sign and beaver habitat along the way. Sign up here.
June 3rd, 6pm, Hartley Farms: Film Screening with Panel Discussion with
Brittany App Filmmaker and Farmer extraordinaire!
Audrey Taub SLO Beaver Brigade
Jason Haas Tablas Creek Vineyard
And our beneficiary,
Devin Best Upper Salinas Las Tablas Resource Conservation District (USLTRCD)
We will be speaking at this years Central Coast Bioneers Conference on Saturday, February 26h, 1:15pm, Guild Hall , 2880 Broad Street, SLO or virtual online. Come have a listen!
Cambria Film Festival
A Live Panel Discussion after the film with Audrey Taub of the SLO Beaver Brigade , Jason Haas from @tablascreek , and the film’s Director @brittanyapp .
Tickets available at CambriaFilmFestival.com(For everyone’s safety, seating will be limited to 50% capacity, and masks will be required indoors).
We’d love to see you there!– talking about local water issues (and beavers of course
) San Luis Obispo Beaver Brigade visits Santa Barbara Beaver Brigade
Beaver Believer Virtual Screening
The Beaver Believer Virtual Screening February 21st 6pm
Virtual Showing of The Beaver Believers Movie followed by Q & A with filmmaker Sarah Koenigsberg , Audrey Taub of the SLO Beaver Brigade, Dr. Emily Fairfax, who will speak about her groundbreaking research into the relationship between beaver and fire behavior, as well as Dr. Chris Jordan of NOAA Fisheries and Jakob Shockey of The Beaver Coalition. For more information or get you tickets today!
California Beaver Summit
April 7th & April 9th, 1pm – 5pm Virtual California Beaver Summit.
During two half-day sessions on two days in April, we explore the many benefits that beavers offer to our drying state. The first session on April 7th will present an overview of beaver essentials. The discussion will clarify the history of beavers in the state, their ecological contribution as a keystone species, their function in aquatic restoration and conservation, and finally, how to successfully manage common conflicts beavers cause.
The second session on April 9th takes a closer look closer at how biologists, watershed stewards, and land managers utilize advances in beaver science and management for restoration. It addresses where they are being employed for fire resilience, conservation of endangered species, and cleaner water. California-specific management and policy challenges will be highlighted along with directions for future improvements. Because we are behind other beaver-progressive western states like Washington and Utah, California is in a unique position to avoid their mistakes and learn from their successes.