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Audubon First Friday focuses on Beavers

Submitted Photo Grace Tillotson, aquatic technician for the U.S. Forest Service at Allegheny National Forest, is the presenter at Audubon Community Nature Center’s First Friday Lunch Bunch on February 3. She will describe how beavers can help us combat the local burdens of climate change by storing water and improving water conditions.

Amid the panic of global climate change and political uncertainty, Grace Tillotson suggests humans should stand back and let rodents take the wheel.

At Audubon Community Nature Center’s First Friday Lunch Bunch on Feb. 3 at 11 a.m., the aquatic technician for the U.S. Forest Service at Allegheny National Forest will present “There’s a Beaver for That.”

This is an opportunity to learn how these furry animals can help combat the local burdens of climate change by storing water and improving hydrologic (water) conditions. Tillotson borrows her title from Ben Goldfarb’s book Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter. She contends that now is the time to take a new look at changing environmental conditions and give the stage to clever four-legged engineers.

Goldfarb writes: “Beavers, the animal that doubles as an ecosystem, are ecological and hydrological Swiss Army knives, capable, in the right circumstances, of tackling just about any landscape-scale problem you might confront. Trying to mitigate floods or improve water quality? There’s a beaver for that. Hoping to capture more water for agriculture in the face of climate change? Add a beaver. Concerned about sedimentation, salmon populations, wildfire? Take two families of beaver and check back in a year.”

With a bachelor’s degree in Natural Resources from Oregon State University, Tillotson started her Forest Service career on the McKenzie District of Oregon’s Willamette National Forest, collecting preliminary data on what are now recognized as some of the most progressive stream restoration sites in the world.

When she learned of the east coast’s mysterious giant salamander, the Hellbender, Tillotson was so intrigued that she moved to Pennsylvania for a six-month seasonal position, hoping to see one of these critters. Six years later, she is still here and said she feels very lucky to be involved in Hellbender surveys, fisheries work and aquatic habitat improvement projects on the Allegheny National Forest.

Observe Audubon’s own Hellbenders after the presentation and bring a own lunch to visit with the speaker and other attendees.

The fee is $6 for Nature Center members and children ages 9 to 15, $8 for non-members.

Reservations are appreciated and can be made by calling 716-569-2345 or through “Programs and Events” at AudubonCNC.org. Walk-ins are welcome.

Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown and Warren. Visit the nearly 600-acre nature preserve, check in on the live birds of prey, and hike, snowshoe or cross country ski over five miles of trails dawn until dusk daily for free. The three-story Nature Center building houses interactive displays, a collection of live animals including the Hellbender exhibit, and the Blue Heron Gift Shop. Visitors are welcome Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Sundays, 1 to 4:30 p.m. Nature Center members and SNAP/EBT cardholders have free building admission daily. Building admission is also free every Sunday for non-Nature Center members.

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