ATASCADERO — Beaver Brigade members and friends collected 30 big bags of trash at four abandoned homeless camps along the Salinas River in Atascadero on Aug. 16.
Tumbledown shelters made of poles lashed with innertubes, a couple of generators, lots of takeout containers and small batteries strewn around, plastics breaking down and other debris was removed and will not injure the beavers or wash downstream to pollute other parts of the Salinas River.
The Beaver Brigade was appreciative of the support from local entities. The Atascadero Mutual Water Company supplied bags and gloves, and the City of Atascadero provided access to dumpsters and the riverbed.
The Beaver Brigade will clean up another abandoned homeless camp at 5 p.m. on Sept. 6. The cleanup is open to the public. Email for details katewave8600@gmail.com.
Beaver Information
• Did you know beavers are living in and around the Salinas River? In building their dams and lodges and ponds and passageways, beavers improve creeks and tributaries’ capacity to hold water all along the entire 175 miles of the Salinas River.
• Beaver dams make the land more resistant to fire by keeping the water on the land longer. The ponds that develop around beaver dams and lodges cause the water to stay on the ground longer, slow down, spread out, and soak into the landscape, rehydrating everything along the way.
• Beavers and humans are alike in their ability to alter their habitats to suit their own needs significantly. Many Native Americans greatly respected beavers, calling them “Little People.”
The Beaver Brigade is educating and raising awareness of the existence and benefits of beavers in San Luis Obispo County.
