By Audrey Taub
On behalf of the SLO Beaver Brigade, I want to acknowledge and thank Elizabeth Johnson for all the work, time and support she has dedicated to our budding organization over this past year+ and wish her well on all of her future endeavors.
Elizabeth was an early “Yes!” who responded when I reached out to people and organizations with this desire to support the beavers in our area. She immediately understood the value of beavers to our waterways. Elizabeth suggested other organizations to reach out to, people to connect with and invited me to present my idea to Biodiversity First!, the non-profit organization where she was a board member and treasurer. BDF! agreed at that meeting to sponsor education for the SLO Beaver Brigade. Thanks again to Elizabeth, BDF! shared their table at a Bioneers event in our County and created a poster of the historic range maps of the beaver for us, which was the SLO Beaver Brigade’s first public appearance. And that first appearance at the Bioneers event never would have happened without the support of Elizabeth and BDF!
Elizabeth became one of the Advisors of SLO BB where she continuously showed up, offered support, suggestions and guidance. When Dr. Emily Fairfax reached out to SLO BB about visiting this area, we introduced Elizabeth and Dr. Fairfax, which resulted in Dr. Fairfax and BDF! creating the first peer-reviewed study of beaver habitat in San Luis Obispo County. Elizabeth brought her non-profit organizational knowledge to our team and decades of connections with folks in our San Luis Obispo County.
For me personally, Elizabeth, along with others in my community, helped breathe my coal of an idea into a flame with her belief in me and in the benefits of the beavers. All of us at the SLO Beaver Brigade have appreciation and respect for Elizabeth and the work she has done as an Advisor for SLO BB.
Now that Elizabeth’s role as an Advisor is complete, we send her well wishes for all of her future endeavors, whether it’s supporting more beaver research, spreading more seed libraries throughout our County or monitoring snow leopards in the high-elevation Altai Mountains, we know it will be exciting and necessary work.