NEXT TUESDAY (May 12) we're hosting our first evening Talk Tuesday. What's better? B E A V E R S. Beaver talk. Beautiful beaver talk.
This Talk Tuesday, Leia Barnett and Chris Smith of the New Mexico Beaver Project explore the history of beavers in New Mexico and what they are doing to restore beaver numbers in New Mexico. They’ll follow the beavers’ critical role in the state’s water and climate future and, most importantly, prove to us why beavers are just about the coolest rodents in the land.
LINK IN BIO @nmbeaverproject
Beaver Believers Unite! Join us on May 21st at @openspacebrewing ! We’re hosting an incredible panel of local experts to discuss how these ecosystem engineers can make 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!
Last week, @justjessno_e , beaver believer, friend of NMBP and fishing guide for @loeflyfishing (amongst other things!), helped bring down the level of this pond on the Santa Fe River by cleaning out the downstream end of a pond leveler. Jess was part of the awesome team that participated in the NMBP coexistence training last year that worked on this very site. We’ll have some “after” pics later this week. Thanks Jess!
**New (Beaver) Brown Hats On Sale Now!!**
🦫 If you’re a New Mexico resident and want a new brown NMBP hat, please go to our website (link in bio), click on donate, then forward the receipt for a $25+ donation to [email protected] or DM us a screenshot with your mailing address and we’ll get one out to you.
🦫 We are asking that only New Mexico residents purchase hats this time around as we have limited supply and want to make sure that our local beaver believers get first dibs.
🦫 Hats will be shipped in batches, so while it might not go out right away, it will get to you soon. Thank you all for understanding!
Thanks to everyone who came out to @keepingtogetherbeer last night to help celebrate International Beaver Day and listen to our fantastic panelists @laurapaskus@justjessno_e@skialeia@mate.ritual . It was a great turn out and we were stoked to see people in our new (beaver) brown hats! We’ll be putting on some more events like this throughout New Mexico in the coming months, so keep an eye out for more info.
**New NMBP sticker alert! These will be available at our event @keepingtogetherbeer next week. Stick ‘em on your car bumper, Trapper Keeper etc etc. Keep an eye out for new hats too….👀🧢🦫
Beaver Believers Unite! Join us on April 7th at @keepingtogetherbeer to celebrate International Beaver 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:
Laura Paskus - Longtime writer and producer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico @laurapaskus
Leia Barnett - Life-long resident of the Sangre de Cristo mountains and New Mexico Conservation Lead for WildEarth Guardians @skialeia
Lina Alegre - Local willow basket maker from El Rito, NM @mate.ritual
Jess Gantos - Fishing guide, hunter, and builder. Becoming a beaver believer created a sturdy foundation for the intersection of her passions with conservation. @justjessno_e
If you like your beaver content narrated by a two-time Tony winner and straight out of 80s Nat Geo, have we got a treat for you. “Rocky Mountain Beaver Pond” can be watched in full on Youtube. Link in stories.
As NMBP is starting to make plans to celebrate International Beaver Day on April 7th—the birthday of ‘Beaver Woman’ Dorothy Richards—we’re gnawing (ugh, sorry) through the archives to share these classic Beaversprite book covers. 😍🦫
A morning drone video of a beaver dam on the Jemez River in the San Diego Canyon brought to you Tom Swetnam, author of “The Jemez Mountains: A Cultural and Natural History.” Link in our stories.
We’re aware that we haven’t been exactly flooding your feed with beaver content as of late, but that’s only because we’re out and about considering coexistence work for the spring! Here are some pics from yesterday’s scout.
This was a BIG year for the New Mexico Beaver Project, partially because we’re pretty darn new, but also because we got a lot done and felt a lot of love and engagement from New Mexicans across the state.
We started the year by helping to secure $10.5 million dollars from the New Mexico legislature for the Department of Wildlife) to work on species of greatest conservation need over the next 3 years. The only species listed in that appropriation? You guessed it…beavers! That’s because beavers help so many other species. And because, with your help, we advocated loudly for that investment.
As temperatures rose, snow melted, and waterways began to flow, we got to work trying to help people coexist with beavers. We’re a pretty small crew, but with the help of some eager volunteers, we got out to a handful of sites and did our best. One of the keys to coexisting with beavers is regular check-ups and maintenance on coexistence devices once they’re installed. Beavers don’t slack and neither will we. So we anticipate helping even more New Mexicans coexist with beavers next year, but we’ll also be back to check on our work.
Later in the summer, working with the Beaver Institute and Rio Grande Return, we hosted the first-of-its-kind beaver coexistence training. Twenty New Mexicans from tribes and pueblos, agricultural communities, NGOs, and state and federal agencies took time out of their busy lives to learn the basics of installing coexistence devices. The attendees have returned to their communities and have already begun sharing their knowledge and implementing coexistence strategies.
Along the way we put together a handful of events around the state, including a packed-room conversation in Abiquiu and a very fun evening of short films and panel discussion with INDIGENOUS LED, the Beaver Institute, and a number of awesome individuals in Santa Fe.
Like beavers, we’ve quieted down a bit as winter arrived, but we’ve got huge plans in 2026.
THANK YOU for being with us in whatever capacity. We’ve received so many emails and messages from people across the state. Whether you’ve got beavers, want beavers, want to help, or are just curious, we love to hear from you.
