At our online book club September 22 we'll discuss EAGER: THE SURPRISING SECRET LIFE OF BEAVERS AND WHY THEY MATTER, by Ben Goldfarb (Chelsea Green, 2018). You need not have attended a previous discussion to join us for this one. We'll discuss the book until about 8:30, followed by open conversation.

Buy the book on Amazon

The Zoom link to the discussion is posted on the right, visible to those who RSVP. You will need a computer, laptop, smartphone or other device with internet access. It's pretty easy; if you're curious, check out https://zoom.us/. We'll be available from 6:50 on to help anyone who might need extra time to connect. If you can't get on, call us at 303-300-2368. We hope to "see" you there!

If you'd like to read ahead: for our October 27 meeting, we'll discuss the novel THE OVERSTORY, by Richard Powers.
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In EAGER, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb reveals that our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is wrong, distorted by the fur trade that once trapped out millions of beavers from North America’s lakes and rivers. The consequences of losing beavers were profound: streams eroded, wetlands dried up, and species from salmon to swans lost vital habitat. Today, a growing coalition of “Beaver Believers”―including scientists, ranchers, and passionate citizens―recognizes that ecosystems with beavers are far healthier, for humans and non-humans alike, than those without them. From the Nevada deserts to the Scottish highlands, Believers are now hard at work restoring these industrious rodents to their former haunts. Eager is a powerful story about one of the world’s most influential species, how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. Ultimately, it’s about how we can learn to coexist, harmoniously and even beneficially, with our fellow travelers on this planet.

Ben Goldfarb is an award-winning environmental journalist who covers wildlife conservation, marine science, and public lands management. His work has been featured in Science, Mother Jones, The Guardian, High Country News, Audubon Magazine, Scientific American, Yale Environment 360, and many other publications. He holds a master of environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and is a 2018 North American Congress for Conservation Biology journalist fellow.

“EAGER takes us inside the amazing world of nature’s premier construction engineer…and shows us why the restoration of an animal almost driven to extinction is producing wide-ranging, positive effects on our landscapes, ecology, and even our economy.”―National Geographic

"Impressively researched, charmingly written, absolutely persuasive book. . . .Goldfarb makes his argument with a quiet power and deceptively breezy writing that paints a vivid picture of how the various inhabitants of the natural world rely on one other. Take one vital piece out and the whole thing could collapse."—The Seattle Times

"This book lodges itself among the ranks of the best sort of environmental journalism.”―The Boston Globe