Rethinking opportunities in our corner of paradise

Awhile back, I met with my friend, Bill Fletcher, to have a bite and pick up where we had le o so many years earlier. I found him to be the same Bill I had known. The same energy, the same convictions. I think we both were reassured that the other was still the person each had remembered. The land around us had not changed either. But, somehow, on that very hot summer day, something was di erent.

In particular, I remembered his advice to a mutual friend about the troubles he was having with his pond. It turned out that a beaver was hard at work trying to stop the ow of water. Bill’s advice was simple: Blow it up. While I did not have any knowledge to share, I do recall suggesting a less drastic approach. Needless to say, I lost that argument. The beaver and its dam were never to be seen again.

Imagine my surprise when Bill asked me if I knew anything about Beaver Dam Analogs (BDAs). Still illinformed about such matters, I let him know that I did not, whereupon Bill expressed alarm about the depletion of groundwater right here under our feet. What’s more, he gave me another reason why I should care. As it turns out, the ow of Rappahannock waters were contributing to a problem far, far away — the pollution of the Chesapeake Bay with whatever else our waters carry down there. Surely, this, too, was a big issue that needed our help right here in Rappahannock. Building up our own aquifers is good for nature, good for farmers whose lands are being threatened by changing weather patterns, good for the view sheds we all love so much and good for the bay.

What a journey, from blowing up beaver dams to erecting BDAs, presumably until returning beavers could do the job themselves! This conversation reminded me that, in life, nothing is immutable. Need and experience-based insight are powerful motivators. When they converge, change happens. Bill Fletcher is onto something really important. Perhaps it is time to rethink how we create new opportunities for local farmers who are so essential to the future of this corner of paradise.

Check out my interview with Bill Fletcher at newruralva.org/news. In the meantime, I look forward to plowing old grounds and new issues with Bill.

THOMAS BRUCE

Washington