The Kern River Beaver Family who were sentenced to death earlier today by Bakersfield, California wildlife officials, have been saved. Read the update by area news station Kero 23:

City Leaders Decide To Save Pesky Beaver Family

Beaver Said To Be Gnawing Down Too Many Trees

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A local beaver family who is making a mess of trees near the Kern Recreational Bike Path has been saved after a surge of response via email, blog comments, phone calls and more.

CNN.com linked up to the story much of early Friday, providing high traffic, and helping to spread the word both nationally and internationally about the plight of the beavers.A woman from Beltsville, Maryland sent a letter to the California state governor’s office about the beaver after reading the story on CNN.com. The letter read, “I saw an article on CNN.com that had a link to a Bakersfield, CA news station about a beaver that has been sentenced to death by wildlife officials for gnawing on trees in a local park. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Why has this creature been sentenced to death for doing the only thing that it knows how to do?”

State wildlife officials from the Department of Fish and Game were issued a permit to kill the rodent, but are now working with the Bakersfield city officials to save the beavers after a request to revoke the permit. Nine trees have been gnawed to stumps near the Park at Riverwalk.

Read all the comments on the Nick 2.0 blog.

With the public behind them, the Kern River Beavers of Bakersfield, California came out on top. Maybe this is a prelude for the OSU Beavers when they play in Emerald Bowl just north in San Francisco on Dec 28th.

Congratulations to the Kern River Beaver Family. There was quite the impressive public response for them!

Once again, the Beavers are the champions! Pardon the pun, but dam right!

***UPDATE: KERN RIVER BEAVER FAMILY TO GET NEW HOME, 1/9/08, 10:53pm***

–mko

Are beavers too good at their jobs? A news story released today has been creating quite a stir in the media. The Kern River Beaver Family of Bakersfield, California, has received a death sentence by wildlife officials. From the KREO 23, an area news station, website:

Wildlife Officials: Local Beaver To Be Killed

Beaver Said To Be Gnawing Down Too Many Trees

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A local beaver who is making a mess of trees near the Kern Recreational Bike Path has been given the death sentence for its crimes.

Nine trees have been gnawed to stumps near the Park at Riverwalk.

Now, state wildlife officials have issued a permit to kill the rodent. They have yet to reveal how.

When asked why officials couldn’t just relocate the little vandal, they said that is not an option because the animal’s nature is to stop the flow of water, which could ruin an irrigation canal or destroy more trees at another location.

The adaptations, ecology and biology of the beaver make it second to humans in its ability to manipulate and engineer its surrounding environment to suit its needs. Is killing the Kern River Beavers the answer?

You can let your voice be heard on the issue on a blog titled ‘Save The Kern River Beavers’. You can also add Benny as a friend by checking out his myspace page.

***UPDATE: KERN RIVER BEAVER FAMILY TO GET NEW HOME, 1/9/08, 10:53pm***
***UPDATE: KERN RIVER BEAVER FAMILY SAVED, 12/21/07, 2:04pm***

–mko