Did you know that a select group of dam-building beavers went parachuting into remote areas just north of Ketchum? A new festival aims to educate children, families and all patrons at the inaugural Airborne Beaver Festival on Aug. 17, 2024, at Forest Service Park, followed by a field trip to 4th of July trail on August 18.
Geronimo!
As the story goes, in the 1940s various Idaho towns, including McCall, had had it with the glut of beavers clogging up their waterways. Water being a valuable resource for agrarian communities and beavers being of single mind with water and dams, well, they simply could not coexist. Fish & Game was called to safely relocate the beavers, the process of which quickly became a logistical nightmare. Attempting to transport the wiley creatures via horseback just was fraught with tail-slapping antics as the creatures became anxious on the journey outside of water. A plan was hatched to use parachutes, in huge surplus post WWII, to drop them into remote areas where they could continue their wood-chewing ways.
Special pine boxes were constructed to hold small armies of beavers and, attached to parachutes, these beaver boxes were distributed across remote areas in Idaho, including Baugh Creek in Blaine County. During the progression of the program, one beaver, nicknamed Geronimo, went on 11 flights. This brave boy became a mascot after willingly climbing into the planes and helping other beavers feel safe in their boxes.
What started as a fix for the agricultural industry ended up being a fascinating story of fire resilience as these water-loving mammals tend to create wetland complexes of greater biodiversity with higher drought and fire resistance through their dam machinations.
Airborne Beaver Circus
Paul “Dizzy Hips” Blair is the ringleader of this historical celebration. You may know him from his performing days with Velocity Circus, Bill Graham Productions and as the “Hoop Goat” most recently at Life Church’s Family Fun Fourth of July community event.
There will be a plethora of games, juggling, face painting, unicycling, food, beaver costume contest, music, a ‘pirate’ tug-of-war and a unique build-your-own parachute contest for kids to make parachutes for a beaver effigy.
The event is at Forest Service Park in Ketchum on August 17 from 11 a.m.–-6 p.m. and on the 18th the groups will meet to carpool out to 4th of July trail to go see the beavers in action. “I’m sure they’ll come down from their beaver ponds and give us a ticker tape, you know, throw confetti,” Blair laughs. He’s even created a beaver dance for TikTok, sure to become the next big dance challenge to sweep the web.
If you’d like to be involved, they’re still recruiting volunteers and face painters to help with the festivities. Contact Blair at (208) 913-9212.
And if you like to support family-friendly community events, there is a GoFundMe at https://gofund.me/61686d01