BEAVERS BUILD DAMS, SAVE GOVERNMENT A MILLION

In the Brdy (“BER-dee”) region of the Czech Republic, officials have been planning a land revitalization project. The military had built a bypass ditch along a nearby river, draining a wetland that was home to numerous native critters, and environmental officials hoped to set things right. For seven years, they studied and planned out and secured permits for a series of dams that would redirect water back to the wetland. The budget had ballooned to $1.2 million, which is a lot of money in the Czech Republic. When they finally went to start the project, they discovered a bunch of beavers had moved in and constructed dams along the ditch, and in pretty much the same spots the humans had planned for them. The wetland was being restored naturally, without the expense.
* Well, except for the million dollars they’d already spent on the planning.
* That’s seven years a lot of engineers won’t get back. Ouch!
* Leave it to beavers!
* And that’s why they call them eager beavers.
* Maybe the Czechs can use the money they saved to buy some vowels for their language.