Beaversprite

Dorothy Burney Richards (April 7 1894–August 1 1985) was born and raised in Little Falls, New York, as was her husband Allison (Al). They lived throughout New York State and Canada before returning to Little Falls in 1930, where they purchased an office supply firm. They also purchased a cottage about ten miles to the northeast of Little Falls, at the base of the Adirondacks.[2][3][4]

At the time, the North American beaver had nearly been extirpated from the Adirondacks due to overtrapping. Inspired by the book Pilgrims of the Wild by beaver conservationist Archibald Stansfeld Belaney (a.k.a "Grey Owl"),[5][6] Dorothy made a request in 1935 to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to release a pair of beavers on a creek near the Richards' cottage.[7] They did, and Dorothy became fascinated by the pair, whom she named Samson and Delilah.[3] In 1938 one of the pair was caught in a trap, which prompted the couple to begin purchasing land nearby and posting notifications that hunting and trapping was not allowed there.[7]

Despite having no scientific background, she observed the beavers and took notes on their behavior. With the Richards' help, the beaver population grew. The beavers became comfortable enough with Dorothy to eat apples from her hand. Dorothy asked the Department of Environmental Conservation for permission to keep beavers in her home, and they gave permission after determining that she intended to keep them for conservation purposes rather than as pets. The Richards dug a pool in the basement for the beavers, and a windowed panel in the living room to allow them to watch the beavers downstairs. Eventually they let beavers enter the living room, where furniture and doors still bear gnaw marks.[2] Later observers saw that the beavers had nearly free rein of the house. Dorothy made her home open to visitors, where they could have close contact with the creatures.[3]

Dorothy served as director of the Defenders of Wildlife from 1948 to 1976, and honorary director from 1976 to her death. CBS aired a documentary on Beaversprite in 1972,[3] and Dorothy later appeared on NBC's Real People.[4] She played a role, with other advocates, in the beaver becoming the official state animal of New York in 1975.[8][9] In 1977 she wrote an autobiographical book about the sanctuary, Beaversprite, with Hope Sawyer Buyukmihci, who ran a beaver sanctuary near Vineland, New Jersey.[10]

In 1966, Dorothy donated her home and 900 acres of land to the Florence Waring Erdman Trust, a Philadelphia-based sponsor of wildlife sanctuaries. Girard Bank, later to merge with Mellon Bank, managed the trust; the Natural Lands Trust managed the land on behalf of the Erdman Trust after 1983. The Erdman Trust added land to the sanctuary, and in 1973 opened a nature center.[11] Initially Dorothy was grateful for the Erdman Trust's work,[3] but she later became displeased with how Erdman was managing the sanctuary. In 1977 most of the land was renamed for Erdman's mother Florence Jones Reineman. Dorothy added a codicil to her will barring sanctuary manager Larry B. Watkins from entering the section that remained Beaversprite, and wrote that he wanted to turn the sanctuary into his "private country estate".[2] Watkins, who was an avid hunter and author of a book titled "Guide to Adirondack Deer Hunting", was disliked by animal rights advocates at the sanctuary.[12]

Dorothy died in 1985 at the age of 91; the last beaver to live in the house followed in 1987. At the time 40 beavers lived on the property in six lodges. After Dorothy's death, a group of her friends and colleagues formed the Friends of Beaversprite and began to take action against the Erdman Trust. The celebrities Doris Day and Bob Barker were among Friends of Beaversprite supporters.[12] In 1988 the Friends of Beaversprite initiated a boycott of Mellon Bank: the kickoff press conference was held in front of the Girard Trust Bank building and featured a 20-foot inflatable beaver.[13][12] In 1989 they filed suit against the Erdman Trust and Watkins for mismanagement. Watkins was accused of hunting and logging on the sanctuary grounds, using sanctuary staff for personal labor, and retaliating against whistleblowers. They asked that Watkins, the Erdman Trust, and the Natural Lands Trust be removed.[2][12]

In 2020, after a period of closure, the Utica Zoo acquired Beaversprite and reopened it to the public.[7][14]

• Richards, Dorothy; Sawyer Buyukmihci, Hope (1977). Beaversprite : my years building an animal sanctuary. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-87701-104-4. OCLC 3089563.

• Official website
• Beavers: Wetlands & Wildlife (formerly Friends of Beaversprite)