A brown beaver sits in a grassy area with red berries surrounded by brown text on a white background.
AUDIO-VISUAL
FOR CHILDREN
THE BEAVER DEFENDERS Newfield N.J.
This is a button from the Beaver Defenders, a beaver protection group started in 1970 by Hope Sawyer Buyukmihei in Newfield, New Jersey. It is unclear what this button is celebrating, but the "bravo beaver" may be celebrating the nomination of the beaver as New York's official state mammal in 1974.
By 1972, the Beaver Defenders reached across the country with over five hundred members. They fought throughout the 1970s and 80s to keep beaver dams and habitats safe from human intervention and dynamite by writing letters to government officials.
Sources: Protection sought by beaver defenders (1972, October 4). Beaver County Times, p. D-12.
Ryden, Hope (1974, December 15). Let's hear it for the eager beaver. New York Times, p. 38.