Newly acknowledged revelations about beavers have opened up a new world of ecological understanding. In the past few decades scientists discovered the supernatural influence of Castor canadensis – the North American beaver – on the landscape. These dam-building specialists once assured the highest level of proper-functioning watersheds, shaping a natural world very much different than the one we see today.

This once-common large rodent, second only in size to the South American capybara, geoengineered streams and rivers to naturally slow the flow of water allowing it to spread into tens of millions of ponds and millions of acres of wet meadows it created. Taming fast-flowing, channelized rivers reduced stream bank erosion and allowed sediment and nutrients to slowly seep into spongy wetlands and riparian areas where shrubs and trees flourished.

Beavers also mitigate flooding and droughts, sequester carbon, rebuild healthy watersheds, provide fire breaks and clean drinking water, increase biodiversity, and aid in the recovery of wildlife and plant species.

The conclusion is inescapable: Nothing we could do to restore the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and that of all of North America would have better results than bringing back beaver populations and allowing them to perform their incredible feats of hydrological engineering as they have done for millions of years.

Isn’t that a wonderful beginning? Just so you know, the Chesapeake is the largest estuary in the united states and about 140 rivers and streams drain into it.  For comparison there are only about 100 rivers in California. And wouldn’t it be awesome to wake up and read that there is nothing we could do to restore the golden state that would have better results than bringing back the beaver?????????

It would take trillions of dollars to replicate their construction of natural infrastructure. Leaving it to beaver will do a better job at a fraction of the cost. As a bonus, beavers provide free maintenance of their structures, sometimes for hundreds of years, always maintaining and expanding their fiefdoms with great benefits to ecosystems.

Is it just me or is it warm in here? Suddenly I feel all weak at the knees. Either I’m in love or about to be. This might be my favorite beaver article of the year, and it’s only March.

Western states focused on salmon recovery began integrating beavers into restoration projects. The Bridge Creek watershed of the Columbia River basin project in Oregon proved that the quickest and most cost-effective path to salmon recovery was to bring back beavers. Fish survival doubled at a fraction of the cost of conventional restoration. This was done using beaver dam analogues consisting of posts and willow trees to slow water flows and entice beavers.

Projects followed in the west, meeting resistance from local fish and wildlife biologists and others who harbored outdated beaver prejudices. Dedicated geomorphologists, paleontologists, ecologists, and a few restoration specialists began to clearly document the essential and profound role played by beavers with their dams of wood, mud, and rock slowing stream flows and allowing water to naturally spread out in ponds and floodplains.

Instead of the multi-billion-dollar restoration industry’s use of industrial-scale front loaders, backhoes, and bulldozers to gouge out pools and scour meanders to “restore” straightened stream channels, enlightened humans are learning how to collaborate with beavers to accomplish far better ecological restoration. Re-beavering is much less expensive as outdated stream channel restoration is very expensive.

Oh my goodness. I feel faint. Save money by saving beavers! It almost makes total sense! That almost NEVER happens!