If the promised land ever comes to beavers in our lifetimes, it will come first to Vermont. Home of Skip Lisle inventor of the beaver deceiver and the man who solved our problems years ago.
The LAist is wild about beavers. Check out their recent homage.
Wildfire fightersWhy it matters: But in recent years there has been a growing interest in traditional ecological knowledge from tribes, and the beaver has become celebrated as an ecological engineer.
The backstory: Prior to colonization, the North American beaver population was estimated to be around 200 million. But in the 1800’s, beavers were hunted for their pelts by settlers, decimating the population, while farmers and landowners viewed — and still view them — as pests.
What’s next: After a decade of work, the Tule River Tribe has released nine beavers into the nation’s reservation in the foothills of California’s southern Sierra Nevada mountains. The beavers are expected to make the landscape more fire and drought resistant. Beaver dams trap water in pools, making the flow of water slower so the surrounding ecosystem can reap the benefits of the moisture while making it more difficult for forest fires to start.
Go deeper: To learn about how exactly beavers can impact their local ecosystems…
First a love affair with a mountain lion and now THIS! LA is a city that’s ready to try anything once.
After a decade of work, the Tule River Tribe has released nine beavers into the nation’s reservation in the foothills of California’s southern Sierra Nevada mountains. The beavers are expected to make the landscape more fire and drought resistant. Beaver dams trap water in pools, making the flow of water slower so the surrounding ecosystem can reap the benefits of the moisture while making it more difficult for forest fires to start. They can also help a forest heal after a fire by rehydrating the area.
“We’ve been through numerous droughts over the years,” Kenneth McDarmet said, who is a Tule River tribal member and former councilman. “It’s going to be wonderful to watch them do their thing.”
What do you know?
Around 80% of the Tule River Reservation’s drinking water comes from the Tule watershed. Because the area is so important for the health of the community, the tribe has been preparing the area since 2014, building manmade dams to help the new beavers adapt more quickly.
Temperatures worldwide are expected to get hotter, increasing drought and creating conditions that make wildfires bigger and more deadly. In California, some of the worst wildfires on record have happened in the last five years partly due to drought. In 2020, three fires burned almost a million acres in the Sierra Nevada Forest, and in 2021 a wildfire burned an additional 1.5 million acres. Bringing beavers back may offer a break.
And a bunch of micro climates.
Prior to colonization, the North American beaver population was estimated to be around 200 million. But in the 1800’s, beavers were hunted for their pelts by settlers, decimating the population, while farmers and landowners viewed — and still view them — as pests. Today, the beaver population is estimated to be about 12 million.
But in recent years there has been a growing interest in traditional ecological knowledge from tribes, and the beaver has become celebrated as an ecological engineer.
In 2022, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, or CDFW, secured funding for the Beaver Restoration Program, a program designed to restore the beaver population and support conservation efforts. In 2023, the CDFW recognized beavers as a keystone species, an animal that affects other animals on the landscape like bison or bees, and thus influences the ecosystem in major ways. Their absence typically has negative effects on the landscape and its interconnected ecosystems.
I believe the phrase “dragged kicking and screaming” was accidentally omitted from this paragraph. That would at least explain the deep claw marks stretching from Sacramento to Fresno.
Today, the CDFW program partners with tribes, non-profit organizations, land-owners, and state and federal entities to restore beaver populations and habitats in an effort to improve climate change, drought, and wildfire resilience in California.
“We expect better habitat conditions for native critters on the land,” said Krysten Kallum, a public information officer with the CDFW. “It creates a refuge for plants and wildlife.”
More water means more plants that can attract other types of animals to the area. The CDFW expects to see better habitat development for amphibians like the western pond turtles, southern mountain yellow-legged frogs, and southwestern willow flycatchers, which will help increase biodiversity.
McDarment, of Tule River, said that tribal pictographs show beavers living in the area, and it’s good to see them here again.
“My hope is to have beaver throughout the reservation,” he said.
It’s a new day, baby. A new day.
I was very impressed to read this article. You will be too.
Beaver Works Oregon plants over 5,000 trees to support beaver habitat in Central OregonBeaver Works Oregon, a program of Think Wild dedicated to supporting beaver in Oregon’s high desert, recently planted and fenced off 5,180 willow, cottonwood and assorted riparian plants at both public and private riparian project sites throughout Central Oregon this Spring. The goal is for the plants to establish and provide essential beaver habitat that supports beaver population recovery and associated ecosystem benefits.
Led by Beaver Works Oregon Program Manager Dr. Maureen Thompson, the team recruited, trained and led over ninety volunteers for a collective 800 hours of willow and cottonwood stick harvesting, planting, fencing and monitoring efforts. Planting sites included private land along the Little Deschutes in La Pine, Lake Creek Lodge in Camp Sherman and La Pine and Collier Memorial State Parks. Beaver Works Oregon will continue to monitor the sites through annual visits and will remove the fencing after the plantings have a chance to establish.
Well done! You know what they say, “If you plant it. they will come.”
“Volunteers were integral throughout the process,” said Dr. Thompson. “Willow and cottonwood cuttings were collected and stored in the winter. When spring came, volunteers at the sites trimmed the sticks, drove metal stakes into the ground to plant them along the river, placed cardboard and mud around the plantings to create ideal conditions for growth and put up fencing to protect the plots from disturbances. Trail cameras were also set up to observe wildlife near the sites.”
Beavers are a keystone species, and their activity in stream ecosystems leads to greater biodiversity and increased drought, flood and fire tolerance. For beaver to establish in an area, there need to be plentiful riparian trees, like willow, aspen and cottonwood, for food, shelter and dam-building. Due to various anthropogenic stressors, though, many areas in Central Oregon host to these essential riparian plants have been degraded and are unable to sustain beavers.
You know I’m so old that I remember when the SF waterboard worked with the watershed stewards from Americorps to plant willow and dogwood stakes in Alhambra Creek with the city engineers blessing and the head of public works objected and made city staff pull them all out again.
And then when the riot act was read to them they had to put them back. But UPSIDE DOWN.
Fun times.
By working with landholders to identify project sites and then leading volunteer crews to harvest and plant cuttings of willow and cottonwood trees near rivers and streams, Beaver Works Oregon works to restore the habitat that beavers need to succeed. These community-based activities not only contribute to the restoration of ecosystems crucial for beavers but also provide opportunities for students and adults to “recreate for good,” working, camping and learning about beaver habitat, healthy ecosystems and working lands.
Congratulations on a very successful planting.
Guess what Rusty Cohn photographed in Napa creek yesterday morning? I’ll give you a hint. It’s dam cute.
Rusty thinks there are two, but so far he is only seeing one at a time. I am so jealous. I miss June and July mornings with kits the worst. But I’m grateful he’s watching and sharing.
Stay tuned.
