A few reminders came this morning of how valuable beaver habitat can be. Here is an actual headline from Alberta:

Province taking extra steps to protect wetlands near S.W. ring road

The company constructing the southwest portion of the ring road has been ordered to protect Beaver Pond and put in extra time monitoring of the wetlands. KGL Constructors and Alberta Transportation will monitor the water quality and quantity in the pond.

The decision follows the Environmental Appeals Board reviewing the situation, after concerns were launched by residents in the area and the group YYC Cares. Jeff Brookman, with the group, is pleased with the province’s actions.

Be careful of the beaver pond! We talked about this group months ago when they protested work on the ring road threatening their beaver pond. Now they won the right to insist that those wetlands be protected. Good for them!

Wetlands are important. And good for business as this research shows.

Study shows wetlands provide landscape-scale reduction in nitrogen pollution

High nitrate concentrations in waterways can be harmful to ecosystems and human health, contaminating drinking water and eventually flowing downstream far enough to increase the size of the Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone.”

A study published today in the journal Nature Geoscience by National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded researchers offers new insights into this problem: Multiple wetlands, or “wetland complexes” in a watershed, are extremely effective at reducing nitrate levels in rivers and streams.

Wetland complexes can be five times better at reducing nitrate than the best land-based nitrogen mitigation strategies, the scientists say.

Honestly, I sometimes feel like all these researchers are beaver lobbyists without knowing it. Certainly they promote the very things beavers are blamed for doing every day. Recently I started to think about what it would be like if beavers had a ‘business card’ they could present to recommend their services. I came up with this which amused me very much.