A fine article came from Oregon right after the festival that I didn’t want to miss. This from Jim Anderson. When I saw that it mentioned Suzanne Fouty I sent her a copy and she was delighted that she had never met him before and knew nothing about the article. It’s wonderful to make an impression.
All Hail the Mighty Beaver
Thanks to the fur of the exploited beavers, fur hats were shipped to the newly created United States of America by the millions. In Europe the demand for beaver fur was so intensive that European beavers were exterminated in Russia, with only a small population surviving in Sweden and Norway. That put the strain for raw material on the North American Beaver, which — by the mid 1800’s — was almost wiped out as well. The only thing that saved them from extinction was the difficulty of finding beaver and the evolution of the fashion and clothing industry.
A hydrologist with the Whitman Ranger District of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in Northeastern Oregon, Suzanne Fouty, is on a quest to learn what beaver do, other than sacrifice their lives for sport and profit. Her findings make it clear that these creatures have an important impact on ecosystems. For instance:
Isn’t that a fine start to an article? Especially for a state that can’t decide whether beavers are worth protecting or not.
Beaver dams create ponds of varying depths, add wood to stream channels, and create side channels;
Beaver help to create viable riparian habitat and maintain water levels for healthy vegetation, increasing species diversity.
Beaver ponds elevate groundwater tables and bring about irrigation of valley floors, thereby shifting vegetation from drought-tolerant species to more diverse water-dependent species.
Beaver ponds reconnect streams and meanders, leading to a more abundant water supply and increasing riparian species diversity. The result is that the valley floor becomes an active flood plain, decreasing flood magnitudes.
Oh this shopping list of good things beavers do is impressive! No wonder Suzanne was happy that Jim was paying attention!
Elevated ground water from beaver ponds lowers water temperatures, creating better conditions for anadromous fish populations.
Stable beaver ponds will improve water quality and lead to increased woody riparian vegetation that stabilizes stream banks, increases resistance to stream erosion, and recycles nutrients more efficiently within the mineral and carbon cycles.
Water quantity—essentially controlled by the function of precipitation and snow packs—is greatly influenced by beaver ponds that elevate and store water.
As water levels and quantity increase because of beaver ponds, summer base flows will increase and be cooler.
Beaver ponds increase water stored in the ground and in plants that will slow the rate at which water leaves a watershed.
Ecosystem stability will be maintained through stable beaver ponds, even under climate change. Flood damage is reduced, and as a result, a more stable ecosystem will supply greater biodiversity.
Go, Beavers!
Go beavers indeed! Nice work Jim! And nice lifetime effort Suzanne! Let’s just hope everyone else at Fish and Game is paying attention.
