Maybe you, like me, have been swamped with electoral mood swings as we await the future with baited breath. I was actually happy to see this headline from the Harvard newspaper. Our small civic acts [and beavers] can reshape the world. Makes sense to me.
Bribes, Beavers, and Ballots: The Unseen Forces of Democracy
Driven by the allure of their “manifest destiny,” 19th-century settlers brought livestock – and an inadvertent ecosystemic upheaval – to what we now know as Yellowstone National Park. Encountering native predators, they sparked a clash between agricultural ambition and the region’s delicate ecosystem. As farms expanded, wolves, deprived of natural prey, turned to domestic animals. In response, humans embarked on a systematic campaign of predator control, employing a lethal combination of poisoning and hunting. Bears, cougars, and coyotes were also targeted in the effort to protect livestock and promote “more desirable” wildlife, such as deer and elk. By 1926, the wolves had been entirely eradicated from Yellowstone.
Problem solved, right? Wrong.
Without wolves to keep them in check, the elk population surged, setting off a cascade of unintended consequences. The burgeoning elk herds overgrazed young trees along riverbanks, leading to erosion. As the trees disappeared, so too did nesting sites for birds. The loss of trees also decimated the beaver population, which in turn meant no dams to regulate stream flow. The exposed waters grew warmer, leading to a decline in fish populations. In short, the entire river ecosystem suffered, transforming in ways few could have predicted.
For decades, the ecosystem continued to deteriorate. It wasn’t until 1995 – in the face of significant skepticism – that biologists began considering the idea of reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone. Transported in what could only be described as the ecological equivalent of “the Beast,” eight gray wolves from Jasper National Park in Alberta, Canada, made a celebrated return. Now, three decades later, the still-unfolding cascade of knock-on effects is nothing short of remarkable. Willow stands along streams, once in dire straits, are now thriving, even with elk populations at three times their 1968 numbers. Why? The wolves’ predatory pressure keeps elk on the move, preventing them from lingering long enough to devastate tree populations. Where there was just a single beaver colony in 1995, there are now more than nine, with even more expected to emerge.
Well now, we all know that wolves are the handmaidens of beavers in this story, allowing them to make the real differences we know they can. Still the point of complicated ecosystems relying on each other hits home. I liked how the author drew the line forward.
While individual votes are singular actions with wide-ranging effects, to reduce societal outcomes to the actions of elected officials alone is to absolve ourselves of our shared responsibility. Casting a ballot, while crucial, is table stakes – it is what we do between elections that shapes our future. At their best, nations function as unifying systems that bring people together under shared values, culture, and institutions. Nations are fragile constructs that are powerless without their citizens – that’s what gives us true agency.he seemingly mundane acts that sustain our communities – raising families, supporting local businesses, building trust – are what ultimately determine a nation’s prospects. In this sense, a nation is the sum of its parts. The true work – the day-to-day labor that keeps a nation whole – happens not in brutalist buildings or capitals, but in our local communities. Nations are built bottom up, not top down.
I like that. It’s the small connections that lead to the big changes. Beavers could have told you so.
As Americans head to the polls next Tuesday, they should understand that their role within this vast system is more consequential than it may seem. Real change is not sparked by dramatic, headline-grabbing events, but through the steady accumulation of small, deliberate actions by those who recognize that their choices, however minor, ripple outward. This election may be critical, but it leads to a larger question: what comes next? The decisions we make – to vote, to speak up, to resist complacency – compound over time. Even the most damaged ecosystems can regenerate when each part acts with purpose. And so it is with societies: we are the system, and our choices are the foundations of the future we aspire to build.
Beavers will be better off if we move forward. Not Back. But you knew that.
