The U.S. government is looking to an unlikely rodent in an effort to repair ravaged riparian ecosystems, and it might be working.
Beavers are one of the odder species, in terms of appearance. With their long buckteeth, paddle tail and rounded shape, they don’t often attract sympathy from the owners of the land they choose to settle down on.
Due to unregulated trapping in the 1800s, beavers were largely eradicated from the U.S. This had cascading effects on the ecosystems they once called home. Beavers, as “ecosystem engineers,” change their environment in ways that promote a healthy ecosystem. With beavers gone, the riparian, or water based, ecosystems they frequented were in trouble.
Many other animals rely on the work beavers do to remain healthy. Without beavers, fish populations, predators, birds, amphibians and even the plants lining water banks were suffering.
Since 2008 the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest has been reintroducing beavers to various areas in order to promote riparian health. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, the project has documented an increase in salmonid spawning and rearing as a result of the beavers’ presence.
In Idaho there are between 50 and 75 beaver restoration projects currently operational. These projects either directly introduce beavers to damaged riparian areas or have biologists build dam-like structures in order to encourage beaver populations to return to those areas.
The U.S. has a history of killing off vital species, directly resulting in whole ecosystems decaying; a cursory examination of the history at Yellowstone National Park can attest to that. The eradication of wolves, grizzly bears, mountain lions and, of course, beavers have all resulted in the lack of riparian vegetation, predatory species and healthy landscapes.
It brings hope to the environmental community seeing these restoration projects underway, reversing the damage once done to the American landscape. Recent legislation, like Idaho’s SB 1211 and Utah’s HB 469, attempt to undo some of those efforts, but biologists and conservationists are not so easily deterred.
The beaver represents a great success in conservation; once nearly extinct, there are now almost 15 million in North America alone thanks to supremely dedicated conservationists.
Mackenzie Davidson can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @mackenzie_films