Better news out of #Oregon.

“Beavers and #humans have this in common: They both work to alter the flow of water to their own benefit. Unfortunately for both parties, their activities are sometimes at odds.

“Beavers are land managers like farmers,” said Brian Bangs, #aquatic #ecologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “They don’t always see eye-to-eye, but some values are shared.”

In the past, #trapping or #Killing has been the main way to control those beavers disturbing operations on the farm with their dam-building. But lately, #scientists, #tribes, #Conservation groups and landowners are re-discovering ways to work with nature’s pesky engineers, according to the Mid-Willamette Beaver Partnership in Oregon.”

https://www.capitalpress.com/specialsections/water/beavers-tapped-for-water-management/article_c47addb0-9c29-11ed-8521-a3ea816f8984.html

Great!!! We’re about to get to the #beaverrestoration!!!

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#Wyoming!
“After the consequential #floods in the spring of 2015, Coffman says, “We came to the observation that there were some serious benefits to having #beaver dams and beavers in place.” This beaver complex serves as a model for the conditions that he hopes to restore several streams to. Across an increasingly parched and degraded West, land managers and researchers seeking effective and efficient water management solutions may benefit from the same realization. Perhaps, it’s time to end recent antagonism against #beavers and instead form an alliance with nature’s most effective, once prolific waterway engineers.”

https://westernconfluence.org/leave-it-to-beaver
#beaverrestoration #drought #floods #climate

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#beaverrestoration in Idaho!

“University of Idaho researchers are testing artificial beaver dams as a tool to restore degraded #stream systems, thereby improving riparian #habitat and bolstering the late-season water supply.

Known as beaver dam analogs, these structures comprise the same materials #beavers use in nature, including willow boughs, sediment and stone. They cause water to pool and spill beyond the banks. The spillage supports #marshland vegetation before seeping into the #groundwater and re-emerging later in the season downstream.”

https://www.postregister.com/farmandranch/idaho/u-of-i-researching-artificial-beaver-dams-as-stream-restoration-tool/article_bbad5828-a0c7-11ed-8f57-fb83c9abbceb.html

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"#Beaver are considered a “keystone species” because, without them, the #ecosystem would look very different. In RMNP, for example, beaver dams created marshy areas that retained #water, served as #fire breaks, controlled #flooding, allowed for healthy growth of willow stands, and supported many #species of animals. Without the beaver, these marshy areas become dry meadows, poorly adapted to changing #climate conditions. Think about recent fires threatening the Estes Valley, two of which were stopped near Bear Lake Road as they moved through Moraine Park. Dry meadow lands provide fuel to a fire compared to the marshlands that existed there in the past.

Now, in this time of increasingly common drought and fire, RMNP is working with some success to bring back beaver by fencing in areas where willow once grew – and now grows abundantly once again."

Awesome! Great work in #Colorado with #beaverrestoration! #rewilding

Bringing #beavers back to #colorado

"In the time of Enos Mills, and until relatively recently, #beaver were abundant in the Estes Valley, Tahosa Valley, and in many parts of North America. Locally, there were beaver dams and lodges at Lily Lake and along Fish Creek. There were also beaver colonies in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), creating and maintaining habitat for many other species. A good example of a thriving beaver colony can be seen from Fish Creek Road, west of the intersection with Rockwood Lane. But now, beaver are rare in this area. What happened? Outside RMNP, #trapping, #grazing, #logging, and human settlement took its toll on beaver populations. Inside RMNP, #overgrazing by ungulates like elk, and now moose, eliminated willow habitat beavers depended on and turned the marshes into dry meadow."

https://www.estesparknews.com/estes_park_news/article_4f458d40-9cd0-11ed-aa4b-cbcb61b400a1.html

#beaverrestoration #habitat #ecosystems #conservation

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Sure enough, the workshop presenters include some Very Big Names in the #beaverrestoration field, including Joe Wheaton, Ellen Wohl, and two other people who haven’t sent their headshots in yet! 😹
#beavers #riverrestoration #watersheds #processbasedriverrestoration #climate

THREAD: More thoughts about Leila Phillip's book #Beaverland. I made it to chapter 13, where Phillip meets up with Scott McGill at Long Green Creek within the #Chesapeake Bay #watershed. McGill owns an #environmental restoration company called Ecotone.

He is one of the founders and sponsors of #BeaverCON and I attended many a zoom with him while serving on the planning committee for the 2022 conference.

#beavers #beaverrestoration #ecosystems

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I think this plan should include low-tech process-based river restoration, #beaverrestoration, nonlethal methods of resolving human-beaver conflicts, and trapping regulations that allow for the presence of a much larger #beaver population in the area, in order to develop and maintain more #wetlands. This will help meet all kinds of #biodiversity goals in the region, including that of restoring the magnificent ramshorn population.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/08/18/2022-17743/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-endangered-species-status-for-magnificent-ramshorn-and

The Seventh Generation Institute in New Mexico has a nice page on #beavers and #beaverrestoration in New Mexico.

"Let’s go back in time. There are no pictures of New Mexico and few from around the West from before the #beaver trappers arrived for the fur trade. But from written descriptions, we know that the "streamscapes" looked quite different two hundred years ago when large numbers of beaver were present."

https://www.seventh-generation.org/beaver-resilience

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"When we imagine #streams in North America, chances are we envision water rippling over stones as it follows a groove. But as I had learned...that is a stream without beavers. Seen from above, a #riverine system with a healthy population of #beaver resembles a great spiderweb."--Leila Phillip, #Beaverland

#ecosystemamnesia #ecosystems #beavers #beaverrestoration

Check out this Argaty beaver release in #Scotland last year!!!

https://youtu.be/GIxA25cblT8

#Beavers #BeaverRestoration #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateResilience #Nature #Wetlands #Wildfire #Wildfire #Biodiversity #WaterQuality #Drought #sustainability

"CDFW is currently hiring five dedicated #scientists to work on a comprehensive approach to beaver management. Once hired, staff will work on numerous projects and collaborations including developing a toolkit to help prevent property damage due to #beaver activity and to foster co-existence with the keystone #species."

#Beavers #BeaverRestoration #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateResilience #Nature #Wetlands #Wildfire #Wildfire #Biodiversity #WaterQuality #Drought #sustainability

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#beaver stamps from Worth a Dam! Check out this amazing #California beaver advocacy group here: https://martinezbeavers.org

#Beavers #BeaverRestoration #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateResilience #Nature #Wetlands #Wildfire #Wildfire #Biodiversity #WaterQuality #Drought #sustainability

The #rewilding article continues: “Scientists today are increasingly realizing that #wildlife — ranging from tiny #pollinators to tree-munching elephants — actively shape #ecosystem structure and function, influencing processes such as #nutrient cycling, surface water loss and evaporation, as well as the nature and composition of the plant species that exist in a particular place.”

#Beavers #BeaverRestoration #Climate #ClimateResilience #Nature #Wetlands #Biodiversity #sustainability

Nice profile of Rusty Cohn, an amateur Napa Valley photographer who is keeping the focus on local beaver activities.

https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/video/napa-valley-photographer-keeps-focus-on-local-beaver-activities/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h&fbclid=IwAR3VHJ2JQBIhrsvh4mamEIu_h08ndapt3jQj1OtYe8-RcSmuti5Ds4d1pcM#x

#Beavers #BeaverRestoration #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateResilience #Nature #Wetlands #Wildfire #Wildfire #Biodiversity #WaterQuality #Drought #sustainability

THREAD: There is so much wisdom in #Beaverland by Leila Phillip. She writes: "The goal of #environmental #restoration is always to return a damaged ecosystem to its natural state...Literally billions of dollars are spent in the United States annually to restore #rivers, but until recently we have been restoring them to an unknown reference condition.

https://www.leilaphilip.com/beaverland-1

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#Beavers #BeaverRestoration #Climate #ClimateChange #Nature #Wetlands #Wildfire #Wildfire #Biodiversity #Drought

WATCH this video about beaver rescue and rehabilitation and you will understand why I am obsessed with #beavers! They are the most adorable #ecosystem engineers out there!!!

https://youtu.be/PDJElcmZFnk

#Beavers #BeaverRestoration #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateResilience #Nature #Wetlands #Wildfire #Wildfire #Biodiversity #WaterQuality #Drought #sustainability

But eventually, #grazing, #trapping, #ranching, #logging, and #farming outside the park destroyed their #habitat, while elk and moose inside the park devoured the willows and other woody vegetation #beavers rely on, contributing to their downfall.

Because of the loss of #beaver, open water habitat has declined by 94 percent based on air photo analysis.

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#Beavers #BeaverRestoration #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateResilience #Wildfire #Wildfire #Biodiversity #WaterQuality

Here are a few photos of a beaver chewing a pretty good size branch off of a fallen tree, then dragging it across Meewasin Trail on its way back to the beaver pond. She looks pretty proud of her bounty on the last photo. Photos courtesy of Mike Digout, who you can find on Facebook and Instagram.

#Beavers #BeaverRestoration #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateResilience #Nature #Wetlands #Wildfire #Wildfire #Biodiversity #WaterQuality #Drought #sustainability

Illustration of the #biodoversity found at a #beaver pond, courtesy of Worth a Dam.

#Beavers #BeaverRestoration #EcosystemEngineers #Climate #ClimateChange #ClimateResilience #Nature #NatureBasedSolutions #Wetlands #Wildfire #KeystoneSpecies #Biodiversity #WaterQuality #Drought