Bringing more beavers to watersheds is a powerful drought-fighting tool, experts say
Conservation groups and agencies are using wood-and-brush structures and relocations to encourage beaver dams that slow runoff and reduce wildfire risk.
- Conservation groups and government agencies are installing wood-and-brush "starter homes" across western watersheds to encourage beaver colonization and restore water levels in drought-stricken regions like Wyoming.
- Beavers are being recruited across the American West as climate change and overuse leave the region drier; their dams promote year-round water availability, create native fish habitats, and slow wildfires.
- Project manager Nick Walrath of the nonprofit Trout Unlimited has overseen construction of some 500 "starter homes" near the Green River headwaters, while rancher Jackson Ramsay hosts more than 100 dams on his property.
- While beaver activity boosts ecosystems, it can cause flooding near infrastructure, prompting Utah State University to operate a relocation program; aquatic ecologist Nick Bouwes said the program has moved approximately 100 beavers annually since 2019.
- Samantha Miller, senior carnivore campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, said "beavers are uniquely positioned as our allies in the battle against climate change," as proponents hope expanding populations will build resilience across the Colorado River basin.
33 Articles
33 Articles
In the U.S. west, conservation projects seek to increase beaver populations to strengthen watersheds in the face of climate change and water scarcity.
At Jackson Ramsay's family estate, at the end of the summer, there was little sign that the land had just suffered its worst snowfall and record-breaking heat.
Beavers help fight Western drought – The Horn News
On Jackson Ramsay’s family ranch late in the summer, there were few signs it had just weathered the worst-ever winter snowpack and record-setting heat. Water twisted unhurriedly through the land, splayed into various branches that rejoined to form pools behind mounds of piled sticks. Young willows stretched from the bank... Read More The post Beavers help fight Western drought appeared first on The Horn News - Proudly American, Fiercely Indepen…
The Toronto Star
Bringing more beavers to watersheds is a powerful drought-fighting tool, experts say
GREEN RIVER, Wyo. (AP) — On Jackson Ramsay's family ranch late in the summer, there were few signs it had just weathered the worst-ever winter snowpack and record-setting heat.
At Jackson Ramsey's family ranch, there is little to indicate that Wyoming had a record hot summer, and that after the snowiest winter on record, which suddenly melted. Water
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