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Amazing
NATURE
ADVOCATES
Restoration
of the Beavers
one of nature's best ecosystem engineers
WHEN YOU THINK OF ENGINEERS,
beavers probably do not immediately come to
your mind. You very likely think of people who
design and build all kinds of structures,
machines, etc. But the cute furry beaver with
its buck teeth? I would be willing to bet it is not
the first thing you think of. Well, get ready to
have your mind blown!
Welcome to the world of
ecosystem engineering superstars!
"Beavers, the animal that doubles as an ecosystem, are ecological and hydrological
Swiss Army knives, capable, in the right circumstances, of tackling just about any landscape-scale problem you might confront. Trying to mitigate floods or improve water quality? There’s a
beaver for that. Hoping to capture
more water for agriculture
in the face of climate change?
Add a beaver. Concerned about sedimentation, salmon
populations, wildfire?
Take two families of beaver
and check back in a year.”
from The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers
and Why They Matter by Ben Goldfarb
Before Europeans colonized North America, the Beaver population was estimated to be 100 to 200 million individuals. From 1670 to 1870
the beaver population plunged due to the fur trade. Regulations in hunting and habitat protection grew the United States’ population of Beavers to an estimated 15 million individuals today.
Source: Nevada Department of Wildlife website
North American Beaver
There has been much effort to restore beaver populations as their benefits to the environment are numerous.
They are a keystone species,
which essentially is an organism that helps hold an ecosystem together and functioning. The list of everything
these heroes do to benefit nature and climate change is long and amazing!
1. Their dams slow down the flow of water
which results in less erosion and flooding
than faster flowing water.
2. Slower water flow also results in nutrient-rich sediment sinking and collecting at the bottom of their ponds.
All of these minerals filter and break down harmful materials like pesticides.
Water downstream is obviously much cleaner and healthier.
3. Also improving the water quality downstream is that their dams naturally
filter the water. This blocks pollutants
and does an amazing job of cleaning
the water.
4. Dams alter the path of water, creating wetlands that contain large amounts of biodiversity where many species thrive. Plants, fish, birds, and a variety of animals often increase in large numbers.
5. The wood they bring into the water provides food and shelter for insects,
which are in turn food for other species, such as fish. The fish also take cover
in the beaver lodges.
6. Their lodges become homes for other animals such as mink, river otters, muskrats.
7. Dams can increase surface and subsurface water storage, both of which lessens
the effects of drought.
They increase stream flow and
make ecosystems less vulnerable
during dry periods.
8. The wetter soils and greener landscape surrounding beaver dams provide
natural wildfire breaks.
9. Their wetlands and riparian areas can provide refuge to animals during wildfires.
10. Beaver ponds store cool water in summer due to their deepness, benefiting some native fish species. Furthermore,
the water behind beaver ponds slows and sinks into the ground. This cools the water
and it seeps back into creeks,
cooling the water downstream.
11. The wetlands and riparian areas can
also sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide.
They can hold large amounts of carbon and
the more carbon that is sequestered
the better it is for the climate.
It is beyond clear that these ecosystem engineers are amazing environmental advocates! All that they are doing is
so good for the environment and
climate change. Restoration of beaver populations is a huge score for the health of nature. Many kudos to the beavers
and to all the people and organizations that are protecting them and increasing their numbers across the world!
