Considered a nuisance for years, state officials are looking at beavers as a tool to fight wildfires and repair waterways. Kelsi Thorud reports. (8/30/23)
I have advocated for beaver reintroduction for over a decade. The opposition to beavers came from loggers and property owners that wanted the maximum amount of timber. Man is stupid… when fires come there are not very many trees that survive. Where I come from that is being a penny smart and a pound foolish. Beavers reduce the amount of marketable trees by quite a lot as they expand the waterways. Too, the types of trees chance to more riparian species. These trees have very little market value but are the ones wildlife is sorely lacking. One other thing, these riparian trees and expanded waterways eat up carbon and reduce the heat in the local environment. Not all up side though… Mosquitos will rise and the warmer atmospheric temperatures could bread, with in the insects, malaria or other diseases. I would still take the mighty beaver… way more good than harm.
Wow, you want beavers, come to Canada! My parents have land near a conservation trail that goes up to the top of an old mountain ridge. There are ponds and streams all up the mountain, all because of beavers and their dams. It is truly extraordinary and beautiful.
