A dry California creek bed looked like a wildfire risk. Then the beavers went to work.

[Nevilledog]

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David Roth
@david_j_roth
Absolutely the most satisfying thing I've read in ages. Nature's most annoying geniuses doing their thing, a rare happy overall outcome, some truly spectacular quotes throughout. I give it an A+.

A dry California creek bed looked like a wildfire risk. Then the beavers went to work
“It was insane”: Placer County floodplain restored by beavers in just three years
sacbee.com
3:39 PM · Jul 4, 2021

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article252187473.htm

Seven years ago, ecologists looking to restore a dried-out Placer County floodplain faced a choice: Spend at least $1 million bringing in heavy machines to revive habitat or try a new approach.

They went for the second option, and turned to nature’s original flood manager to do the work — the beaver.

The creek bed, altered by decades of agricultural use, had looked like a wildfire risk. It came back to life far faster than anticipated after the beavers began building dams that retained water longer.

“It was insane, it was awesome,” said Lynnette Batt, the conservation director of the Placer Land Trust, which owns and maintains the Doty Ravine Preserve.

“It went from dry grassland. .. to totally revegetated, trees popping up, willows, wetland plants of all types, different meandering stream channels across about 60 acres of floodplain,” she said.

*snip*

[XanaDUer2]

1. great story nt

[Yavin4]

2. I thought that beavers were only in Oregon? n/t

[Lars39]

7. They're in TN, too.

[TNNurse]

8. In Indiana as well

and probably many other places.

I live in TN and know that are abundant in some places.

[pazzyanne]

19. Also in MN. nt

[Yavin4]

32. Wait. I thought that only Gophers were in MN.

And Wolverines were in MI.

[pazzyanne]

35. Add Timberwolves to the Minnesota list as well! nt

[ornotna]

16. That's a sub-species

[JHB]

17. They're a bit more widespread than that.

Green = beaver range

[A HERETIC I AM]

41. They need to color in a bit more of Florida on that map.

Their range extended all the way down to Lake Okeechobee at one time, but I understand they have been seen as far south as the Orlando area in recent years. They are prevalent all the way across the panhandle and northern Florida.

[mollie8]

25. and here..

they're in NC too.

[summer_in_TX]

29. Even Central Texas

to my surprise.

[Totally Tunsie]

30. Throughout New England, as well.

[MoonchildCA]

42. The only reason they are not present in much of California...

… is they were trapped out of existence. Many river and creek restoration projects are trying to reintroduce them. They are beneficial to our watersheds and ecosystems.

[Warpy]

48. They were in most of North America

including a large part of Canada and up into central Alaska. About the only place they weren't were the big southwestern deserts.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Mother Nature does have answers, if we only can hear her.

I wonder if this can't be tried some other places too.

[pazzyanne]

20. + 1000 nt

[calimary]

46. And another +1000!

Humans, listen to your Mother! And work WITH her instead of trying to defy her, stand in her way, and pave her over.

[AllaN01Bear]

4. indeed.

program leader to beavers , get to work. good results .

[SheltieLover]

5. K&R!

Love this!

Ty!

[rurallib]

6. They probably never even stopped for a coffee break

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

22. They clearly need a better union if

they can't stop for coffee breaks.

[MustLoveBeagles]

9. K&R

[Raine]

10. Beavers to the rescue, hurray!!! 🦫 ❤ 👍 nt

[Laffy Kat]

11. My sister was completely won over by the beavers on her land.

She insists the beavers know what's best environmentally and she lets them do their thing. She claims beavers are her favorite animals.

[Hekate]

12. Great story at link!

[Traildogbob]

13. A sad fact

About Beavers. Wildlife agencies, state and federal USDA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Plus state and county agencies hire techs to trap, Kill, and dynamite the dams that cause massive flooding of crop lands, and commercial timber stands, especially in the South East. A lot of Graduates from from my Natural Resources Dept, Fish and Wildlife Management, took/take those positions. They actually coast millions in Agriculture.and Timber lose. Causes flooding of flat land sites.
They take down lots of shoreline trees at area lakes here in WNC, but that creates great fish habitat. Kinda does a mess on the U.S. Forest Service camp sites around Santeelah lake and others.
The International Wolf rehab facility up in Eli Minn. feed the rehabbing wolves beaver tails. They are heavily trapped up there and the tails are given to the facility for those wolves.
You do not want to know about hired guns at airports shooting birds for airplane safety. Gubment jobs.

[dianaredwing]

14. Did my grad thesis on beavers

well actually, a kind of magical realism, but they are amazing creatures. Amost eradicated by the fur trade and they have come back numerous places and been reintroduced in others. Industrious and tenacious critters.

[Pobeka]

15. Beavers are helpful for southwest aquifers too.

I read a few years ago how water stored in beaver ponds will seep into aquifers, instead of most of the water running through creeks/streams/rivers on to the ocean.

Another example of how a diversity of species keeps things in balance in unexpected ways.

[JoeOtterbein]

18. I just want to say...

...Thanks Beaver!

[albacore]

21. A MUST-READ book.... "Eager - Beavers and why they matter"...

The author's thesis:
Beavers are THE foundation species in North America.
He's not exaggerating.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

24. Dammit! Another book recommendation!

So now it's on hold for me at my library. I'll probably pick it up in a couple of days.

Oh, well. The up side is that once I've read it, I'm sure I'll be able to pontificate about beavers enlessly.

[roamer65]

23. Nice beavers!

I’m sorry I couldn’t resist.

[Lochloosa]

36. ,,,

[PsakiPswirli]

44. A Stephanie Miller Show staple

[berniesandersmittens]

26. K&R

[Demovictory9]

27. 👍😊 great story

[keithbvadu2]

28. Also some recent articles about goats as fire protection by eating fire danger vegetation.

Also some recent articles about goats as fire protection by eating fire danger vegetation.

[peppertree]

31. Sure! They've used them to great effect in Laguna Beach, CA, since the 1993 fires.

You can see them sometimes, perched up and down some impossibly steep cliffs behind the city, doing their thing.

The people who proposed the idea were (of course) initially thought of as "eccentric hippies typical of Laguna" - but....

[LymphocyteLover]

38. also wolves can helpe retore habitats, by not letting deer overpopulate and eating up vegetation

that holds the soil together.

I so hope we can fix our ecosystems before it's not too late.

[smirkymonkey]

33. They're cute little critters too!

[wnylib]

34. A beaver family entranced me

one time when I was riding through a state park with a friend. We parked the car and stood on a bridge to watch mama and papa working on a dam while the baby beaver swam around nearby. I started walking down the embankment to get a closer look.

Mama beaver slapped her tail hard on the water surface (beavers' danger warning) but the little one apparently didn't respond fast enough for her. She swam to it and then papa joined them. They all moved farther from where I stood.

I went back to the bridge and they resumed their former positions, adults working on the dam, offspring swimming around, but staying a little closer to parents.

I was tempted to edge closer again, just to see and hear that water slap. But instead, I just watched a little longer without disturbing the domestic scene.

[DinahMoeHum]

37. Check out the "Beaver Believers" for further inspiration

https://www.thebeaverbelievers.com/

At least a couple of the folks featured are in this YouTube:

[TomWilm]

40. Very nice ...

There is a nice story from 7:40 - 13:30, where a guy tells how they cooperate with the beavers, nudging them to build their dams at designated areas.

[Metatron]

39. My favorite quote from the article:

“The beaver on land is like a chicken nugget walking through the landscape for predators,” said Emily Fairfax, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Resource Management at California State University Channel Islands. “They’re fat and they’re slow and anything would be glad to have them for a meal.”

[Blue Owl]

43. K&R

[Sur Zobra]

45. Leave it to the Beaver!

[TigressDem]

47. Add an L to the link..

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article252187473.html