Blog: Education

BeaverCON 2024 RFP

A New Idea for Beaver Coexistence – Beaver BioBanks!

In over 23 years of promoting beaver coexistence, I have gladly witnessed a steady rise of interest in beavers. I am particularly gratified to see this interest accelerating over the last five years. We are making progress.

Why Give a DAMn? – Water Quality

Clean Water is Precious, Essential for Life – Viewed from space, Earth is a water planet. Yet 97.5% of our planet’s water is undrinkable saline. Only 2.5% of all water is freshwater, and the majority of that is locked up, frozen in glaciers and polar ice. Surface freshwater makes up only 0.03% of all our planet’s water. We need to protect this essential resource. Beavers can help! How cool is that? Please read more.

Why Give a DAMn? – Spiritual Growth

Our recent blogs have cited multiple reasons to “Give a DAMn” about coexisting with beavers including biodiversity, water storage, stream restoration, salmon recovery, and because cost-effective solutions exist when beaver activity poses problems for people. All these reasons are intellectually and/or emotionally compelling, and anyone of them is reason enough to jump on the beaver bandwagon. However, there is another strong reason to promote beaver co-existence, fostering our spiritual growth. Intrigued? Please read more.

Why Give A DAMn? – Biodiversity

Back in 1998 when I first learned that beavers are critical for biodiversity I was amazed. I was immediately hooked by the realization that if we learned to coexist with beavers we would be supporting a myriad of other species at the same time. How cool is that?! Rather than just helping one species, there was a multiplier effect. Coexisting with one species, saved many!
So exactly how do beavers create biodiversity? To understand the answer to that important question let’s take a trip back in time.

Why Give A DAMn? – Salmon Restoration

Many fisherman believe beavers are bad for native cold-water fishes such as trout and salmon. They will claim the dams create obstacles to fish movement, sediment buries fish eggs that need oxygen, and the ponded water is warmed by the sun to the detriment of cold water fishes. These are all reasonable assumptions, so beavers must be bad for trout and salmon, right? WRONG!  Research has shown that in most cases streams with beaver dams actually produce larger and more numerous native trout and salmon.

Why Give a DAMn? – Water Storage

Water is essential to life. Where water is scarce, beavers can help. Beaver dams store water when it is plentiful and slowly release it during dry periods when it is needed most. Beavers perform this important life supporting service naturally and for free.

Why Give a DAMn? – Stream Restoration

Why Give a DAMn? There are many reasons beavers we need beavers. Reason #1: Stream Restoration. In the absence of beaver dams, erosion degrades streams and watersheds resulting in poorer water quality, quantity, and loss of biodiversity. Streams with beaver dams actually recover from the destructive effects of erosion and healthy watersheds can be restored.

Biodiversity, Beavers, and Me

Educating the public about the value of the ecosystem, biodiversity, and watershed services beavers provide is a critical component of improving society’s stewardship of the earth. While this knowledge is critical, individual direct experiences in nature can profoundly impact a person and motivate them to put that knowledge into action. At least that was true in my case….