Beaver Library

Dam building by beaver in degraded environments can improve physical and biological diversity
when viewed at a scale encompassing both modified and unmodified habitats.

Beaver activity (i.e., damming of streamflow) holds significant potential to impact water quality, specifically in-stream nutrient processing.

A review by the University of Southampton of how the reintroduction of beaver will affect fish in Scotalnd

Review of research about the positive and negative effects of beaver towards fish

A review that suggests that beaver activity can create substantial benefits and costs for conservation

Examines the long-term impact of historic beaver trapping in the United States on stream systems, the role of beaver trapping in arroyo formation in the American Southwest, why the significance of beavers was missed by the U.S. General Land Office surveys in the late 1700s to mid 1800s, and how that oversight impacted later researchers in the 1950s and 1960s as the study of fluvial geomorphology and hydraulic geometry emerged.

Tags:  erosion, arroyo formation, hydraulic geometry, channel incision, beaver trapping, General Land Office surveys

This study quantifies the impacts of beaver on stream hydrologic and temperature regimes, and highlights the importance of understanding the spatial and temporal scales of those impacts.  We explored the impacts of beaver dams on hydrologic and temperature regimes at different spatial and temporal scales within a mountain stream in northern Utah over a 3-year period spanning pre- and post-beaver colonization.

Study of how beaver dams and their effect on stream flow affect Atlantic Salmon

This project explored the effectiveness of a management plan on improving streamflow and stream temperature

An analysis between the differences of beaver dams and artificial dams and their impacts on the wetlands they occupy

In-depth report on how beaver could provide benefits to local residents and visitors well into the millions of dollars per year in Utah.

This study demonstrated that beavers actively increase the volume-to-surface area ratio of wetlands by almost 50% and that their digging of foraging channels increases average wetland perimeters by over 575%. They concluded that exclusion or removal of beavers could limit ecosystem processes and resilience.

The U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management blog reports that in arid, high country Oregon, a series of manmade beaver dams (Beaver Dam Analogs) have created a watery oasis.

A comprehensive study evaluating how restoring beaver dams could significantly protect the city of Milwaukee from future flood vents and the significant cost savings of this nature-based management approach versus traditional flood prevention engineering.

This project investigated the effects of climate on multiple aspects of river hydrology, including the interaction with expanding beaver populations in the Northeast. Our findings suggest that beavers increase water retentions, and sometimes flooding, in rivers which increases nitrogen removal.

To estimate the extent to which beaver dam building activity could provide transient water storage with a decreased snowpack.

Impact of beavers regarding drought and wildfire in the Methow River Watershed

Study of how beaver ponds make nearby vegetation more resilient towards wildfires

This review summarizes how beaver impact ecosystem structure and geomorphology, hydrology and water resources, water quality, freshwater ecology, and humans and society.

Study on how beavers effect water storage and drainage in Eastern Washington