BeaverCorps Program

Training Beaver Wetland Professionals

The Beaver Institute is proud to offer the first and only professional, non-lethal beaver management course. The online classes and field work are personally mentored by Beaver Institute President, Mike Callahan and other Beaver Institute instructors. All students learn the same successful, innovative beaver management techniques that he has successfully used since 1998 to resolve over 2,000 beaver-human conflicts, as well as Process-Based Restoration techniques to restore streams and beaver wetlands. Graduates are certified as Beaver Wetland Professionals and utilize their knowledge in a variety of settings.

Training Where You Live

Our BeaverCorps Professional Training Program is designed to be done remotely without the need for expensive and time consuming travel to our location. You can learn where you live! The course is self-paced to fit your life and schedule.

Part 1 of the Training Program consists of online lessons and exams, takes 40 – 60 hours, and is generally completed in 6 weeks.
Part 2 of the Program consists of four project installations that you do while being mentored 1:1 by experienced Beaver Institute staff.
The entire training course typically takes 12 months to complete.

Part One: Online Lessons and Exams

Part One is a series of online lessons and exams. Each student will learn about beaver behavior and ecology, how to build and install successful water control devices to resolve beaver dam flooding problems, as well as basic Process-based Restoration techniques to restore streams and beaver wetlands. The use of trapping, permitting requirements, and how to start, market and run a professional beaver business are also covered.

Part Two: Real Life Projects

In Part Two of the program each trainee applies this knowledge to 4 real-life beaver projects. Each student plans and installs four water control devices or beaver dam analogs (BDA’s) for local clients, while receiving extensive 1:1 mentoring with Mike Callahan and other Beaver Institute instructors. By the end of the program each graduate has the basic skills required to begin to professionally manage human-beaver conflicts and install BDA’s. They will also gain knowledge of how to start their own businesses to do this work.

BeaverCorps members are geographically dispersed across North America, yet we have created a supportive professional community. The BeaverCorps has a free, online platform where graduates and trainees share ideas, ask questions, offer support, and learn from each others experiences. We also record our monthly Zoom meetings where we discuss topics of interest, and learn from guest speakers.

Each BeaverCorps member is promoted on our website so any landowner in their area with a beaver issue can easily find and hire them. The Beaver Institute also offers its BeaverCorps members landowner assistance grants.

Tuition for the BeaverCorps Training Program is affordable, and financial assistance is available for those in need. Please contact us for more information.

BeaverCorps is a TWS Professional Certified Program

Are you a TWS Certified Wildlife Biologist®? You can earn up to 32.5 continuing education credits (CEUs) by completing BeaverCorps training.

“The BeaverCorps training program has been a crucial part of my evolution as a restoration professional. Mike Callahan has done a great job of not only developing the program, but fostering a community of dedicated beaver believers. That connection with other non-lethal practitioners has definitely been the most meaningful aspect of the BeaverCorps program. The BeaverCorps introduced me to an entirely new dimension of beaver work.”

Nick Hagen, Beaver Conflict Resolution Specialist with Montana Freshwater Partners

Restore Beavers and Their Valuable Wetlands Across North America

If you are passionate about nature, organized, intelligent and handy with tools, this work may be for you! Being part of a growing profession that finds a balance between solving human land use conflicts and keeping Nature’s Engineer on the landscape is incredibly rewarding.

Watch These Videos

To determine if this physically demanding work is for you, we suggest you watch the following instructional videos.

“You may not resolve over 2,000 beaver-human conflicts like I have, but I can promise you we will give you the skills to do it.”

Michael W. Callahan, President / Founder

The total tuition for the BeaverCorps Training Program is $2,500.00 USD. Financial assistance may be available for those with a financial hardship. To apply for admission, please complete and submit the application below.

Thank you for considering joining our growing community of BeaverCorps professionals across North America doing valuable, necessary, and rewarding beaver wetland restoration work!