With yesterday’s drama and monster academy graduation ceremony you might have missed this fine trickle down in Wyoming where Ben Goldfarb wisdom is still falling out of the sky like rain. Enjoy.
Beaver believer: How North America’s keystone species shapes our ecosystems
The future of ecological harmony could lie in North America’s largest rodent — if we can learn to coexist with this vital yet challenging species, according to environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb.
Drawing from his 2018 book, “Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter,” he explored their history in North America, their potential to combat drought, flooding, wildfires and climate change and how humans and beavers can peacefully coexist across the West.
“Beavers are what scientists call a keystone species, an animal that’s disproportionately supporting lots of weight in their ecosystems,” he said. “In the American West, wetlands cover about 2% of total land area and support around 80% of biodiversity, so any animal that’s capable of building and expanding and maintaining wetlands is really important.”
What I love is the idea that the local journalist is sitting in the front row scribbling notes. That’s why you get the real deal to talk at your event. Accept no substitutes.
Goldfarb highlighted how beavers’ impact reaches far and wide — from supporting species like the boreal toad, which breeds in beaver ponds, to helping juvenile cutthroat trout thrive in the calm waters of beaver habitat. Additionally, their ability to mitigate drought and foster biodiversity makes them indispensable to the environment.
“We know that we’re losing snowpack. You wouldn’t necessarily know it this winter in Montana, but certainly, the trend lines aren’t great,” Goldfarb said. “As we lose that snowpack, which gradually melts throughout spring and summer and fall and keeps water in our streams and irrigation ditches, we need some other way to keep water on the landscape, right? And beavers do that really well.”
By building thousands of small reservoirs in the high country, beavers create natural water storage systems. These reservoirs slowly release water downstream throughout the summer and fall, helping to sustain ecosystems and support water availability during dry periods, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Contrary to popular belief, Beaver dams also play a crucial role in flood prevention. By holding back and allowing rainwater to spread laterally, they reduce flood energy and help protect downstream properties, Goldfarb said.
“I think it’s worth taking a second to contemplate that duality,” he said. “We’ve got beavers in climate-stressed places like the American West, helping to mitigate drought and then in really wet places like New England or the UK, beavers are mitigating flooding. So the fact that they can tackle those two seemingly opposite problems, I think, is kind of magical.”
Yup. Magical is the word I’d use to describe it too. Excellent.
However, to fully reap the ecological benefits beavers offer, humans — specifically non-Indigenous people — must be willing to coexist with them, Goldfarb said.
“This notion that beavers are helpful is something that western science is rediscovering now, but that Native People have known for a very long time,” he said.
The long history between westerners and beavers has often been one of conflict — beginning with trapping during the North American fur trade in the 1500s, which nearly wiped out the species by the 1900s, according to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. More recently, beavers have faced threats from trapping, water pollution and habitat destruction.
“What happens when you kill several million beavers and all of those beaver dams break down and all of those ponds drain? Well, it’s this immense loss of habitat for cutthroat trout and moose and wood ducks and boreal toads,” Goldfarb said. “Historians have referred to the fur trade as the aquatic Dust Bowl, this vast elimination of riparian habitat that profoundly shaped streams all over the continent.”
Yes we lost a lot of the furry flattail resources and will lose more if we’re not careful.
While the beaver population has since rebounded, now estimated at 6 to 12 million in the United States, they are still far from perfect neighbors.
From damaging and felling trees to blocking culverts and causing washouts, beavers are not without their conflicts. As Goldfarb explained, the traditional approach to managing these issues often mirrors how bear conflicts are handled — by “trapping out lethally” the offending beavers.
In 2023 alone, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services, which manages human-wildlife conflicts, reported killing over 24,000 beavers, with thousands more killed during trapping season. While Goldfarb understands the impulse to remove problematic beavers, he cautioned that such small-picture thinking ultimately leaves a lasting negative impact on the ecosystem.
“When you eliminate the beaver, you’re eliminating that great pond and wetland habitat that we care about and also, all you’re doing is creating a vacancy sign for the next family of beavers,” he said.
But is there any alternative?
Goldfarb advocates for alternative solutions. Rather than resorting to lethal trapping, he suggests relocating beavers or, ideally, taking preventive measures to protect trees and control flooding. This could include fencing off vulnerable trees, implementing artificial beaver dams or using tools such as “beaver deceivers” — pipes that deceive beavers into thinking water is flowing through the dam. All help manage flooding caused by beaver dams.
While Goldfarb acknowledges that living harmoniously with beavers won’t happen overnight, he believes that fostering conversations about the species and their largely positive environmental impact is a crucial step toward a more peaceful coexistence.
“I don’t want to say that every single beaver conflict can be solved with a nonlethal coexistence technique,” he said. “(But) given all those many benefits for all those species and for us humans, why do we still kill so many beavers? As the mantra of the beaver believer goes, let the rodent do the work. Let’s get out of the way and let these guys take over.”
I’m not naive. I know that heroes can disappoint. Some day in some talk some where Ben is going to say something about beavers that I disagree with or that strikes me as untrue.
But it hasn’t happened yet. Keep it up!
