#Beaver Ponds on Little Last Chance Creek Stayed Green During Wildfire — Emily Fairfax

A beaver complex in California, about an hour and a half north of Lake Tahoe, stayed green and healthy even as the Dixie Fire and Sugar Fire burned the surrounding landscape in 2021. A year later, the beavers and broader ecosystem are still thriving (while nearby areas remain burnt). Smokey the Beaver protects another wetland ecosystem during drought and wildfire!

Beavers are having a good week. Click the link to read “Beavers Are Finally Getting the Rebrand They Deserve” on the Mother Jones website (Jackie Flynn Mogensen). Here’s an excerpt:

It’s been a good week for beavers. On Monday, the New York Times ran an article highlighting the rodents’ position as “highly skilled environmental engineers” capable of mitigating threats like wildfires and drought. The same day, the San Francisco Chronicle dubbed beavers “one of California’s best chances to fight climate change.” And on Tuesday the Los Angeles Times reported that the Golden State is seeking applications for its brand-new beaver restoration unit to protect this “untapped, creative climate solving hero.”

And it’s not just California; pro-beaver policy changes are happening across the US. Here’s the Times:

“Beavers, you might say, are having a moment. In Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming, the Bureau of Land Management is working with partners to build beaver-like dams that they hope real beavers will claim and expand…In Maryland, groups are trying to lure beavers to help clean the water that flows into Chesapeake Bay. In Wisconsin, one study found that beavers could substantially reduce flooding in some of the most vulnerable areas of Milwaukee County.”

American beaver, he was happily sitting back and munching on something. and munching, and munching. By Steve from washington, dc, usa – American Beaver, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3963858

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