Click the link to read the article on The Fairplay Flume website (Meryl Phair). Here’s an excerpt:
October 8, 2024
A beaver evangelist of sorts, Goldfarb has dived deep into the world of beavers in writing his 2018 book “Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter”. The volume explores the environmental consequences of losing the water-loving rodents that once inhabited lakes and rivers across the country at a population size between 100 to 200 million. Hunted for their fur, beavers were nearly extinct in North America by the late 1800s. The loss of their damming activities dramatically changed our landscapes, leading to the erosion of streams and the loss of wetlands and riparian habitat…While beaver populations are estimated to be only a tenth of what they once were, many projects are working to boost beaver populations including some locally in Park County. The rodents are even being revered as critical players in fighting complex environmental challenges including drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction and climate change. Some of these beavers have made their home at SCR, a 71-acre property owned and managed by the Mountain Area Land Trust (MALT) which hosts educational programming, high alpine research, publicly accessible walking trails and of course, beaver ponds. Hosted in collaboration with the local Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative, the evening’s beaver walk and talk with Goldfarb was well attended.
Goldfarb asked participants why the rodents can’t seem to get enough of creating wetlands, blocking streams and rivers with their signature dams to create wide still stretches of water.
“Beavers are tireless when it comes to repairing dams,” said Goldfarb. “If we tore some of those logs out and started to drain this pond, the beavers would be at that spot tonight.”
It didn’t take long to identify the need to create wetlands helps beavers protect themselves from predators like wolves, coyotes and mountain lions that would easily make a tasty treat out of a stay beaver. “They’re a fat, slow-moving meat packet,” said Goldfarb. With iron teeth that never stop growing, fur that traps air and a second set of lips, Goldfarb says if someone described a beaver, you probably wouldn’t think it was real.
