Coexisting with beavers provides many benefits for humans, native plants and wildlife, and the landscape, including:
- Stream repair & restoration
- Erosion reduction
- Increased biodiversity
- Creation of habitat for wetland species, including some whose conservation status is under threat
- Beaver ponds recharge aquifers and stabilize the water table
- Beaver dams regulate stream flow which in turn mitigates flooding
- Beaver dams also improve water quality by filtering pollutants and sediment
- Beaver-created wetlands play a role in helping to mitigate certain effects of climate change, such as increasingly frequent severe weather events that result in major floods, droughts, and wildfires.
This all being said, at HBCF we also acknowledge that beavers are inherently valuable, and that one species is not responsible for reversing the damage caused by another.
Please refer to this Media Style Guide regarding the language we use to discuss beavers and their behaviors, created by Dr. Debra Merskin, Reese Mercer (Beaver Works Oregon), Adam Burnett (Beaver Institute), and Kody Osborne (NW Naturalist Creative Co):
Photo by Mike Digout