Enriching the Health of Wyoming's Landscape

Beavers: Eco-Engineers

Take a dive into the amazing world of beavers

The American Beaver (Castor canadensis) is considered a keystone species due to its ecosystem engineering capabilities. It is well known that beavers create dams, however, fewer people understand the magnitude and cascading ecosystem effects involved in a well-established beaver complex. Beaver-created habitats provide resources that directly and indirectly affect many other species. The “Dam Cam” gives us a glimpse into a world created by beavers and home to many.

There is a lack of tolerance for beavers as well as a lack of public awareness of the benefits that beavers provide ecologically. Beavers are an integral keystone species that gets little attention by wildlife managers but have substantial, positive impacts on the ecosystem. Increasing knowledge and love of beavers will increase the understanding of this unique species which will lead to a growth in tolerance and co-existence with this valuable, beneficial species.

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What is a keystone species?

Any species whose presence and role within the ecosystem have a disproportionally high impact on other organisms relative to its population size. Keystone species are critical to the structure and functionality of an ecosystem and influence what other species comprise that system.

Why trapping beavers isn't a solution

Beavers establish a home in a particular area for availability of the food, shelter, and water they need. Trapping beavers out of a region only leaves an ecological void which will ultimately be filled by more beavers because of the available resources. Instead of trapping and killing beavers, we can help landowners create solutions to live with the industrious creatures or move the beavers to a more suitable wild location on the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Beavers can enhance a property and add lush wetlands that provide fire protection and wildlife habitat that will lure a myriad of wild creatures to the area.

A Look Ahead

to elevate beavers

Our goals are to enourage the public to mitigate the effects of human-beaver conflicts, relocate beavers to suitable areas of the forest, compare and contrast forest conditions before and after beaver reintroduction, study the effects of beaver dams and lodges on forest hydrology, and review the history of beavers and their impact on settlement of Jackson Hole.

We encourage the establishment of beavers in portions of the Bridger-Teton National Forest in order to enhance the ecology of the forest with emphasis on the improvement and enrichment of existing wetlands and the creation of new wetlands.

WU wishes to elevate the prominence of beavers and how they contribute to the Wild and Scenic designation for area rivers as part of the revision efforts of the forest management plan. Beavers are masterful at restoration and provide mitigation for the effects of climate change which is another important component to the forest plan.

Learn More About The Wyoming Beaver Restoration Project

Why are beavers so important?

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a keystone species as “a species of plant or animal that produces a major impact (as by predation) on its ecosystem and is considered essential to maintaining optimum ecosystem function or structure.”

Beavers are a perfect example of a keystone species because a wide range of animals and plants depend on the wetlands created by beavers. The image to the right shows just a few of the animals that benefit from beavers and the wetlands they create.

Thanks to Worth a Dam and Tina Curiel of Coyote Brush Studios for this beautiful and informative image.

Climate Heroes

A native species working for Wyoming

During this time of climate change awareness and mitigation, it is critical that we look for support from our natural world and shine a light on species that can help us combat the effects we are experiencing today.

Beavers and the wetlands they create can help us and many other species withstand the climate change effects we are already seeing, such as increased wildfires and reductions in late season water resources and streamflow. We simply need to keep beavers on the landscape and allow them to do what they do naturally.

Unfortunately, it is still legal for beavers to be trapped and killed without limit in most of Wyoming. There is a lack of tolerance for beavers on private lands and a deficiency in public and land manager awareness of effective coexistence methodologies for beavers.

Our goal is to educate the public on the importance of beavers and encourage the public to spread this information to others, and advocate for their protection. In the wake of climate change, we need beavers on the landscape now, more than ever before.

The "Dam Cam"

We are building awareness of the critical role beavers play in our ecosystems through film. Scientists have documented the importance of beavers and the habitat they create for decades, yet public awareness of the ecological benefits of beavers is still lacking. In collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service and private partners, we documented and monitored wildlife usage of active beaver dams for over a year, sharing captured footage with the public and hoping the benefits of beavers will be absorbed and spread far and wide. We are now monitoring with private partners for another 12 months.