Firefighting beavers

...The landscape of the west used to have millions more beavers than it does today. The fur trade in the 1800s and early 1900s drastically reduced their population.

The loss of beaver populations had a dramatic negative impact on the landscape, creating trouble in the watersheds of the western United States. Beaver dams help slow the flow of spring run-off, reserving water to be used later in the summer when water is often scarce. They raise the water table to keep water on the landscape, creating and preserving wetland habitat for other species. Without the dams, streambanks are eroded, and wetlands are lost, causing fresh water to drain from the landscape too quickly, sometimes causing flooding in the spring, and leaving the land dry by late summer and fall.

Riparian plants like willow and aspen help stabilize streambanks, provide food for wildlife, and are culturally significant plants for many indigenous communities. These plants are dependent on beaver dams, and without them, plants that favor dryer conditions move in and the connection between streams and wetlands deteriorates.

...As beavers create and maintain wetlands, the outcomes are vast. A lack of beavers has resulted in an increased intensity of drought and wildfires in the west as fires spread rapidly across parched landscapes. Wetlands act as natural fuel breaks, giving firefighters a chance for containment...more