A beaver lives here (photo: W. Tilt)
In a happy accident, a beaver dam built in the middle of a river research project illuminated how their presence improved water quality.
Warren Cornwall. Anthropocene, November 9, 2022
In recent years, the beaver has enjoyed a reversal in its reputation. Once, the bucktoothed rodent was viewed as a fashion accessory or a pest. They were wiped out in much of North America as their pelts were turned into top hats worn by 19th century gentlemen. Ranchers and farmers cursed the surviving beavers for their tireless penchant for damming creeks and flooding low-lying areas.
Today, however, beavers are increasingly hailed as ecological saviors, engineering ecosystems in ways that create more bird habitat, counter wildfire damage and build green oases in a drying world, among other things. Now, scientists are adding another beaver benefit: Their presence can help counter stream pollution worsened by climate change.
More on the positive impact of beavers. The tremendous benefits provided by just one beaver family. Beavers can “deliver significant geomorphic modifications that result in changes to nutrient and sediment fluxes,” write researchers, “limiting negative downstream impact” of agricultural pollution. To put it another way: beavers help clean up our messes. Brandon Keim, Anthropocene, May 30, 2018