https://phys.org/news/2024-10-beaver-furry-species-habitats-tribal.html
'California has strengthened a new Beaver Restoration Program which is
dedicated to supporting the species and their habitats.
With the passing of Assembly Bill 2196, the program has partnered with the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The initiative works with
California tribal nations, private landowners and non-government organizations
on implementing coexistence and beaver-assisted restoration projects to the
state's wildlife habitats. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB2196 into law in
September.
The bill's author, Assemblyman Damon Connolly, D-San Rafael, said the law will
now codify the program's efforts.
"Beavers are an instrumental keystone species to our ecosystems, and they play
a vital role in maintaining the habitats around them for the benefit of other
species," said Connolly in a news release. "The initiative to restore beavers
back into their original wildlife habitats is beneficial to species recovery,
improving habitat complexity, and enhancing watershed restoration through dam
complexes."
Brock Dolman, the co-founder of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, has
been working on beaver restoration since the late 2000s, he said. The
Occidental Arts and Ecology Center has been at the forefront of the beaver
restoration program, to center a co-existence mindset with the species.
Beavers have sometimes been seen as a nuisance or pest, Dolman said. In
reality, beavers are beneficial to the environment. They help keep up
maintenance of California rivers, wetlands and mountain meadows, and slow down
water from spreading and sinking in their dams and canals. As a result, their
presence helps address issues with flooding and droughts.
"What's equally important is the recognition of the types of benefits that
beavers (provide) and what beavers do in rivers and in wetlands, mountain
meadows, salmon streams and urban riparian corridors," Dolman said.
For example, a paper from the California State University, Channel Islands,
found that beavers play a part in wildfire prevention. When analyzing five
wildfires in the American West, those that had beaver dams burned three times
less than those without.'
Via
Fix the News:
https://fixthenews.com/274-beautiful-confusion-billion-years/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
