When beavers chew through fences or flood a road, they're often trapped and removed as pests. Researchers in Utah asked a different question: what if those same animals could be put to work restoring rivers that desperately need them? Two Thirsty Rivers The Price and San Rafael rivers run through some of the driest country in Utah, where reservoirs, diversions and drought … [Read more...] about Utah Moved 47 ‘Nuisance’ Beavers To A Desert River, And Only About A Quarter Stayed
river restoration
Beavers were brought to the desert to save a dying river. 6 years later, here are the results.
Rivers in the desert West live on a knife's edge. Drought, overuse, and decades of human alteration have pushed many tributaries of the Colorado River Basin toward collapse, stranding fish and leaving banks vulnerable to wildfire. In 2019, a team of Utah researchers tried something simple: let beavers do the restoration work. The Idea Behind the Experiment The Utah State … [Read more...] about Beavers were brought to the desert to save a dying river. 6 years later, here are the results.