Help Beavers Fix It
Floodplain Reconnection

Waterways with beavers look and function completely different from those without, and their changes have wide-reaching benefits. Beavers transform waterways from simple ditches into complex wetland ecosystems by creating networks of dams, ponds, and canals that divert and slow the water.¹ Humans call this process floodplain reconnection², and it has many benefits:

High water tables help reduce fire severity.³

Widespread wetland vegetation creates rare habitats⁴ and cleans water.

Flourishing native wetland plants can help prevent invasive species⁵ like Himalayan blackberry from establishing.

Multiple channels and ponds create refuge habitat for fish and amphibians during floods.⁶

Ponds capture and store sediment and carbon.⁷

Slowing and diverting water through multiple paths reduces erosion⁸ and flood severity.⁹

Not all waterways support beavers

Beavers can create impressive pond complexes from small groundwater springs, but they need a year-round supply of water.¹⁰ Temporary streams that only carry runoff for a small portion of the year do not make good habitat.Beaver landscapes are resilient!

Scientific Citations

1 – Grudzinski, B., Cummins, H., & Vang, T. K. (2019). Beaver canals and their environmental effects. Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment, 44(2), 189-211. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133319873116

2 – Jordan, C. E. and Fairfax, E. (2022). Beaver: The North American freshwater climate action plan. WIREs Water, 9(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1592

3 – Fairfax, E. and Whittle, A. (2020). Smokey the Beaver: beaver‐dammed riparian corridors stay green during wildfire throughout the western United States. Ecological Applications, 30(8). https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2225

4 – Nummi, P. and Holopainen, S. (2014). Whole‐community facilitation by beaver: ecosystem engineer increases waterbird diversity. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 24(5), 623-633. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2437

5 – DeBerry, D. A. and Hunter, D. M. (2024). Impacts of Invasive Plants on Native Vegetation Communities in Wetland and Stream Mitigation. Biology, 13(4), 275. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology13040275

6 – Malison, R. L., Lorang, M. S., Whited, D. C., & Stanford, J. A. (2014). Beavers (castor canadensis) influence habitat for juvenile salmon in a large Alaskan river floodplain. Freshwater Biology, 59(6), 1229-1246. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12343

7 – Murray, D., Neilson, B., & Brahney, J. (2023). Beaver pond geomorphology influences pond nitrogen retention and denitrification. Journal of Geophysical Research Biogeosciences, 128(4). https://doi.org/10.1029/2022jg007199

8 – Hock, Devin (2023). Urban Beaver Activity Management and Qualitative Risk Assessment Using GIS. Toronto Metropolitan University. Thesis. https://doi.org/10.32920/23541966.v1

9 – Westbrook, C., Cooper, D., & Baker, B. (2006). Beaver dams and overbank floods influence groundwater–surface water interactions of a rocky mountain riparian area. Water Resources Research, 42(6). https://doi.org/10.1029/2005wr004560 

10 – Hay, K. (2010). Succession of beaver ponds in Colorado 50 years after beaver removal. Journal of Wildlife Management, 74(8), 1732-1736. https://doi.org/10.2193/2009-055