Be Mindful of Beaver
Restoring respect for one of New Mexico’s keystone species.
Beaver are the classic keystone species.
Their remarkable dam building creates deep ponds which are an essential component of aquatic habitats for diverse biological communities. However, their building instincts can sometimes conflict with human activities by causing unwanted flooding or removal of valued trees. In many cases, these 'nuisance' beaver are killed, rather than relocated to areas where their activities may be beneficial. After intensive trapping throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, beaver populations have been restored in many U.S. rivers and streams. However, beaver and their ecological contributions remain limited throughout much of their historical range.
Defenders of Wildlife works to restore beaver to their role as ecosystem engineers throughout the West, but in arid states like New Mexico, their ability to create and maintain wetland and riparian habitat is even more essential. As a first step towards understanding, recognizing, and expanding beaver's range in New Mexico, Defenders of Wildlife modeled beaver habitat throughout the state to identify opportunity areas for beaver reintroduction and ecosystem restoration. In addition, New Mexico's Department of Game and Fish has started to take important steps towards ensuring a meaningful place for beavers on the landscape. Together we aim to ensure that land managers, wildlife officers and landowners have the necessary policies, tools, and resources to allow beavers to fulfill their ecological role in a manner that respects other land uses and management goals.
Contact your local fish and game department to see how your volunteer efforts can help protect beaver and restore the critical wetland habitat that beaver create.
Beaver History
Beaver used to live in almost every perennial stream in North America, numbering in the many millions. A demand for beaver pelts rose steadily as the demand for top hats and other fur garments rose in Europe.
In their search for wealth, trappers began exploration of the west and came across the beaver-rich valleys and rivers of New Mexico. The town of Taos, New Mexico became a popular hub in the beaver trade. Because of the intense trapping, by the early 1900's beaver populations were decimated in New Mexico and throughout North America.
Beaver pelt trading. photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Restoration in New Mexico began in the early 1930’s, and from 1947–1958 hundreds of beaver were trapped and reintroduced to rivers and wetlands. Beaver have made progress in recovering, with estimated populations between 10 - 15 million in North America and 6,000 - 12,000 in New Mexico.
Although beaver have rebounded, they have not completely reclaimed their historic habitat nor their full ecological role; and in the areas where they have recovered, their numbers are not nearly as dense as they were historically.
Though beaver are on the rebound, they have a long way to go before they reach their historic numbers and range. There are many reasons why we should support beaver restoration in our own backyards...
Beaver to the Rescue
Beaver can serve as "ecological engineers." Their presence in an area can lead to a healthier ecosystem.
By building their dams out of local vegetation in streams and rivers, beaver significantly alter their environment. These changes might seem destructive, but they are essential for many other species that rely on the wetlands, ponds, and vegetation that result. In fact, almost half of all endangered and threatened species in North America rely on wetlands to survive, and eighty five percent of all North American wild animal species depend on wetlands.
photo credit: NPS/ Neal Herbert
Beaver as Protectors & Purifiers
Beaver also benefit human communities as...
- Water purifiers - Beaver ponds filter silt improving water quality. Dams can also slow flood waters and recharge ground water. Higher water tables, less erosion, and cleaner water signify better conditions for an increase in biodiversity. These are particularly important ecosystem functions in mitigating the impacts of climate change, especially in dry places like New Mexico where water resources are essential, but scarce.
- Firefighters - Streams converted to larger waterbodies lined with fire resistant vegetation can serve as both a fire line and water supply to fire fighters. This is particularly important in fire-prone landscapes like New Mexico’s arid forests.
photo credit: Aaron Hall
Beaver Combat Climate Change
As of now, New Mexico has more than 6,000 miles of ephemeral rivers and streams that go completely dry for parts of the year. As droughts become more severe, this number will likely increase, reducing important riparian vegetation and aquatic habitats.
photo credit: Hugo.arg
However, beaver dams store more water and help ecosystems become more resilient to early drought. These eager engineers can be an important tool for reducing climate change impacts and keeping aquatic habitats connected.
photo credit: Vince Mig
Habitat Helpers
In New Mexico, the habitat created by beaver is especially important for restoration of threatened and endangered species including the Gila Trout, the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse, the Southwestern willow flycatcher, and the yellow-billed cuckoo.
Click around the map or keep scrolling to learn more about how beaver may support federally-listed species with designated critical habitat.
Gila Trout
The Gila trout is a species of salmonid, related to the rainbow, native to the Southwest United States.
During the high flow periods of spring runoff and summer monsoons, at-risk fish, like the endangered Gila Trout and the Rio Grande cutthroat trout – New Mexico’s state fish – take refuge in the pools that build up behind beaver dams.
Gila trout, photo credit: Andrew Miller
New Mexico meadow jumping mouse
The New Mexico meadow jumping mouse measures 7 to 9 inches, including a long tail more than half its length. Aided by inch-long back feet, New Mexico meadow jumping mice are notable jumpers.
New Mexico meadow jumping mouse, photo credit: USFWS
By reconnecting streams with the surrounding floodplains, beaver dams promote the growth of tall grasses and sedges that provide necessary cover for the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse.
Southwest willow flycatcher & Yellow-billed cuckoo
The southwest willow flycatcher and yellow-billed cuckoo are federally listed birds that breed in dense riparian vegetation near surface water or saturated soils in the American Southwest.
Southwestern willow flycatcher, photo credit: Kelly Colgan Azar
Southwest willow flycatchers and yellow-billed cuckoos build nests in thick willow stands, and although beaver will cut down willows to build their dams, those dams also create conditions where willows can thrive – creating more habitat for these endangered birds.
Yellow-billed cuckoo, photo credit: Peter Pearsall/USFWS
A Beaver Homecoming
Beaver restoration in New Mexico (and beyond!) will be critical to ensuring healthy aquatic ecosystems for the benefit of humans and wildlife alike. The biggest step forward in this effort is identifying locations for beaver to call home.
New Mexico is home to 482,000 acres of wetlands and hundreds of thousands of miles of creeks, streams, and rivers. However, not all of this area is suitable for beaver.
Our mapping tool highlights a recent model for identifying suitable habitats for beaver. The main habitat requirements for dam-building beavers are streams with low slope gradients, on lower order streams, in areas with sufficient food. That means beaver prefer streams and creeks over large rivers.
It is also critical that the habitat contains plenty of vegetation so the beaver can eat the leaves, inner bark, and twigs of trees such as aspen, birch, cottonwoods, and willows. Beaver also eat shrubs, ferns, aquatic plants, and grasses.
Beaver restoration in New Mexico so far is focused on northern areas of the state, where beaver habitat is more abundant. However, the state is in the beginning phases of identifying beaver habitat statewide and this model can help guide the way.
Major Challenges
Despite their many benefits to ecological and social communities, beaver populations are heavily threatened by conflict with humans. In urban areas, such as cities or towns, beaver sometimes cause conflict by:
- building dams that cause unwanted flooding across roads and recreational areas or clogging infrastructure such as storm drains and canals
- cutting down charismatic trees that people value
In many cases these “nuisance” beaver are killed because of their actions. Increasing tolerance for living with beaver by creating long-term management solutions on the principle of coexistence between humans is ideal. However, it is not always possible.
photo credit: Martin
Relocating Beaver
When human-beaver coexistence is not possible, relocations can be a useful tool for returning beavers to their historical landscapes while also restoring degraded watersheds and creating habitat for other species. However, considerations should be made on where to relocate beaver in order to minimize damage to human infrastructure and maximize benefits to conservation.
It is essential that beaver management be intentional and that many tools, including translocation, be considered to maximize their ecological benefits.
In recent years, the New Mexico Department of Game & Fish (NMDGF) has started to relocate beaver following nuisance complaints from landowners. However, finding suitable relocation sites can be difficult. In addition to ensuring the necessary habitat conditions – including vegetation for food and dam building – NMDGF requires permission from any landowners 5 miles up and downstream from the relocation site. In a highly checkerboarded landscape, this can be very difficult, which is why our model highlights areas where there are 10 miles or more of single ownership along streams.
U.S. Forest Service biologists reintroducing beavers to forest streams (photo credit: USFS)
Our mapping tool specifies potential sites where a beaver could be relocated based on these criteria in the exceptional case when coexistence is not an option. These sites are a very small subset of the suitable habitat that could be occupied by beaver to achieve full restoration.
Fun Fact! In the 1950s, the Department of Interior sponsored a program to relocate beavers using parachutes to eroded wetland areas with the intention to revitalize wetlands and stabilize the local water supply.
Watch: The Parachuting Beavers
Give a Dam!
There is often a focus on reintroducing and protecting beaver on state and federal public lands, but these areas represent only a small subset of the widespread landscape where beaver used to roam. To ensure statewide restoration of populations as well as the proliferation of biodiverse aquatic and riparian habitats, efforts need to extend beyond public lands. Around 44% of New Mexico falls outside of conservation areas and federal and state managed lands.
Therefore, private landowners have an important role to play in growing a healthy, well-connected network of beaver habitat in New Mexico. It is essential for landowners across the state to be aware of the great potential their land may have for beaver.
What Can You Do?
As a Landowner...
There are steps that you can take to help reduce the conflict before exploring options for translocation. Staying informed and being tolerant of our incredible wildlife is ever essential. Other actions you can take include:
- Wrapping trees in fencing or painting trunks with a mix of sand and paint. Beaver, just like us, don’t like the “gritty” feeling of sand when chewing.
- Installing flow devices which limit the water level of beaver ponds by using a combination of pipes and fencing.
Fences are placed around the base of trees to prevent beavers from felling. photo credit: Wikimedia Commons .
Contact someone from the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish if you are having a conflict with a beaver. Getting local help can ensure that the beaver can be relocated and still positively influence the environment.
photo credit: Jean Beaufort
As a Conservationist...
Continue the conversation! Help others understand the importance of coexisting with beavers.
Volunteer! Search online to find what types of environmental and community organizations exist near you and call to find out how you can help conserve or restore the natural habitats of beavers.
photo credit: Glysiak
As a Defender...
Defenders of Wildlife encourages landowners to develop a tolerance and appreciation for beavers and the benefits they provide for wildlife and humans alike. We strive to foster communities that live happily with beavers in their backyards. How can you foster coexistence?
- Provide information to the public, water supply managers, and communities about the value of beaver dams and coexistence solutions.
- Educate people about the ecological and social benefits of beaver restoration.
- Facilitate cooperation between landowners and beaver.
- Share this map tool with someone!
