A ranch owner thanked his neighbors for being wild animals — and that’s because the beavers have helped keep his plants under control.
Lawmakers hope the introduction of new beaver protections in Oregon will help the environment in multiple ways, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. From providing habitats for other animals to preserving drinking water, beavers have a significant impact on their surroundings.
Having beavers around has been particularly beneficial for Ron Jackson, a retired pilot and ranch owner who lives near Prineville, Oregon. Jackson told OPB that beaver dams help maintain the foliage on his 23-acre property.
“Some of this stuff grows so wild, they’re doing me a favor,” Jackson said. “I don’t want to run them off, unless they become a huge pest. And they’re not.”
The beaver effect goes much further than foliage. Their dams raise the water table, which keeps water on the landscape and preserves wetlands, per the U.S. Forest Service. In fact, the Forest Service linked the lack of beavers to increasingly intense wildfires on the West Coast.
Beaver dams provide many benefits for other animal species, too. Some studies found that dams help clean polluted waters. Other research has shown that beavers have a strong impact on the salmon populations, as their dams also create habitats for juvenile salmon.
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It was reported that about 1,100 beavers in Oregon were killed every year between 2020 and 2023 for their fur. The state recently passed two bills to increase protection for beavers.
According to OPB, House Bill 3464 will reclassify the animals as “furbearing” rather than “predatory.” House Bill 3932 is designed to restrict trapping along “impaired” waterways.
Fran Recht, a retired habitat manager, told OPB that she is in favor of beaver protection laws because the animals continue to provide various protections for humans and the environment.
“With the climate crisis and fires and droughts, we’ve got to get beavers back on the landscape,” Recht said. “And one of the big tools is restricting hunting and trapping.”
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