My Shot
Denny is absolutely right, Castor canadensis is not the same as mountain beaver. And they were introduced to the Sierra by Fish and Game in the ’30s and ’40s. But the correct term would be ‘re-introduced.’ These animals were vigorously hunted, and long before gold was discovered they were mostly eliminated. Retracing the historic range of beavers is an intricate process involving trapping records (Stephen Meeks trapped in the Truckee in 1833), anthropological evidence (pre-contact words for beaver in the Maidu and Washoe languages), dendrochronological evidence, and carbon dating of paleo beaver dams, all of which provide a convincing argument that beavers were native to the area.
By 1910 there were less than a dozen known colonies of beaver in the entire state. To its credit, Fish and Game noted the massive impact this was having on our hydrology, erosion, and vegetation and decided to do something about it. Beavers belong in the Truckee and all over Tahoe. Their dams increase birds and wildlife, create essential ponds for juvenile salmonid, improve water quality, and raise the water table. There is no single animal whose presence does more to improve habitat for countless other creatures than the beaver, and no single missing species whose absence is as keenly felt in the Tahoe region.
Beaver conflicts are solvable but beaver benefits are irreplaceable.
~ Heidi Perryman, PhD., is the president and founder of Worth A Dam, an activist group based in Martinez, Calif. Her letter is written in response to a letter from Denny Dickinson in our November issue who stressed that the beavers causing problems around our region (of the species Castor canadensis) are non-native.
