Understanding the Dynamics of Beaver Reintroduction

American beavers are absent from or in low abundance in many river systems because of historic and current anthropogenic activity. Reintroduction of beavers, sometimes coupled with the addition of structural features (for example, beaver dam analogs), to restore degraded systems is becoming more popular, but outcomes are variable and standardized best practices are lacking, especially in desert rivers. Beavers can serve as a cost-effective, natural restoration tool because of their dam-building behavior, promoting heterogeneity and drought resiliency in rivers, and translocating nuisance beavers to restoration areas offers an alternative to lethal removal of problem beavers. Evaluating the efficacy of translocated beavers is imperative to improving beaver-assisted restoration techniques. The project could help to understand the complexities of translocation and its effect on vital rates, space use, and activity patterns of wildlife, which in turn could inform best practices for establishment of dam-building beavers in desert river restoration areas. The project is a collaboration of researchers across multiple agencies and includes the USGS, the BLM, Utah State University, the USDA National Wildlife Research Center, Reclamation, and the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.