That said, scientists are well aware that beavers boost biodiversity and increase wetlands. For example, research from the Adirondacks in New York, published in Oecologia in 2002, found that the beaver presence the boosted the diversity of plants by one-third.
Despite this, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services has a long history of killing beavers, which have been deemed to be pests, as their dams can lead to flooding of infrastructure and crops. In 2022, the agency killed 26,731 beavers.
However, experts like Peter Busher say that “Any potential negatives are minor in regard to the ecosystem services the beaver wetlands provide.” A professor and beaver expert at Boston University, who was unconnected to this project, Busher says that “beaver activity may be the most cost-effective method of creating functional wetland systems.”
After decades of recovery, the North American beaver population stands at only around 15 million, from subarctic Canada to northern Mexico. That’s still a long, long way from its pre-European population, but it’s a big comeback.
Source: NASA satellites reveal restoration power of beavers
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