As record-breaking droughts and unprecedented wildfires intensify across the west, California’s climate adaptivity is being tested like never before. When we make space for them to thrive, North American beaver (Castor canadensis) can play an essential role in our efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change by defending the landscape from wildfire, creating water resiliency in drought, and sequestering carbon. However, these ecosystem engineers are often treated as a nuisance, routinely killed or disregarded for their ecosystem benefits. Building off a decade of beaver advocacy, education, and policy work, we are doubling down on our Bring Back the Beaver Campaign efforts to uplift, protect and restore beaver as a key climate ally in California and beyond. Our campaign is working to create a culture of beaver stewardship among individual landowners, communities, tribes, agencies, and decision-makers in order to reduce the number of beaver killed and shift how agencies perceive and manage this keystone species across California.
