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Alicia Leow-Dyke is the Welsh Beaver Project Officer for the Wildlife Trusts in Wales. The Welsh Beaver Project has been investigating the feasibility of the reintroduction of beavers to Wales and the project is now focused on the re-establishment of beavers in Wales. Prior to moving to Wales Alicia managed an enclosed beaver project in Scotland and has also worked with a range of protected species in the UK.

Alan is an ecohydrologist whose research specializes in understanding the relationship between land use or vegetation change and the quality and quantity of water leaving our landscapes. Since 2014 Alan has been undertaking a suite of multidisciplinary research, monitoring the impacts of reintroducing the Eurasian Beaver. Working across a suite of beaver sites throughout Britain, this research is being undertaken with a broad range of project partners and actively seeks to inform management and policy associated with the return of beavers to Britain. Further information on Alan's research and associated publications can be found via the links below:
University Staff Profile: https://geography.exeter.ac.uk/staff/index.php?web_id=A_Puttock
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=XnJfmJMAAAAJ&hl=en

alexa.mbp@methowsalmon.org, 509-881-1173, www.methowbeaverproject.org
Alexa is a restoration ecologist, a collaborator, and the Project Director for the Methow Beaver
Project. She works for sustainability in all practices and effective, process-based solutions to
challenging environmental conditions. She has called the Methow and Okanogan River
watersheds of WA State home for the last 22 years but has worked across the western US
studying songbirds, carnivores, plant communities, agricultural practices that sustain habitat and
wildlife, and post-wildfire recovery of western riverscapes. Alexa completed her BS in Wildlife
Biology at Virginia Tech and MS in Restoration Ecology at Eastern Washington University
where she focused on beaver ecology and beaver mediated restoration of legacy degraded and
wildfire impacted streams across western NA.

Joe.MBP@MethowSalmon.org, 509-5592838, www.methowbeaverproject.org
Joe has a background in riparian ecology and GIS and received his master’s in biology from Eastern
Washington University in 2021, where he studied how beaver impoundments impact wildfire resistance
at multiple spatial scales in the North Cascades. After graduate school, Joe joined the Methow Beaver Project in Twisp, WA, where he works with land managers and private landowners to coexist with beavers and utilize their unique ability to store water and provide habitat for multiple species in the arid mountain west.

Dr. Suzanne Fouty has been exploring water issues in the West for almost 40 years, the social challenges and ecological benefits of wolves for over 30 years, the impact of beavers and beaver trapping on stream systems for over 25 years, and how beavers and wolves interact to accelerate stream restoration and what is getting in the way of that restoration for over 10 years. She received her PhD from the University of Oregon in 2003 where her research looked at how cattle, elk, and beavers alter streams, and retired from the Forest Service in 2018 after almost 16 years as a hydrologist and soils specialist. For the last four years Dr. Fouty has been spearheading efforts to close federally managed public lands to beaver trapping and hunting as a strategic response to the emergencies of climate change and biodiversity loss, first at the state level and more recently at the national level.

Since 1998 Mike Callahan has been working to promote coexistence with beavers. First as a volunteer, and then with his Massachusetts-based business Beaver Solutions LLC. In that time he has non-lethally resolved nearly 2,000 beaver related flooding conflicts using innovative water control devices (a.k.a. flow devices) that resolve landowner conflicts while allowing the beavers to remain on the landscape.
In 2017 Mike founded the nonprofit Beaver Institute Inc. The Beaver Institute trains others to do this work professionally, and also raises awareness about the importance of beaver wetlands. He currently is training beaver wetland experts across the US and Canada. The Beaver Institute is internationally recognized as a leading authority on beavers and beaver management. In his spare time Mike enjoys quiet time spent in nature, reading, kayaking, spiritual pursuits, and spending time with family and friends.

Kate Lundquist co-directs the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center’s WATER Institute and the Bring Back the Beaver Campaign. Kate collaborates with landowners, communities, tribes, conservation organizations and resource agencies across the arid west to uncover obstacles and identify strategic solutions to conserve watersheds, recover listed species, increase water security and build resilience to the impacts of climate change. Kate works to catalyze the greater acceptance, funding and implementation of beaver and process-based restoration in support of biological and cultural diversity. Kate is a co-founder and member of the California Beaver Policy Working Group and the California Process-Based Restoration Network (www.calpbr.org) and serves as a member of the Beaver Institute’s (www.beaverinstitute.org) advisory board.

Brock Dolman co-founded the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in 1994 where he co-directs the WATER Institute. He is a wildlife biologist & watershed ecologist who has been actively promoting Bringing Back Beaver in California since the early 2000’s. He was given Salmonid Restoration Federation’s coveted Golden Pipe Award in 2012: “…for his leading role as a proponent of "working with beavers" to restore native habitat”. Brock is a co-author of two papers re-evaluating the historic range of beaver in California. Brock is a co-founder and member of the California Beaver Policy Working Group and the California Process-Based Restoration Network (www.calpbr.org) and serves as a member of the Beaver Institute’s (www.beaverinstitute.org) advisory board.

John Egan has been installing flow devices to resolve beaver flooding problems with Mike Callahan and Beaver Solutions since 2012. John will share his wealth of knowledge on assessing and managing a variety of beaver issues, with an emphasis on the use flow devices to resolve them. He will review the flow device designs that Beaver Solutions uses, how he decides what sites they can be used at, and what limitations they can have with different situations. With the company having now installed over 1,900 flow devices since 1998, there have been plenty of lessons learned, and he hopes to share as many as possible during this presentation and anytime needed after it.

Adam Burnett serves as the Executive Director of the Beaver Institute after a career of building and running non-profits in the field of performing arts and environmental conservation. He received his BA from the University of Kansas in Theatre & Creative Writing and spent a decade as the co-founder and artistic director of Buran Theatre. Adam’s experience creating intentional communities, reaching consensus and manifesting opportunities for plurality are traits he relies upon in leading Beaver Institute.

Leonard is a native Oregonian, born and raised in the Umpqua basin of southwestern Oregon. The forests were both his playground and schoo. Hunting, fishing and working in them, he developed a passion for conservation through a lifetime of first hand management and engagement.
Leonard is a recognized expert in the field of beaver ecology across the northern hemisphere. He specializes in reintroduction through live trapping of nuisance beavers and relocation to historical habitat here in the Umpqua National Forest. The last 17 years has been dedicated largely to the restoration of the beaver to its rightful place in our aquatic ecosystems. Quintessential to his success has been his effort to build partnerships between beavers, agencies and stakeholders. A challenge that is met daily. He founded the Beaver Advocacy Committee to ensure the vital role of Caster canadensis as a keystone species is reestablished.

Jakob is a professional wildlife biologist, entrepreneur, land steward, and storyteller. His work focuses on restoring the natural process and order of resilient habitat, its wildlife, and the complex interrelationship with humans. He has been working professionally in Oregon’s streams, rivers and wetlands for over 8 years. He is the foremost authority in mitigating beaver conflicts with human infrastructure in Oregon, through his company Beaver State Wildlife Solutions. He has published research on the endangered Pygmy Three-toed Sloth of Panama, and worked for Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Applegate Partnership.

Audrey grew up on the banks of the Hudson River in NY State. After graduating college with a MA degree in Mathematics from SUNY Potsdam, she moved to Washington State and became immersed in nature education and mentoring at the Wilderness Awareness School in Duvall, WA. In 2005 she moved to San Luis Obispo County where she lives with her husband and 3 children, tracking animals, gathering wild edibles and swimming in the beaver ponds. In 2019, she founded the SLO Beaver Brigade after a discussion with friends around climate change and more specifically, from asking ourselves the question, ‘how can we each contribute to climate regeneration?’ Highlighting the work the beavers do for our climate was her answer to that question.

Cooper was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, where he became interested in climate change during a high school earth science project - particularly with how to remove excess CO2 from the atmosphere. He attended Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo, where he graduated in 2020 with a BS degree in Environmental Management and Protection and a minor in Indigenous Studies. Through his studies at Cal Poly and abroad in Iceland and Greenland, he learned that our natural ecosystems can be our greatest ally in combating climate change - especially wetlands. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to the newly formed Beaver Brigade and absolutely fell in love with the beaver wetlands. Since then he has been an active member of the Brigade, leading educational tours, training on beaver coexistence with the Beaver Institute, and has recently formed a Process-Based Restoration company to bring beaver-based restoration to the California Central Coast.

Leila Philip is an award-winning author whose most recent book, Beaverland, is a New York Times Editor’s Choice and NPR Science Friday Book Club selection, which The Wall Street Journal called “as full of charm and wonder as its beguiling protagonist.”
A Guggenheim Fellow, Philip has also been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. She was a contributing columnist at the Boston Globe and teaches in the Environmental Studies Program at the College of the Holy Cross where she holds the Brooks Chair in the Humanities.

Co-Founder, board secretary, consultant: The Beaver Coalition (www.beavercoalition.org) 2018-2023
Rob Walton Consulting (July 2018 to present): Research, writing, policy development, coordination of habitat restoration activities for the Oregon Coho Business Plan (volunteer) and The Beaver Coalition with an emphasis on ESA-listed salmon recovery and beaver-based habitat restoration.
Nehalem Basin Partnership: 3 year contract to facilitate implementation of the Nehalem Coho Strategic Action Plan
NOAA Fisheries Service (2003 to retirement on July 6, 2018)
Extensive experience and strong skills in communicating with multiple stakeholders and scientists and facilitating meetings around the Pacific Northwest.
Manager, Sr. Policy Advisor & Endangered Species Act Recovery Coordinator (2010 – 2018).
Primary author of the Final ESA Recovery Plan for Oregon Coast Coho Salmon (2016).
Helped draft Puget Sound Steelhead, Upper Willamette and other ESA Recovery Plans.
Author of ESA § 7 consultation on USFWS reintroduction of listed bull trout.
Chair & Vice Chair, Columbia Basin Federal Caucus (9 federal agencies) 2003-12.
Chair, Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife Authority (9 tribes, 4 states, 2 federal agencies) 2010-2011
Public Power Council (consumer-owned electrical utilities including Western Oregon Electric Cooperative, Tillamook PUD and 28 other public utilities in Oregon. 1988-2003: Assistant Manager, Lead staff and ESA coordinator on ESA salmon and steelhead issues 1990-2003.
State of Alaska Ombudsman’s Office (1980-1987) Ombudsman Assistant, promoted to Anchorage Regional Representative, promoted to Acting Ombudsman, managing this independent state agency that investigates citizen complaints against state government.
Earth Resources Company of Alaska (1978-1980): Economic and Planning Analyst; researched and analyzed potential acquisitions and investments in fishing, petrochemical development and other Alaskan opportunities.
Washington State Senate, Energy and Utilities Committee (1977-1978): Research analyst on northwest electrical energy issues.
University of Washington (1975-1976) Research Assistant to Professor Kai N. Lee
U.S. Navy (1969-1973); Ensign, Lt (jg), Lieutenant; Communications on USS Independence and NAVFAC Keflavik, Iceland; and operations officer at NAVFAC Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

Founder, Swift Water Design. Kevin Swift grew up playing in the mud in our National Parks, and now does so for a living. In the 5 years since starting Swift Water Design, he’s hand-built 2500 beaver dam analogues on over 40 miles of streams and rivers, from Idaho to the Klamath basin to the Southern Sierras. “I’m a two-legged beaver, 5 million years late to the party but learning fast.”

Bio: Katie studies water quality and urban ecosystems. She has a Ph.D. in Ecology from the University of California, Davis and has focused her research on human-wildlife coexistence.

Biography – Throughout his life, Jeff has engaged profoundly with the landscapes and more-than-human places across Oregon. First as an enthusiast, then as an artist, and over the last 25 years as a student of human-biospheric interrelationships. Dr. Baldwin has published numerous articles on the role of mangrove communities in tropical beach formation and the role of tourism development in beach and reef degradation, on environmental ethics, on the role of life in producing place, and on the benefits of and obstacles to beaver re-colonization in Oregon and California. Since 1998, Prof Baldwin has taught at the University of Oregon, Willamette University, Western Oregon University, Lane Community College, and as a tenured member of the faculty at Sonoma State University.

Cara is a biologist for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife working on nonlethal beaver management. She works to resolve both public and private beaver-related damage issues by educating people and promoting the use of tools like flow mitigation devices. She earned her BSc in Organismal Biology from Auburn University and spent the next 5 years working on wildlife field research projects across the United States before joining ODFW.

Elissa Chott is a conflict specialist for the Beaver Conflict Resolution Project, a collaboration between Defenders of Wildlife, National Wildlife Federation, and Clark Fork Coalition. She installs flow devices and protects trees to help landowners coexist with and keep beavers in place to create healthy ecosystems.
With a background in bear conflict mitigation, Elissa has worked with public and private landowners on how to coexist with wildlife for over ten years. She holds a MS in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana.

Logan McKinnon is a Yurok Tribe Citizen and works as a Fisheries Technician within the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department. His work includes monitoring fish populations within the Lower Klamath River and conducting fish habitat restoration. The Yurok approach to restoration relies on implementation of process-based techniques and tribal stewardship – tending to the land and water. Restoration work has included installation of constructed wood jams including beaver dam analogues, planting native riparian plants, creation of off-channel wetlands, and other innovative approaches.

Dr Anne Shaffer is  the Executive Director and Lead Scientist of the Coastal Watershed Institute (CWI), a small, place based environmental non-profit  dedicated to understanding, protecting, and restoring coastal ecosystems thru community led scientific partnerships. Anne and a small group of colleagues first formed CWI in 1996. Thru Anne’s leadership CWI conducts world class coastal ecosystem science, conservation, and restoration with very modest resources in a remote and  often extremely challenging, politically conservative, community.
A nearshore marine scientist and manager for her entire career, Anne has authored over forty scientific papers, most as senior author. Professional awards received by Anne and the organization she leads include the   NOAA/AFS Nancy Foster Award (Awarded 2020) American Fisheries Science (AFS) Conservation Organization of the Year (CWI Awarded 2019), Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) Conservationist of the Year Award (CWI Awarded 2013, 2019), Seattle Aquarium Conservation Research Science Award (Awarded 2019).
Born and raised in rural eastern Washington, Anne and her husband Dave Parks, a leader in coastal hydrogeology, have lived on the Olympic Peninsula for over 30 years. After raising their two children Anne, teetering on the age of 60, returned to academia and earned her PhD in Marine Ecology from the University of Victoria. She and Dave continue their dedication to  understanding, conserving, restoring, and promoting the physical and ecological processes of our  wild  Pacific Northwest coastlines, and most recently, the role of beaver there.

Jean-Paul has been managing restoration projects and supporting restoration collaboratives in Oregon since 2012. He has a history working with small environmental non-profits to take strategic actions to direct and expand their restoration and conservation programs in the Willamette Valley. He is especially passionate about developing tools and resources that on-the-ground community based organizations can use to better partner with beavers. Prior to his restoration work in Oregon, Jean-Paul’s socio-ecological research interests awarded him a Fulbright Scholarship to study the interactions of communities and their environment in the southern Chilean and Argentinean Patagonia where beavers are considered invasive.
Abstract :
The Mid-Willamette Beaver Partnership formed in 2020 to take strategic steps to expand ecological and cultural capacity for beaver and their beneficial behaviors in the mid-Willamette region. Since then, the MWBP has implemented novel approaches to engage stakeholders and understand barriers to beaver based restoration using a Community Based Social Marketing approach, and to run a field calibrated and validated Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool that engages students and volunteers in the process. These MWBP projects provide a perfect model for scaling this approach to calibrate an Oregon BRAT model that can serve as a key resource to direct beaver based restoration efforts where projects are most likely to succeed across the Beaver State.

Alison Zak is the executive director of the Human-Beaver Coexistence Fund (HBCF), a nonprofit organization based in northern Virginia that serves the Mid-Atlantic region. She founded HBCF in 2021 to educate the public about the benefits of coexisting with beavers and to provide resources and financial support to address human-beaver conflict using nonlethal management strategies. Previously, Alison studied human-wildlife conflict and worked for six years in environmental education. She holds a BA from the University of South Florida and an MA from San Diego State University, both in anthropology.

Elyssa Kerr is the executive director of Beavers Northwest, a small nonprofit that strives to increase acceptance and understanding of beavers to support healthier and more resilient ecosystems throughout the Puget Sound region. She fell in love with beaver ecosystems the first time she pulled on chest waders and jumped into a beaver pond. Since 2017, she has been helping landowners and land managers to live with beavers throughout Western Washington and beyond.

Bob Boucher has an MS in Water Resource Management from UW Madison WI. with a focus on Ecosystem Management of Watersheds. He was the Founder of Milwaukee RiverKeeper, which forwards the goals of the Clean Water Act to have “fishable and swimmable water.” He was the past Executive Director of the Cedar Lakes Conservation Foundation, Wisconsin’s' oldest land trust. He serves as an advisor to the “Beaver Institute” which trains practitioners in non-lethal beaver management and is an educational resource. He has been a presenter on “Beaver Hydrology” at numerous conferences. Currently he is the President and founder of the “Superior Bio-Conservancy.” Bob has traveled to over 60 countries, seeking out both wild and tame places. He is a XC skier and a member of the “Birch Leggings Club.” He loves wilderness rivers and has worked as a wilderness guide in Alaska and summited Denali. He spends a significant amount of time at the family cabin on Lake Superior and hiking that area with his wife Mary and their dogs. He especially enjoys messing around in wooden boats and wandering around beaver ponds.