State of the Beaver 2025
Sacred Center of the Universe
Presenters Bio’s / Abstracts
Beavers in the arid Central Coast of California
Audrey Taub
San Luis Obispo Beaver Brigade
http://www.slobeaverbrigade.com/
audrey@slobeaverbrigade.com
Biography:
Audrey Taub is the Executive Director of the San Luis Obispo Beaver Brigade, a 501(c)(3)
non-profit organization, founded in February of 2020 after a conversation among friends about
what we each could do to contribute to climate regeneration. Supporting the beavers in our
county was our answer to that question.
Beavers in the arid Central Coast of California
Salinas River Beavers: Beavers live and thrive in the arid, Central Coast of California in the
Salinas River watershed. The Salinas River often runs dry part of the year with only subsurface
flows. Yet beavers persist. Come hear about our arid beavers, how they are doing, what
struggles they face and how our community rallies to support our semi-aquatic neighbors.
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Title:
Footholds: Trapped In Two Worlds
(“One Trappers Journey Through Beaverland and Beyond”)
Nick Hagan (Ft. Collins, CO and Livingston, MT)
Bio:
I grew up as a Korean adoptee in the rural Rocky Mountain West, hunting and fishing with my father and grandfather. Although they “fit the mold” for men of their time, they were not typical sportsmen due to their environmental beliefs, beliefs they were not shy about sharing. Because of this, I grew comfortable occupying outdoor sporting spaces despite being at odds with some of the dominant cultural narratives surrounding wildlife, ecology, man’s “rights” in the natural world, etc. I’ve never been a “neat fit” anywhere. This has been challenging at times but I believe it also has allowed me to develop and evolve my own thinking and learn to speak freely without fear of disapproval from the group.
Thus, my “sporting” life began at the beginning. To this day, I’m a hunter, fisherman, trapper, and fur buyer. Proud but questioning, always believing the natural world comes first.
Fast forward to 2018- I agreed to volunteer through Montana Trappers Association on a sage grouse habitat restoration project in eastern Montana. It was here where my “restoration” life began. This is when I was first introduced to LTPBR, which led me to Utah State University’s LTPBR training (and later, their Beaver Translocation workshop), which led to me being hired as Project Implementation Manager on the above mentioned sage grouse habitat project for the remainder of the project (2020-2023). It was this project, sponsored by Sage Grouse Initiative, that introduced me to the National Wildlife Federation who approached me about their growing Beaver Conflict Resolution Program in Western Montana. This led me to Beaver Institute’s BeaverCORPS Training Program and into non-lethal beaver work.
Today, I am a member of the Montana Trappers Association’s Ethics Committee, a columnist for the MTA newsletter, and a member of National Trappers Association, Idaho Trappers Association and Colorado Trappers and Predator Hunters Association. I represent MTA in the Montana Beaver Working Group, the MT Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ Beaver Relocation Advisory Committee, and the Beaver Institute’s Hunter and Trapper’s Affinity Group. I also represented both MTA and BI at BeaverCON 2024 in their panel discussion on consumptive use. I have been a BeaverCORPS member since 2022, I am a member of The Wildlife Society and serve on their Hunting, Trapping and Conservation Working Group, and I am an Assistant Instructor in the Natural Resources Department at Front Range Community College in Ft. Collins, CO. I also am the owner/operator of a small wildlife management business called Songdog Outdoor Services, LLC that specializes in all-things beaver with a focus on coexistence.
Purpose:
Storytelling with the intent to inspire understanding and provoke thought and discussion; to address fur and trapping from a place of experience and sensitivity, not advocacy; to showcase an understanding of the issues with compassion and empathy for both sides; to acknowledge criticisms from different perspectives; to give permission to debate this topic openly as professionals, yet to still feel our emotions as passionate individuals with the belief that building bridges strengthens our movement and benefits the beaver and her sacred home.
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Jordan Kennedy, Ph.D. (Blackfeet/Seneca)
Tribal Partnerships Liaison and Beaver Behaviorist
Beaver Institute
jordan@beaverinstitute.org
Connecting beavers to Indigenous sovereignty
The North American beaver (Castor canadensis) has long been a keystone species ecologically and culturally within Indigenous Nations across North America. This project, Historic Indigenous Partnerships with the North American Beaver, investigates the role of beavers in sustaining traditional food systems, medicines, ecological knowledge, and cultural resilience among Indigenous communities spanning Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Through archival research, community engagement, and digital humanities methods, we collected and analyzed oral histories, documented narratives, and archival records connecting beaver activity to Indigenous cultural practices. Preliminary findings highlight key relationships: in Blackfeet territory, beavers’ creation of water sources sustained bison populations essential to survival; along coastal riverways, beaver ponds increased juvenile salmon survival for Tribal Nations; among Pueblo peoples, beaver-stored water served as critical irrigation during drought. These stories, spatially mapped, connect Indigenous stories and practices to landscapes. Our work, conducted in partnership with the North American Beaver Knowledge Network and the North American Inter-tribal Beaver Council, underscores the centrality of human–beaver partnerships in historically shaping resilient Indigenous communities and offers a framework for future ecological and conservation initiatives. Future directions include expanding the map, integrating community-led narratives, and supporting efforts toward Indigenous-led environmental restoration initiatives that recognize beavers as active agents of cultural and ecological continuity.
Dr. Jordan Kennedy is an interdisciplinary researcher and engineer specializing in non-human animal engineering, hydrodynamics, and Indigenous-led conservation initiatives. As the Tribal Partnerships Liaison and Beaver Behaviorist at the Beaver Institute, she advocates for integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in conservation, policy, and management. She works to ensure that Indigenous sovereignty, ethical research standards, and data governance remain central to conservation efforts.
With a Ph.D. and M.S. in Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering from Harvard University, Jordan’s research spans non-human animal-engineered landscapes, river hydrodynamics, and biomimetic design. Her work has included field studies on beaver damming behaviors using GIS and photogrammetry, laboratory experiments on logjam hydrodynamics, engineering meta-analysis of non-human architects, and designing beaver-inspired robotic platforms for landscape construction.
Beyond her work with the Beaver Institute, Jordan is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design in Landscape Architecture, where she designs distributed robotic platforms for landscape architecture. She also serves as a Research Fellow at Outer Coast College, developing curricula that bridge engineering, physics, and Indigenous epistemologies. Jordan, a dedicated science communicator and consultant, has advised on NSF, NEH, and NERC grant proposals while delivering invited talks on rewilding and restoration within Indigenous frameworks. She previously served as Science Director at INDIGENOUS LED, leading interdisciplinary collaborations across federal, tribal, and academic sectors to align conservation efforts with Indigenous knowledge and governance principles. Through her work, Jordan fosters reciprocal relationships between Indigenous communities, researchers, and policymakers to advance ethical, TEK-informed conservation strategies.
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State of the Beaver 2025 presentation version 15 April 2025
Contact: keithguenther42@gmail.com Keith@beaverbafflers.com
Biography:
Keith Guenther, Glen Guenther – Wildland Solutions
Keith worked for the USDA Forest Service as a wildlife biologist with a variety of assignments including as an Animal Damage Specialist for all National Forests in the states of Washington and Oregon. During his time as an animal damage specialist, he revised the Wildlife Control Handbook to include a focus on non-lethal techniques, rather than lethal techniques that included trapping and poisons. His revised handbook was the basis for the Forest Service PNW GTR332 Animal Damage Handbook issued in 1994. Both handbooks included the original 1956 Beaver Baffler as a recommended structure to be utilized instead of trapping when beaver conflicts occurred.
Glen previously worked as a Forest Service wilderness ranger in Oregon and a Peace Corp fisheries specialist in Ecuador. Then in Idaho for the Bureau of Land Management in a variety of capacities as a wildland natural resources manager.
Presentation title:
Stan’s Beaver Bafflers (SBBs) are BMPs that improve fish/wildlife passage and reduce installation costs. Keith Guenther, Glen Guenther, Wildland Solutions—Stephanie Cotton, Ted Parker, Snohomish County Roads
Abstract:
Fence and flow-pipe systems (Beaver Deceiver™, Flexible Pond leveler™ ) focus on what beaver do, which is they plug culverts and rebuild dam notches. Fence and flow-pipe solutions exclude and deceive beaver with small fences and long pipes attached to remote deep-water intakes. Unfortunately fish/wildlife passage is also constricted or blocked with fence and flow-pipe systems.
Stan’s Beaver Baffler (SBB) systems focus on what beaver avoid doing, dragging material out of a pond and building dams in fast moving water. A simple lane fence with wings at culvert sites discourage building dams in culverts. A lane fence through a dam notch to fast flowing water discourages beaver from rebuilding in the dam notch. Fish/wildlife passage is accommodated with the SBB systems. The SBB is recommended because flow-pipe systems tend to constrict or block fish passage. The SBB accommodates fish/wildlife passage, is easier to install in shallow water, and is lower overall cost.
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Suzanne Fouty Ph.D.
Title
Implementing Oregon’s House Bill 3932
A view from the ground
In summer 2024, a bill was being crafted that would close the land, rivers, streams, and waterbodies on state and federally managed public lands to recreational and commercial beaver trapping and hunting. The goal of this second legislative attempt at a closure (the first in 2021) was the same: to create conditions that would result in beavers expanding in numbers and distributions leading to an increase in dams, ponds, and wetlands. These physical changes would, in turn, create natural fire breaks, improve stream flows and water quality, and expand and improved fish and wildlife habitat. The effort was part of five-year attempt to put in place a strategy that would help minimize climate change impacts on communities and slow biodiversity losses.
The original bill language was in play until November 2024. Then as one state representative dropped the bill due to pressure from a subset of their constituents, another picked it up. While much of the language was carried over into HB 3932 for the 2025 legislative section, there were important changes. First, the bill no longer stated the connection between what beavers do (build dams, create ponds and wetlands) and the ecosystem services that occur. Second, the closure was reduced from a full to a partial closure of public lands, one that made water quality impairment data the determining factor for closure rather than the land ownership. This talk examines the bill from the perspective of its implementation on the ground and possible ecological outcomes.
Bio Sketch
Dr. Suzanne Fouty
has been exploring surface and groundwater issues in the West for almost 40 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 water resource specialist. She has long been interested in the ability of beavers and wolves to accelerate stream-riparian-wetland restoration at the landscape scale, and the social and political obstacles limiting their expansion and thus contributions towards recovery of these systems. For the last five years she has spearheaded 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.
Dr. Fouty was the lead in writing and researching the language that became Oregon’s HB 3932, with some exceptions, one being the language that narrowed the bill’s scope.
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Tule River Tribe
Harold Santos – Tribal member and Tribal Elder of the Tule River Indian Reservation of California. I have been on the Natural Resource Advisory Board for a total of 16 years where I am currently the chairperson. I have been working with beavers and meadow restoration projects since 2021 locating areas for the beavers, and building BDAs. I’m also involved in cultural burning that we are bringing back to our lands.
Bianca Guillen – I am a Tribal Member of the Tule River Indian Reservation, and I am currently the Secretary of the Tule River Natural Resource Advisory Board. I personally have always been one for Nature growing up on the Rez.
Arnold Trippel – Hydrologist for the Natural Resource Department. Actively involved in the beaver project alongside other key members such as Roselynn Lwenya, Billy Farmer, and Kenneth McDarment. Graduated from University of Nevada, Reno with an undergraduate degree in Eco-Hydrology. 6 years of experience working in the environmental field in several water resource related projects.
Restoring Ancestral Ecosystems: Reintroducing Beavers to Historical Habitats within Tribal Lands
Abstract:
In this presentation we will be discussing the monumental reintroduction efforts of North American Beaver (Castor canadensis) back to their ancestral land on the Tule River Indian Reservation located above Porterville, CA in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The beaver contain a deep spiritual connection in history to the tribe being depicted within the Painted Rock pictographs located within the community, estimated at 700–2,000 years old. Over time the beaver movement was created within the community through various tribal members, tribal employees, local community members and former to present tribal council to get the beaver back here on the reservation. The momentum from this movement garnered support from different agencies such as CDFW and USFS along with collaborators like OAEC (Occidental Arts and Ecology Center) and Swift Water Design to make this dream a reality.
A total of 16 beavers were reintroduced last year in 2024 and within this presentation we will talk about the challenges and successes that we had during these initial releases. In the beginning and even now our efforts are focused on restoring habitat to better prepare them to thrive. This included implementing restoration efforts such as willow planting low tech process based techniques such as beaver dam analogues. With the work that was done the team discovered during implementation that the major barriers were mainly around predation and loss of habitat due to climate change and wildfire. Through these nuances we developed a better understanding of what is needed to help guide us for future releases.
We will share early successes, persistent challenges, and the adaptive strategies guiding future releases, from designing deeper refuge pools to staging phased introductions that spread ecological risk.
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Lion Waxman
Owner/ Principal
Good Earth Gardens, LLC
Regenerative Farm & Landscape
Consultation | Education | Design | Build
(541)659-0758
Presentation Title- Be the Beaver, Plant the Rain
Abstract– How can humans take part in doing the work of the Beaver, restoring healthy watersheds, building ecological resilience and biodiversity even in our own front yards? It is our responsibility to not only support the restoration of Beaver ecology but also to learn from the Beaver and apply its ingenious ecological engineering practices at the home and municipal development scale. Watershed restoration can and needs to be done not only in our waterways and forests, but also in our front yards, our towns and in our cities. This presentation will give insight into how site scale regenerative water retention and rainwater harvesting techniques mimic the work Beaver does at the large scale, is easily integrated into landscape design and development, and is a crucial part in watershed restoration.
Bio- Lion Waxman is a regenerative landscape designer, consultant, contractor and educator with a passion for integrating water retention practices into landscape design. He is a certified Permaculture Designer and Teacher, holds an B.A. in Environmental & Social Sustainability and an M.S. in Ecological Landscape Design. He is on the staff of OSU’s online Permaculture program, teaching students all over the world and is the founder and Principal of Good Earth Gardens, LLC through which he has been designing and implementing regenerative farm and landscape projects in and around Southern Oregon for the last 7 years. He resides in the hills outside of Talent, Oregon on the traditional lands of the Latgawa.
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Title:
Lawyers, Guns and Money: Helping Beavers with Sticks and Carrots?
Author name:
Jakob Shockey
Organisation name:
Project Beaver
Abstract:
Humans fall in love with beavers, and—if this passion grows strong enough—will then start looking about for ways to help our fellow ecosystem engineers. Pretty soon, the inspired will begin, join or commence working for an applicable organization, government agency or university lab, then they learn to talk about strategies for coexisting with beavers, they link up with working groups, they attend their first beaver conference… Many of us have followed a love for beavers down just such a path. We have worked to nourish a world where humans partner with beavers for the resilience of our planet, and many thousands of beavers owe their lives to the successes of this strategy.
But why have so many who advocate for beavers chosen the non-regulatory, non-profit, and non-controversial approach? Is this really the most effective way forward to more land and fresh water stewarded by beavers?
In this talk we will explore some of the other strategies and tactics that get less air time, from paying landowners through “beaver easements” to passing laws that make a meaningful impact. We will highlight recent work from the United States to explore the efficacy of leveraging some of the most powerful human tools, like money and law, to benefit beavers.
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Nova Robbins-Waldstein
Beaver Coexistence Ecologist: M.S. Student at the University of Colorado Boulder & Founder of SaveTheBeavers
Title: “Reframing Beaver Relationality within Contemporary North America”
Beaver Coexistence Ecologist: M.S. Student at the University of Colorado Boulder & Founder of SaveTheBeavers
Short Bio:
Nova has dedicated her academic & personal life to our friend, the beaver, since 2020. Currently, she is a Master of Science student in Environmental Studies and Hydrologic Sciences at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her research integrates hydro-geomorphic ecological studies with policy and stakeholder analysis to guide non-lethal beaver management in Colorado. She also explores related topics such as habitat fragmentation, riverscape connectivity, and the dynamics of human-wildlife relationships, with a centering emphasis on coexistence and the ecology of fear. Additionally, Nova is participating in Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s (CPW) focus‑group process for the forthcoming Beaver Conservation & Management Strategy. She is also the founder of SaveTheBeavers: an imminent, independent, research-driven advocacy initiative. Additionally, Nova recently presented at EcoStream 2025, focusing on coexistence tools. Outside of her studies, Nova enjoys snowboarding, exploring nature with her two cats, herbalism, and sewing.
Abstract:
Beaver Coexistence Ecologist: M.S. Student at the University of Colorado Boulder & Founder of
Watersheds across the contemporary American West echo with the once-abundant living ecosystem engineering of the North American beaver (Castor canadensis). However, our longstanding extractive relationship with beavers, whether it was for their pelts in the past or for their “ecosystem services” today, continues to shape how we frame, manage, and relate to them. When we value beavers primarily for the benefits they provide us, we unconsciously treat them as mere instruments in our goals. What if the obstacle to beaver recovery is not just habitat or hydrology, but also the stories and narratives we continue to tell? Hydrogeomorphic evidence is clear: dam–pond complexes increase surface and hyporheic storage, elevate groundwater, attenuate peaks while sustaining drought-season baseflow, trap fine sediments and nutrients, and create mesic, thermally buffered refugia. Still, lethal, reactive responses remain standard where “nuisance” and services-only frames are embedded in statute, permitting, and agency culture. Drawing on my Colorado-based research (beaver–human coexistence [BHC], stream complexity, and policy reform), this presentation aims to move from critique to synthesis and offer an urgently needed alternative: (i) reform the “nuisance” designation with permit requirements, after-action reporting, and necessity tests; (ii) establish non-lethal coexistence as default (flow/pond levelers, culvert protection, targeted fencing; lessons from Ksik Stakii); (iii) create compensation/incentive programs (cost-share, grazing compensation, tax credits); (iv) legally recognize beavers as watershed engineers with tightly circumscribed removal; (v) co-author governance with all applicable communities and stakeholders; and (vi) advance beaver-centered restoration (e.g., riparian plantings, reintroduction/recolonization, explore water-banking credits). The throughline is relational accountability, respect, reciprocity, responsibility, and translating science into measurable coexistence. Let the beaver build.
Contact Information:
- Academic Email: Noro1546@colorado.edu
- Personal Email: Novasnow01@gmail.com
- Phone #: (970) 599- 6176
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Organization Name: Utah State University (USU) Beaver Ecology and Relocation Collaborative (BERC)
Presenters:
Nate Norman, Lead Biologist- Nate oversees day to day operations of BERC and is the Lead Biologist on the project. He works closely with landowners to initially determine alternative methods to “co-exist” with the nuisance beavers and is the lead live trapper. Nate also works with lethal trappers in the state to help them learn live-trapping methods and encourages them to be part of the BERC operations and solutions. Nate is the primary contact between landowners, other LTPBR programs, and the state and federal agencies to determine release sites and strategies. Nate earned his BS degree from Eastern Michigan University in 1994 and has been an environmental consultant for the past 30 years. He has been working with beavers for 9 years and has received training in several beaver management activities, including the capture, holding, and release of beaver. Nate was one of the first non-agency persons in the state of Utah to become legally certified to perform these duties. He has been working closely with both the UDWR and the USFS to develop protocols for beaver translocation.
Becky Yeager, Lead Beaver Care Biologist- Becky Yeager has served as the Lead Beaver Care Biologist for the past 6 years, often working with a team of about 60 volunteers to care for the beavers during quarantine. She also assists in the data collection, trapping, and release of the beavers. Among other important duties, Becky oversees facility operations including the maintenance of the beaver pens known as the Beaver Bunkhouse. Becky earned her BS and MS degrees from NMSU in Las Cruces, NM, and came to Cache Valley in 1992 when she accepted a position as a wildlife biologist. During that time, she specialized in federal and state-listed rare species. Becky is also actively involved in monarch conservation and the development of pollinator habitats for the state of Utah, cities, and other organizations.
Alex Fortin, Research Associate- Alex is a co-lead of BERC’s research project monitoring the site of relocated beavers. He also assists with beaver care, beaver live-trapping, and beaver care. Alex received a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Management from USU in 2021 and is currently pursuing a M.S. in Natural Resources at Utah State University. He has been a professional in the field for over three years having worked for three different federal agencies and a consulting firm. He is currently a zoned fish and wildlife technician for the Forest Service on the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.
Natalie D’Souza, Research Associate & Volunteer Coordinator- Natalie a co-lead of BERC’s research project monitoring the site of relocated beavers. She is also the coordinator of over 60 volunteers, working with these citizen scientists to facilitate outreach events, beaver care, and educational opportunities. Natalie earned a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Management with a minor in Biology and Journalism at USU in Logan, Utah. She is also pursuing a M.S. in Ecological Restoration at Utah State University. Natalie currently works at Colorado State University’s Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands designing natural resources management plans for Air Force installations.
Abstract: The Beaver Ecology and Relocation Center (BERC) is a nonprofit organization, affiliated with Utah State University (USU), serving the Intermountain West since 2019 by providing live trapping, care, and relocation of beavers. In coordination with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR), the United States Forest Service (USFS), numerous nonprofit organizations, and private landowners, BERC conducts beaver relocation to restore riparian and river ecosystems, mitigate human-wildlife conflict, and reduce lethal trapping of beavers. To mitigate beaver-human conflict, BERC works with various landowners to implement Living with Beaver solutions. When necessary, BERC conducts beaver translocation, using a state-approved facility to quarantine the beavers, conduct disease and behavioral evaluations, and facilitate effective relocation efforts. BERC also conducts monitoring efforts of site characteristics at beaver relocation sites to understand factors that increase the probability of beaver residency after a relocation in arid and semi-arid streams throughout Utah, thus effectively and accurately guiding future riverscape beaver-based restoration.
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Process-Based Restoration & Tribal Stewardship in a Coastal Tributary of the Klamath River
Author/Presenter: Sarah Beesley, Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department (YTFD) sbeesley@yuroktribe.nsn.us
Presenter: Sarah Beesley
Affiliation: Yurok Tribe, Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department (YTFD), Klamath, California
Brief Biography: Sarah Beesley is a Senior Fisheries Biologist with the Lower Klamath Program of the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department. The Lower Klamath Program monitors anadromous fish populations and conducts habitat restoration within the Lower Klamath River, California. 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, riparian planting, creation of off-channel wetlands, and other innovative approaches.
Co-Authors: Logan McKinnon – YTFD, Rocco Fiori – Fiori GeoSciences, Andrew Antonetti – YTFD, Jimmy Faukner – YTFD, Eric Schwenk, YTFD, and Scott Silloway – YTFD.
Abstract: Since 2007, the Yurok Tribal Fisheries Department and our partner Fiori GeoSciences have been conducting process-based restoration in McGarvey Creek, a coastal tributary to the Klamath River. McGarvey Creek supports spawning runs of Chinook, Coho, steelhead, and coastal cutthroat trout (natal populations) and serves as vital rearing habitat to juvenile Coho from throughout the Klamath Basin (non-natal populations). Our approach in this watershed includes complementary use of constructed log jams, creation of off-channel wetlands, bioengineering, and installation/stewardship of beaver dam analogues (BDAs). To date, we have constructed four BDA sites in key locations (e.g. biological hot spots) to help support salmonid recovery and boost ecological function. Permitting and installation of these BDAs were possible because of strong working relationships with the landowner (Green Diamond Resource Company), state/federal/tribal resource agencies, and various basin partners.
Extensive biological and physical monitoring of the McGarvey BDAs has been conducted to help assess restoration performance and guide our species recovery and watershed stewardship approach. Study findings indicate that the McGarvey BDAs: 1) provide high-quality juvenile rearing habitat; 2) do not appear to hinder adult or juvenile salmonid fish passage; 3) increase localized floodplain inundation frequency and duration; 4) can boost summer rearing capacity in perennial reaches and thus serve as placement sites for juvenile salmonids rescued from seasonally drying reaches of lower McGarvey Creek (and potentially other streams); 5) help retain fluvial transported wood; and 6) create/maintain complex, dynamic habitats even when one or more dams breach. Based on these findings, we intend to install additional BDAs and plan to expand process-based restoration into the upper reaches and explore the use of other “low-tech” approaches (e.g. hand-built log jams) throughout McGarvey Creek to help feed this structurally starved watershed.
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Title: A Decade of Flow Devices: Regional Review of Beaver Coexistence Efficacy and Satisfaction
Presenter: Madison Newton, Beavers Northwest, Project Manager, Puget Sound Region, WA, USA
Madison Newton graduated in 2021 from the University of Washington with a B.S. in Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management. Her passion and career have revolved around wildlife; from conducting studies on the intelligence of urban birds, analyzing acoustic data of PNW bats, working in veterinary and sanctuary settings, and wading among the beavers. Madison joined Beavers Northwest in 2020 and now serves as a full-time Project Manager facilitating beaver coexistence projects.
Abstract:
In order to retain more beavers on the landscape and support ecosystem resilience, Beavers Northwest has implemented flow devices and other coexistence practices throughout the Puget Sound region in Washington State over the past decade. While it is widely accepted that beaver ponds benefit native fish species, water quality, and water quantity, our human-modified stream systems raise a growing number of questions about how humans can best coexist with aquatic habitats. In an effort to reduce conflict and promote coexistence between beavers and humans, Beavers Northwest has implemented and innovated flow device applications throughout urban and rural streams. These devices create a happy compromise to limit flooding impacts on humans while retaining beavers, their ponds, and associated habitat. However, in the 10 years since Beavers Northwest has been installing these devices, no effort was made to understand the effectiveness of flow devices at achieving this compromise over longer timeframes. In 2024 Beavers Northwest pioneered a monitoring initiative to revisit all previously installed coexistence devices, document maintenance practices, and build a better picture of flow device efficacy in our region.
In this talk, we will explore the applications of beaver coexistence practices and our observations on the successes and challenges presented by them. We will also discuss the outcomes of our monitoring initiative including landowner satisfaction rates, longevity and efficacy of flow device types, long-term maintenance actions, and lessons learned. These observations are widely transferrable to other regions working to address the balance between coexistence and human modified systems, and will help build a greater regional capacity for flow device success.
Contact Information:
Beavers Northwest
Email: madison@beaversnw.org
Phone: 206.552.8730
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Pamela Adams
FREELANCE BEAVER DETECTIVE -Tracking Urban Wildlife
DOCUMENTARY SCREENING WITH Q&A FOR THE STATE OF THE BEAVER 2025
In June 2022, Pamela Adams, an adventurous retiree, and BeaverCorps member began tracking urban beavers in Longfellow Creek, Seattle, WA. In only three years of monitoring and documenting these city-creek-dwelling beavers Adams’ research is showing the ecological benefits they are providing, especially in supporting the increasing populations of endangered wild coho salmon spawning in this watershed. The intimate, noninvasive camera footage has awakened the community and connected the agencies that manage the creek to care and coexist with beavers with a deeper reverence for natural processes they bring to this challenged urban waterway.
Award-winning filmmaker Kay D. Ray produced and directed a new 40-minute documentary
of Adams’ work at Longfellow Creek. Using a mix of traditional tracking and non-invasive
motion-sensitive cameras, Adams has captured intimate footage of five beaver families—more than 30 individuals living just four miles from the Space Needle. The film will also feature contributions from photographer Tom Reese, Seattle Public Utilities representatives Katherine Lynch and Steve Damm, and Elyssa Kerr of Beavers Northwest.
PAMELA ADAMS OF BEAVERINSIGHTS.COM will share her findings of how utilizing noninvasive trail cameras along with creating social media fan pages to help urban communities learn and live more harmoniously with their local beavers. Seattle, and Corvallis, OR are two locations under the program, with more coming soon.
BIO Pamela Adams is an advocate for beaver rights and riparian and wetland habitat health. As a member of the Beaver Institute’s BeaverCorps national program, she works with non-profits, municipalities, and landowners to develop coexistence strategies such as installing devices that allow humans and beavers to live more harmoniously. Pamela’s own organization, BeaverInsights, utilizes non-invasive videography to gather information about beaver families for educational research. Locations under study include the nearshore of The Elwha River, Olympic Peninsula, Bend, and Corvallis, OR, Seattle, WA, and West Brattleboro, VT. Most currently, Pamela is focused on her four year-long research of the five beaver families living in Longfellow Creek-a 3 mile urban watershed with documented high levels of stormwater pollutants yet full of beavers and wild salmon species currently coexisting for the first time in recent memory. She also leads guided beaver walks under Airbnb’s Experiences in Seattle.
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Shea Fuller Community Engagement Manager for The Wetlands Conservancy.
Community Science and Coexistence with Beavers in Urban Wetlands.
Shea has worked for 8 years in Oregon as a master gardener and urban tree steward. Her background in environmental studies and outdoor education brought her to The Wetlands Conservancy as an intern in 2019, working with neighbors and partners on wildlife surveys and volunteer events. Since then, she’s taken on TWC’s community science and educational programs too. When not knee-deep in the mud, she spends her time cycling, reading, and working in gardens.
There are so many reasons to love beavers and a few reasons why they can be tricky neighbors. In this presentation, The Wetlands Conservancy will discuss truce-building and coexistence measures that help to support beaver-maintained wetlands while minimizing conflict with human neighbors and damage to infrastructure. We will also discuss how The Wetlands Conservancy is using community science to expand their knowledge of beaver populations, better inform the stewardship of their lands, and assist with urban planning initiatives. If there is time, we’ll also discuss our application of the Beaver Restoration Assessment Tool in Willamette Valley and Coastal stream systems. This talk centers community education and should be accessible to any listener, not just scientists.
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