Building our Collaborative Capacity with Beavers
Recording Coming Soon!
What if beavers were not just a challenge to manage, but partners in watershed stewardship? The Watershed Solutions Network and the WATER Institute at Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) explore how beavers can help us restore healthier, more resilient watersheds. Drawing on the work of OAEC’s Bring Back the Beaver Campaign, their California Beaver Coexistence Training and Support Program, and the new California Beaver Help Desk, we invite participants to see beavers as ecosystem engineers whose presence can help slow floodwaters, improve water quality, expand wetland habitat, and reduce drought and wildfire impacts.
Kate Lundquist, WATER Institute Director; Grey Hayes, PhD, Beaver Coexistence Program Manager; and Brock Dolman, WATER, RCD/Permaculture & Wildlands Program Director, share insights from their Bring Back the Beaver Campaign and introduce the California Beaver Help Desk, a statewide resource created to help landowners, managers, and communities turn "beaver problems into beaver solutions.” The Help Desk offers technical support, financial assistance, and training opportunities.
They discuss practical strategies for coexistence, the value of non-lethal approaches, and what it takes to build the relationships, knowledge, and confidence needed to work with beavers as partners in caring for the places we depend on.
