Checking in on California's beaver project.
Deep in the Sierra Nevada foothills on the Tule River Indian Reservation, tribal member Kenneth McDarment had passed by an ochre-red pictograph countless times throughout his life—a simple yet unmistakable image of a beaver with four paws and a distinctive paddle tail. Estimated to be between 500 and 1,000 years old, this ancient artwork adorned the walls of a rock shelter alongside other paintings of wildlife, humans, and geometric designs created by the Yokuts people.
To McDarment, this beaver image seemed like just another beautiful piece of Native art. That is until he looked at it again—this time seeing it clearly with fresh eyes.
Newly introduced beaver swimming through the water.Credit: CDFW
When severe drought struck the reservation about a decade ago, McDarment and other tribal leaders began searching for innovative ways to conserve water. The answer, it turned out, had been staring at them from the cave walls all along.
"Sometimes you need to just look at things more often," McDarment told researchers.
Glancing back up at the beaver, the pictograph suddenly took on new meaning as McDarment and the other tribal leaders began to recognize the ancient wisdom embedded in their ancestors' art. If beavers had once thrived on these lands and helped manage water resources, perhaps bringing them back could address their contemporary drought challenges. This revelation prompted the tribe to pursue what would become California's first beaver restoration program in over seven decades.
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From ancient wisdom to modern partnership
The revelation sparked an unprecedented collaboration between California's Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and Native tribes. In the past, the Tule River Tribe and the Maidu Summit Consortium were dismissed, and told there was "no way to move beavers in California legally."
But after years of advocacy and preparation, in 2021, California finally launched its first beaver restoration program since the 1950s in partnership with both tribes.
On October 18, 2023, seven beavers were released into their new home in Tásmam Koyóm, a 2,325-acre valley in Plumas County.
"You just saw this tiny brown furball, this little nugget, catch a ride on the back of his sibling's tail, and it looked like he was surfing. I don't think it set in for days afterward, but that moment will go down as one of the highlights of my entire career. I think we were very proud of what we had done, and really optimistic about the potential that this represents for us and the good we think we can do moving forward." - Valerie Cook, the beaver restoration program manager for the CDFW.
Beavers being released to explore their new territory. Credit: CDFW
Where did they find the beavers? Set a few traps and catch as many as they could? No. The efforts presented in this project represented a fundamental shift in how California approaches wildlife management and water conservation. The beaver relocation process involved identifying "problem" beavers in areas where they caused flooding, and then safely transporting them to new locations where their engineering skills could work environmental magic. For the first time in nearly 75 years, the state began relocating beavers.
"We can make our future different from our past," declared CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham during the historic first release. "Our past is one where we treated these animals and others as varmints, as nuisances, and our culture over time ran them off the landscape. That can't be our future".
Nature's ultimate engineers get to work
The results have been nothing short of spectacular. At the Maidu Summit Consortium's Tásmam Koyóm meadow—which means "tall grass" in the Mountain Maidu language—relocated beavers have constructed an impressive 328-foot dam, effectively creating a massive wetland complex that has increased water coverage by more than 22% according to CDFW's April 2025 report.
Dams like these offer shelter, a safe home for beavers, and food storage. Image by John Cannon/Mongabay.
"They are really powerful ecosystem engineers," Emily Fairfax, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Minnesota, told Mongabay. "The number of services they provide to us and ways that they build resilient landscapes is honestly too much to just rattle off all at once."
The benefits extend far beyond water storage, with those furry "ecosystem engineers" essentially transforming the landscape into a climate-resilient powerhouse:
- Wildlife defense system: Research shows that beaver-created wetlands burn significantly less during wildfires—experiencing only about one-third the vegetation loss compared to areas without beaver activity. The dams also create natural firebreaks by maintaining moisture levels that make vegetation much less flammable.
- Water quality improvement: Beaver ponds act like natural water treatment plants, filtering out pollutants, trapping sediments, and removing excess nitrogen through natural processes. The dams slow the rushing water, allowing contaminants to disperse and beneficial microorganisms to break down harmful compounds.
- Drought resilience: By storing water during wet periods and slowly releasing it during dry spells, beaver dams create what scientists call "drought buffers" that keep streams flowing when they would otherwise run dry.
Cultural reconnection and sovereignty
For the Mountain Maidu and Tule River tribes, the beaver restoration represents much more than environmental conservation—it's a symbol of just how far they've come in reclaiming their relationship to the land. Nearly two centuries ago, Tásmam Koyóm Meadow was forcibly taken from the Mountain Maidu tribe and was not rightfully returned until 2019. Four years later, the beaver—which the Mountain Maidu call hi-chi-hi-nem and consider as family—finally returned to their land, marking a moment of healing and deeply profound spiritual significance.
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Shannon Salem Williams, a Mountain Maidu program manager, said seeing the beavers slip into the water was a "full circle moment." Then added, "It was like a big welcoming home."
A blueprint for climate resilience
The success story of California's beaver restoration program proves that sometimes, the most efficient solution to modern issues is simply to return to ancient wisdom.
With climate change intensifying droughts, floods, and wildfires across the American West, beaver-based restoration is gaining recognition as a cost-effective, nature-based solution. The California program has become so successful that Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation in 2024 to make the beaver restoration program permanent.
Scientists and activists remain hopeful that this trend will continue. "I think we're in kind of an idyllic [stage of] beaver literacy," advocate Heidi Perryman said. "People have begun to hear a lot of good things about beavers, and they're very hopeful that beavers can fix everything that we've messed up."
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